Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: What is the Clipboard to Supabase MCP Helper? A: It’s a local agent that automatically uploads images copied to your clipboard to Supabase Storage and replaces the clipboard content with the public URL of the uploaded image.

Q: What are the prerequisites for using the helper? A: You need Node.js 18+, a Supabase account with Storage enabled, and platform-specific dependencies like pngpaste on macOS.

Q: How do I install the helper? A: Clone the repository, install dependencies using npm install, configure your Supabase credentials in a .env file, build the project with npm run build, and install it as a system service using the appropriate command for your OS.

Q: Does it work on all operating systems? A: Yes, it supports macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Q: What is MCP and how does the helper use it? A: MCP stands for Model Context Protocol. The helper exposes its functionality as an MCP endpoint, allowing AI Agents to seamlessly interact with the clipboard and upload images for processing.

Q: How does the helper detect new images? A: It polls the clipboard every 300ms and computes a SHA-1 hash of the image data. Only new or changed images are processed based on hash comparison.

Q: Can I configure the helper to run automatically at system startup? A: Yes, you can configure it to run at startup using platform-specific methods.

Q: How often does the helper clean up old files? A: It periodically removes images older than the configured retention period (default: 30 days).

Q: Can I change the port used for HTTP mode? A: Yes, you can configure the port by setting the MCP_PORT environment variable.

Q: What kind of security considerations should I keep in mind? A: Ensure your Supabase service role key is kept secure, and restrict access to the MCP endpoint if necessary.