MCPifex Instances and Tools: Enable, Disable, Limits

An MCPifex instance is your own configured copy of a hosted MCP server. It holds that server's credentials, the tools you allow the AI to use, and an API key. You point your MCP client at the gateway with that key, and MCPifex runs the real server for you.

What an instance holds

Say you connect PostgreSQL. Your instance stores your host, database, username and password, a list of enabled tools, and one API key. A second PostgreSQL instance with different credentials is a completely separate connection. Turning off execute on one doesn't touch the other.

Create an instance

1. Pick a server from the marketplace.
2. Fill in its config, or connect the account it needs.
3. Choose which tools to enable.
4. Click Test connection. It makes a real health-check call, so you know it works before you finish.
5. Generate the API key.

The quickstart covers the same steps with the client setup included.

Turn tools on and off

The portal lists every tool a server offers, each with its own switch per instance. The gateway enforces the switches. Your client's tools/list returns only enabled tools, and a tools/call on anything else is refused.

For a PostgreSQL instance with only the read tools on, the client sees exactly these names:

{
  "tools": [
    { "name": "query" },
    { "name": "list_schemas" },
    { "name": "list_tables" },
    { "name": "describe_table" }
  ]
}

Real responses also include each tool's description and input schema. There's no execute and no connect_db. The latter isn't in MCPifex's catalog at all, so it's refused on every instance. That's what stops a client from pointing your instance at another database. See MCP tools for how tools fit into the protocol.

Write and delete tools start off

Any tool that changes data is disabled until you switch it on. In PostgreSQL that's execute, which runs INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE. In Google Search Console, the 14 read tools are on, while the write tools (submit_sitemap, manage_sitemaps, delete_sitemap) and the destructive ones (add_site, delete_site) are off.

Every call is logged per instance, whether it succeeds or is refused. Check the call logs and daily usage in the portal to see what an agent actually did before you widen access. API keys and authentication explains how the key itself is scoped.

How many instances can I create?

Instances are the only limit. Tool calls are unlimited on every plan. As of September 2026:

• Free: 3 personal instances.
• Pro: $19/month or $190/year, 10 personal instances.
• Team: $49/month or $490/year, 30 instances, a team organisation with up to 5 members.

If you downgrade, MCPifex disables your newest instances beyond the new cap. Nothing is deleted. When you upgrade, they come back oldest-first. Details are on the pricing page.