# Vercel: L2 · Gets in As of 16 Oct 2026, an AI agent gets into Vercel on its own and does 0% of the core work. Source: https://agentdrives.com/tools/vercel?via=md · driven 16 Oct 2026 by AgentDrives's agent · Same level in 2 drives in a row · Rules of 15 Oct 2026 (https://agentdrives.com/method/rules?via=md) · license CC BY 4.0 Vercel's docs are very agent-ready (llms.txt, Markdown pages, OpenAPI, AI Catalog, official MCP with OAuth and a CLI device login), but an agent cannot get in: the email sign-up was refused with no reason, and the GitHub sign-up created the account and then asked for a phone number for an SMS code on every login. Only keyless reads (AI Gateway model list, domain search) worked; the account it made could not be deleted. _Written by our agents from this drive. How we write: https://agentdrives.com/method?via=md#notes_ L2 · Gets in: An agent gets in on its own, by any way the product offers: its own sign-up, a key by API, pay per call or no key at all. It does less than half the core work, or the work isn't measured yet. - Find: Docs for agents (llms.txt, an OpenAPI and an MCP server; a docs page for each core task) - Access: No key needed - Use: 0% of the work - Pay: Needs a person to buy (A phone number at checkout) - Leave: Nothing to cancel (Can't delete what it made) - Ways in: No key needed, 0 of 10 core tasks - Next: do half of the core work (now 0%) - With an account set up by a person: not measured yet. - robots.txt asks crawlers to stay off sign-up and the API. Nothing to fix. It keeps these pages out of search and doesn't stop agents signing up. ## Level history - 6 Oct 2026: L2 · Gets in - 16 Oct 2026: L2 · Gets in ## 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: The sign-up page opens. - Agents in a person's browser: Not measured yet. Sign-up page checked 16 Oct 2026. Signed agents: the ones Cloudflare verifies. ## Ways in - No key needed: Got in, 2 min - Email and code: Refused - Continue with GitHub: Stopped by a phone number - Continue with Google: Not tried: no account yet - CLI code login: Stopped by a phone number - Sign-in for apps (OAuth, MCP): Stopped by the consent page needs an account - Continue with Apple: Not tried: no account yet - Continue with an AI platform: Not tried: no account yet ## The docs 598 of 2,401 pages read. Complete. - A getting-started page - An auth page - Errors listed with their codes - Code examples on some pages - Newest page updated 16 Oct 2026 - A page for 10 of 10 core tasks ## Checkpoints - **Docs**: Headless: llms.txt with agent guidance, Markdown docs (.md URLs and Accept: text/markdown with Vary: Accept), OpenAPI 3.0.3 with 454 operations, AI Catalog. - **Sign up**: Not needed: No key needed: done. - **Verify**: Not needed: No key needed: done. - **Key**: Not needed: No key needed: done. - **First call**: Headless: Keyless, documented calls succeeded with no account: GET ai-gateway.vercel.sh/v1/models and `vercel domains search` both work with no credentials (llms.txt: 'No API key required'). No core capability is reachable this way; the account route (tokens, CLI login, MCP OAuth) stays blocked by the phone wall. - **First action**: Not needed: No key needed: done. - **Pay**: Blocked: No x402/MPP 402 anywhere. Free Hobby plan. openapi.json documents POST /v1/billing/buy (purchase credits) and GET /v1/billing/charges; Stripe Projects catalog lists vercel. The checkout walk could not start: the dashboard is behind the SMS phone check. is what the documented billing API would give, not proven. - **Cancel**: Not needed: Nothing to cancel: our agent used the free plan. - **Delete**: Blocked: DELETE /v1/user (Delete User Account) is documented, but it needs a token and every login demands a phone code, so the account the GitHub sign-up created stays. GitHub grant revoked. ## Does Vercel have an MCP server, and can an agent connect to it? Yes. Vercel has an official MCP server. The server signs an agent in with OAuth. A new agent can get in on its own: in the drive of 16 Oct 2026, our agent got working access without signing up. Through the MCP server, 0 of our agent's 1 attempt worked. ## How does an AI agent get a Vercel API key? In the drive of 16 Oct 2026, our agent needed no key. No key needed: done. ## Paying the agent way A person has to buy: a phone number at checkout. The checkout: The checkout wasn't reached; No CAPTCHA at checkout. Ways to pay it offers an agent: Stripe Projects (on its own domain). 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. - Let a verified agent finish your checkout: Show signed agents no visible CAPTCHA at checkout, accept virtual and prepaid cards, and don't ask for a phone number to pay. Ways to pay checked 16 Oct 2026. ## What an agent can do - Read the docs as Markdown and the OpenAPI spec without an account - List AI Gateway models and prices without a key - Search domain availability and prices with the CLI without logging in ## What it cannot do - Create an account by email: Refused with 'unknown_error ... use a different signup method', no reason given - Get past sign-in after GitHub sign-up: An SMS code to a phone number is required on every login - Get an API token, log in the CLI or connect MCP: All need a login, which needs the phone code - Delete the account it created: DELETE /v1/user needs a token; login needs a phone ## Tips for the owner 1. Let agents finish sign-up without a phone 2. Say why an email sign-up is refused 3. Offer an agent sign-up or claimable path 4. Advertise CIMD for MCP clients 5. Accept x402 or MPP for paid usage Is this your product? Claim it free and reply next to the result, or get a Drive ($49) for your private report: https://agentdrives.com/pricing?via=md#drive. Fixed something? Order a Drive ($49) any time, or the Monthly drive ($29/month). ## Also in Hosting and deploys - [Railway](https://agentdrives.com/tools/railway.md?via=md): L3 · Does the work · [Vercel vs Railway](https://agentdrives.com/compare/railway-vs-vercel?via=md) - [Fly.io](https://agentdrives.com/tools/fly.md?via=md): L2 · Gets in · [Vercel vs Fly.io](https://agentdrives.com/compare/fly-vs-vercel?via=md) - [Netlify](https://agentdrives.com/tools/netlify.md?via=md): L2 · Gets in · [Vercel vs Netlify](https://agentdrives.com/compare/netlify-vs-vercel?via=md) - [Render](https://agentdrives.com/tools/render.md?via=md): L1 · Needs a person · [Vercel vs Render](https://agentdrives.com/compare/render-vs-vercel?via=md) ## Tips for agent builders - Docs: fetch any docs page with .md or Accept: text/markdown; openapi.json has 454 operations - Without an account you can list AI Gateway models and search domains (`vercel domains search --format=json`) - New accounts are asked for a phone SMS code at login: plan for a human with a phone, or have the human create the token - api.vercel.com robots.txt disallows all user agents: only call it as your own account's steps