# Introduction

> What each Ody developer surface does — REST API, webhooks, MCP server, SDKs and Switchboard — and how they fit together.

Source: https://dev.ody.co/get-started/introduction

Ody is an AI-native business phone: shared numbers, team calling, a shared SMS/MMS inbox, and **Astra**, an AI receptionist that answers and places calls. Everything a team does in the Ody app is also available to code, and to AI assistants.

## What does what

| Surface | What it is | Use it when | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|
| [REST API](https://dev.ody.co/api/overview) | HTTPS + JSON endpoints at `https://api.ody.co/v1/api` | Your server or automation needs to read or change the workspace: sync contacts, send texts, buy numbers, configure Astra | API key |
| [Webhooks](https://dev.ody.co/webhooks/overview) | Ody `POST`s signed events to your HTTPS endpoint | You want to react the moment a text arrives, a call ends, or a contact changes — without polling | Signing secret (`whsec_…`) |
| [MCP server](https://dev.ody.co/mcp/overview) | A Model Context Protocol server at `https://api.ody.co/v1/mcp` exposing 20 tools | You want Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or your own agent to work the inbox and the phone line in natural language | API key |
| [SDKs](https://dev.ody.co/sdks/overview) | Zero-dependency TypeScript and Python clients for the REST API | You'd rather call `ody.messages.send()` than hand-roll HTTP, pagination and signature checks | API key |
| [Switchboard](https://dev.ody.co/switchboard/overview) <span class="badge badge-preview">preview</span> | An in-app assistant that turns "after 6pm ring the on-call tech, then the AI" into a reviewed, signed plan and builds it | An admin wants to reconfigure call routing by describing it. **In-app only, by design** — not callable from the API or MCP | Signed-in admin session |

The REST API and the MCP server are two doors into the **same** functions. A text sent with `POST /v1/api/messages`, by the MCP tool `send_message`, or from the inbox in the app goes through identical code, billing and rules.

## How the pieces fit

```text
                      ┌──────────────── your code ─────────────────┐
  curl / SDKs ───────▶│  REST API   https://api.ody.co/v1/api/*    │
  Claude, ChatGPT ───▶│  MCP server https://api.ody.co/v1/mcp      │──▶ same domain functions the app uses
  Cursor, agents      └────────────────────────────────────────────┘    (contacts, inbox, numbers, Astra, billing)
                                                                                  │
  your HTTPS endpoint ◀── signed webhook deliveries (message.received, call.completed, …) ◀──┘

  app.ody.co admin ──▶ Switchboard (session only) ──▶ plan → approve → signed build
```

## Three things that are true everywhere

1. **A key acts as a person.** Every API key belongs to the workspace member who created it and can never do more than they can in the app. Scopes narrow it further. See [Authentication](https://dev.ody.co/get-started/authentication) and [Scopes](https://dev.ody.co/get-started/scopes).
2. **Your code changes the real account.** There is no separate developer sandbox: a number you buy appears in **Settings → Numbers**, an AI call you place lands in the shared inbox, and a teammate can take over at any moment. Use [test mode](https://dev.ody.co/get-started/test-mode) keys to simulate anything that spends money or reaches the outside world.
3. **Same billing as the app.** Buying a number, filing 10DLC or placing an AI call through the API bills exactly like doing it in the app — no API surcharge.

## Plans

The REST API, webhooks, and the MCP server are included on every Ody plan, starting with Starter. Switchboard is in private preview and turned on per workspace by Ody.

## Where to go next

- [Quickstart](https://dev.ody.co/get-started/quickstart) Send your first text in under five minutes.
- [Core concepts](https://dev.ody.co/get-started/core-concepts) Workspaces, conversations, activities and numbers.
- [Connect an AI assistant](https://dev.ody.co/mcp/connect) Add Ody to Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor.
- [Agent Phone guide](https://dev.ody.co/guides/agent-phone) Provision a complete AI phone line from code.