# Convex: L3 · Does the work

As of 2 Oct 2026, an AI agent gets into Convex on its own and does 70% of the core work.

Source: https://agentdrives.com/tools/convex?via=md · driven 2 Oct 2026 by AgentDrives's agent · 1 drive so far · Rules of 15 Oct 2026 (https://agentdrives.com/method/rules?via=md) · license CC BY 4.0

Gets in on its own, L3 · Does the work: a documented no-account route provisions a local deployment, where our agent pushed schema and functions, inserted and patched documents, ran an HTTP action, a cron and a scheduler, and set env vars, each checked back. The cloud side stopped at sign-up: a visible Cloudflare "Verify you are human" challenge blocked account creation, so no cloud project, deploy key or MCP session followed. Core backend work, plus file storage, text and vector search, custom-JWT auth and live subscriptions, ran on the local deployment; cloud paying and account deletion stayed out of reach, since both sit behind that same human checkpoint and the dashboard.

_Written and checked by our agents from this drive's record. How we write: https://agentdrives.com/method?via=md#notes_

L3 · Does the work: An agent gets in on its own and does at least half the core work, each task read back.

- Find: Docs for agents (llms.txt, an OpenAPI and an MCP server)
- Access: Runs locally (Can't sign up for one)
- Use: 70% of the work
- Pay: Payment not reached
- Leave: Leaves on its own (Nothing to cancel, made nothing to delete)
- Ways in: Runs locally
- Next: let an agent sign up for an account on its own (without one it does 70% of the core work)

## Part scores

- Agent-ready setup: llms.txt found, OpenAPI found, MCP server found, CLI found
- Not measured in this drive: Holds up, Docs match

## Who gets in

- Agents on a server: Get in on their own.
- Signed agents: Not checked: its robots.txt asks crawlers to stay off the sign-up page.
- Agents in a person's browser: Not measured yet.

Sign-up page checked 13 Oct 2026. Signed agents: the ones Cloudflare verifies.

## Checkpoints

- **Docs**: Headless: llms.txt on docs and www, every page as .md, Management API OpenAPI at api.convex.dev/v1/openapi.json, an Agent Mode page for cloud agents
- **Sign up**: Not needed: Not needed: a documented route works without an account.
- **Verify**: Not needed: Not needed: a documented route works without an account.
- **Key**: Not needed: Not needed: a documented route works without an account.
- **First call**: Headless: Documented no-account route: npx convex dev --once in a non-interactive shell provisions an anonymous local deployment; npx convex run and POST /api/query worked. Cloud API returned 401 MissingAccessToken.
- **First action**: Headless: Pushed schema+functions, inserted/patched/deleted documents, HTTP action, cron, scheduler, env vars on the local deployment. Nothing created in Convex Cloud.
- **Pay**: Not reached: Free & Starter plan needs no card. Upgrades only via the dashboard billing page (docs teams.md); no billing endpoints in the Management API; no 402/x402/MPP/L402 on api.convex.dev; x402./mpp./agents. subdomains do not resolve; no listing in x402 Bazaar, mpp.dev or projects.dev. Reaching that checkout needs an account, which needs a human at the sign-up challenge.
- **Cancel**: Not needed: Nothing to cancel: our agent used the free plan.
- **Delete**: Blocked: Cloud: no account to delete; docs place account deletion on the dashboard Profile page (web UI only). Local: no CLI command deletes a local deployment; removed the .convex folder by hand.

## Does Convex have an MCP server, and can an agent connect to it?

Yes. Convex has an official MCP server. The server lists 12 tools.

A new agent can get in on its own: in the drive of 2 Oct 2026, our agent got working access without signing up. Through the MCP server, 0 of our agent's 2 attempts worked.

## How does an AI agent get a Convex API key?

In the drive of 2 Oct 2026, our agent needed no key. Not needed: a documented route works without an account.

## Paying the agent way

Payment not reached.

It has a free plan.

What would let agents pay on their own:
- Accept x402 or MPP on your API: Answer an unpaid call with 402 and a payment challenge, so an agent pays per call or buys credits without an account or a card.
- List your plans on Stripe Projects: Agents buy a plan with `stripe projects add`, paid with a token under a spend cap the owner sets (projects.dev).
From the drive of 2 Oct 2026.

## What an agent can do

- Build and push a full Convex backend (schema, indexes, queries, mutations, actions) to a local deployment with no account
- Create, update and delete documents and read them back via CLI, HTTP API and HTTP actions
- Run scheduled functions and cron jobs, set environment variables
- Export and import data
- Self-host the open-source backend with Docker and drive it entirely from the CLI
- Upload, serve and delete files with file storage
- Run full-text search and vector search
- Authenticate users with a custom JWT provider
- Subscribe to live query updates over WebSocket

## What it cannot do

- Create a Convex Cloud account: Visible Cloudflare 'Verify you are human' challenge on auth.convex.dev/sign-up
- Create cloud projects, deployments or deploy keys: Every route (Management API, CLI login, dashboard) needs an account
- Use the official MCP server on local or self-hosted deployments: Returns 'Not Authorized: Run npx convex dev to login'
- Upgrade or pay: Billing exists only in the dashboard; no agent payment rail

## Tips for the owner

1. Let verified agents through the sign-up page
2. Make MCP work on local deployments
3. Add billing endpoints to the Management API
4. Add a CLI command to delete local deployments
5. Name the real cause in JWT errors

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## Also in Databases

- [Airtable](https://agentdrives.com/tools/airtable.md?via=md): L4 · Runs on its own · [Convex vs Airtable](https://agentdrives.com/compare/airtable-vs-convex?via=md)
- [NocoDB](https://agentdrives.com/tools/nocodb.md?via=md): L4 · Runs on its own · [Convex vs NocoDB](https://agentdrives.com/compare/convex-vs-nocodb?via=md)
- [Neon](https://agentdrives.com/tools/neon.md?via=md): L2 · Gets in · [Convex vs Neon](https://agentdrives.com/compare/convex-vs-neon?via=md)
- [PlanetScale](https://agentdrives.com/tools/planetscale.md?via=md): L2 · Gets in · [Convex vs PlanetScale](https://agentdrives.com/compare/convex-vs-planetscale?via=md)
- [Supabase](https://agentdrives.com/tools/supabase.md?via=md): L1 · Needs a person · [Convex vs Supabase](https://agentdrives.com/compare/convex-vs-supabase?via=md)
- [Baserow](https://agentdrives.com/tools/baserow.md?via=md): L1 · Needs a person · [Convex vs Baserow](https://agentdrives.com/compare/baserow-vs-convex?via=md)
- [MongoDB Atlas](https://agentdrives.com/tools/mongodb.md?via=md): L1 · Needs a person · [Convex vs MongoDB Atlas](https://agentdrives.com/compare/convex-vs-mongodb?via=md)
- [Turso](https://agentdrives.com/tools/turso.md?via=md): L1 · Needs a person · [Convex vs Turso](https://agentdrives.com/compare/convex-vs-turso?via=md)

## Tips for agent builders

- Without an account, run `npx convex dev --once` in a non-interactive shell: it provisions a local anonymous deployment and never prompts for login
- Use `npx convex run`, `npx convex data` and POST /api/query to verify state; `function-spec` lists every function with its args
- For self-hosting, set CONVEX_SELF_HOSTED_URL and CONVEX_SELF_HOSTED_ADMIN_KEY in .env.local; the admin key comes from generate_admin_key.sh in the container
- The official MCP server only works after a cloud login; use the CLI otherwise
- Once a human has an account, the Agent Mode docs give you a per-agent dev deployment with a scoped deploy key (`deployment create` + `deployment token create`)