Should I use MCP, an API, an app or a skill for AI image and video?

Use the MCP connector when an AI agent does the work, the REST API when your own code runs a workflow, an app when other people run your workflow with their own credits, and a skill when you want a ready-made job in Claude Code, Cursor or Codex. All four run the same image and video models on the same credits.

Route	Use it when	How you connect	Who pays	How you get results	Start here
MCP connector, https://www.wireflow.ai/api/mcp	An agent such as Claude, Cursor, Codex or ChatGPT builds, runs and reads workflows for you	Sign in with your Wireflow account (OAuth), no key	The connected account	The agent calls get_execution	Connect your agent
Editor connector, https://www.wireflow.ai/api/mcp/editor	An agent edits video timelines and renders media already in your account. It generates nothing	Sign in with OAuth, no key	Renders cost 0 credits at current pricing	render_video saves the file as the node's output	Editor Connector
REST API, POST /api/v1/workflows/{id}/run	Your own code runs a workflow you own	An sk- key with workflows:execute	The key owner	Polling, or a signed webhook	Run a workflow from your app
App, POST /api/v1/apps/{slug}/execute	Other people, or you by slug, run a workflow you published	The caller's own sk- key with apps:execute	The caller	Polling the pollUrl	Let others run your workflow
Skill, from github.com/wireflowINC/skills	A packaged job fits, such as a product clip or a set of ad images, and you want a cost quote first	It runs through the MCP connector	The connected account	Files saved to ./wireflow-outputs/	Claude Code Skills

Most setups use more than one route. An agent drafts and tests a workflow over MCP, your code runs it with the REST API, and you publish it as an app when other people need it. Drafting costs nothing, and credits are spent only when something runs.

What is the difference between MCP and an API?

MCP is how an AI agent works with Wireflow: it signs in with OAuth and calls tools such as create_workflow_from_prompt, run_workflow and get_execution. The REST API is how your own code does the same, with an sk- key and plain HTTP requests.

	MCP connector	REST API
Who drives it	An AI agent, from your prompt	Your code
Sign-in	OAuth with a consent screen, and no key to copy	An sk- API key as a Bearer token
Permissions	The scopes you approve on the consent screen; some are opt-in	The scopes you pick when you create the key
Starts a run with	run_workflow or run_app	POST /run or POST /apps/{slug}/execute
Learns the result with	get_execution	Polling, or a webhook on /run

The two are separate. An MCP sign-in is not an API key: the video composition contract endpoint, for example, refuses an MCP token with 401. They also resolve identities independently: check which account each one acts as with whoami over MCP, or GET /api/v1/me with a key.

Connecting an agent is one command in Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport http wireflow https://www.wireflow.ai/api/mcp

Running the same workflow from code is one request:

curl -X POST https://www.wireflow.ai/api/v1/workflows/YOUR_WORKFLOW_ID/run \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $WIREFLOW_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"inputs": {"node-prompt": "a paper boat on a neon puddle"}}'

MCP or skills: which should I use with Claude Code?

Use a skill when one of the ready-made jobs fits, and the connector on its own when you want to shape the job yourself. A skill is not a separate connection: it plans the job in Claude and runs a published Wireflow app through the same MCP connector.

	Skill	MCP connector on its own
What you get	A fixed job, such as a 5-second video clip, product photos or static ads in three sizes	Any workflow: build it, run it, read results, edit video timelines
Before it spends	Shows the plan, the credit cost and your balance, then waits for your yes	Whatever you ask, so tell the agent to quote the cost first
Results	Saved to ./wireflow-outputs/, with the credits used	File URLs from get_execution, plus the board in your account
Install	/plugin marketplace add wireflowINC/skills, then /plugin install wireflow-skills@wireflow	claude mcp add --transport http wireflow https://www.wireflow.ai/api/mcp

The plugin adds the connector too, so you run /mcp once to sign in. To install the skills in Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI and more, use the skills CLI:

npx skills add wireflowINC/skills

Every retry or extra variation needs a new yes. To run boards you built yourself, the ai-workflow-runner skill matches a plain request to one of your workflows and estimates its credits first. Claude Code Skills lists every skill.

When should I use the REST API instead of an MCP server?

Use the REST API when code runs the job with no agent in the loop: a backend, a scheduled script or a feature in your own product. It takes an sk- key, which suits servers, and /run adds two things servers need: a signed webhook when the run ends, and an Idempotency-Key header that replays the original run on a retry instead of billing it twice.

const res = await fetch('https://www.wireflow.ai/api/v1/workflows/YOUR_WORKFLOW_ID/run', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.WIREFLOW_API_KEY}`,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({ inputs: { 'node-prompt': 'a paper boat on a neon puddle' } }),
});
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${res.status}: ${await res.text()}`);
const { data } = await res.json(); // data.executionId and data.poll

import os
import requests

res = requests.post(
    "https://www.wireflow.ai/api/v1/workflows/YOUR_WORKFLOW_ID/run",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['WIREFLOW_API_KEY']}"},
    json={"inputs": {"node-prompt": "a paper boat on a neon puddle"}},
)
res.raise_for_status()
data = res.json()["data"]  # data["executionId"] and data["poll"]

Use MCP instead when a person steers the work in chat, or when the job changes each time and an agent should pick the models, draft the workflow and read the results. For how an agent compares with a node tool that runs on a schedule, see n8n vs MCP for video automation.

When do I use an app instead of the API?

Publish an app when someone other than you should run the workflow, or when you want a fixed endpoint by slug. /run works only on workflows you own, while an app can be called by anyone with an apps:execute key, and each caller pays for their own runs. Publish it as private and it becomes an endpoint that only your account can call.

An app also gets a web page with a form, for people who don't write code. Its sign-in, per-run prices and subscriptions are in Publishing Apps. To run someone else's community template without copying it, see Execute Templates.