---
title: Action Gateway Quickstart (public)
description: Connect Action Gateway to Claude Code or Codex and make your first tool call.
product: Managed Agents
url: https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/managed-agents/action-gateway/quickstart/
last_updated: "2026-09-21"
---

> **For AI agents:** The documentation index is at [https://docs.digitalocean.com/llms.txt](https://docs.digitalocean.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of pages use the same URL with `index.html.md` in place of the HTML page (for example, append `index.html.md` to the directory path instead of opening the HTML document).

# Action Gateway Quickstart (public)

Action Gateway gives applications and AI agents governed access to tens of thousands of tools through a managed MCP endpoint or SDK. See [What You Can Build](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/managed-agents/agent-harness-runtime/details/what-you-can-build/index.html.md) for example use cases of Action Gateway with Harness Runtime.

Connect Action Gateway to your coding agent, then ask it to find and run tools. You need a DigitalOcean account and either Claude Code or Codex installed.

## 1. Create a Session

1. Open [Action Gateway Sessions](https://cloud.digitalocean.com/managed-agents/action-gateway/sessions) in the Control Panel and click **Create session**.
2. Enter a **Session Name**, such as `coding-agent`, and keep the default settings. The default **Ask** permission policy requires your approval before tools run.
3. Create the session and copy its MCP URL.

## 2. Connect Your Coding Agent

Choose your agent below. Run the commands in a terminal from your project directory, replacing `<action-gateway-session-mcp-url>` with the URL you copied. When prompted, sign in with the DigitalOcean account you used to create the session.

### Codex

Add Action Gateway and start browser sign-in:

```shell
codex mcp add action-gateway --url "<action-gateway-session-mcp-url>"
codex mcp login action-gateway
```

After signing in, run `codex` to start a new coding-agent session.

### Claude Code

Add Action Gateway:

```shell
claude mcp add --transport http action-gateway "<action-gateway-session-mcp-url>"
```

Run `claude` in the same project directory. In Claude Code, run `/mcp`, select `action-gateway`, and follow the browser sign-in prompts.

## 3. Try a Tool

Send this prompt to your coding agent:

```text
Use Action Gateway to list available DigitalOcean Droplet sizes. Do not create, update, or delete any resources.
```

Review and approve the read-only call when prompted. Your agent finds the tool, runs it, and returns a list of Droplet sizes.

This example does not require a prepaid balance, but [tool invocation charges](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/managed-agents/action-gateway/details/pricing/index.html.md) apply.

You can reuse this session for future tasks. To use tools from other services, [authorize their providers](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/managed-agents/action-gateway/how-to/manage-connections/index.html.md). For SDK setup, see [Connect Action Gateway](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/managed-agents/action-gateway/how-to/connect-action-gateway/index.html.md).