Give Claude Code a Form Backend via MCP (2026 Walkthrough)

Why give Claude Code a real form backend

Claude Code is a terminal-native agent: it reads and writes your codebase directly. Tell it to "add a contact form" and it can scaffold the UI, an API route, an email integration, and spam handling. That's impressive — and it's also a backend you now have to run, secure, and maintain for what is usually just "email me the submission."

The splitforms MCP server gives Claude Code a better option: use splitforms as the backend. Through the Model Context Protocol, the agent calls typed tools to create a form on your account, retrieve your public access key, and generate front-end code that points at the real endpoint. The result is a working, hosted backend — email delivery, a dashboard, spam filtering, webhooks — with no server files added to your repo.

Because the agent works with live account context instead of guessing, the wiring is correct the first time: real form IDs, the actual access key, confirmable submissions. And the same connection lets Claude Code read submissions later to debug a production form without leaving the terminal.

Step 1: Connect the splitforms MCP server

Get your MCP token from the MCP settings in your dashboard (sk_mcp_... — a secret, distinct from your public access key). The quickest setup is the installer:

npx @splitforms/mcp install --token sk_mcp_xxxxxxxxxxxx

Or add it to Claude Code's MCP configuration manually:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "splitforms": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@splitforms/mcp"],
      "env": { "SPLITFORMS_TOKEN": "sk_mcp_xxxxxxxxxxxx" }
    }
  }
}

Reload Claude Code. It now has seven splitforms tools available — list_forms, get_form, create_form, list_submissions, get_submission, generate_form_html, and get_access_key — all on the free tier. Keep SPLITFORMS_TOKEN in the MCP config only; never commit it.

Step 2: Ask Claude Code to build and wire the form

Describe the form in plain language. Claude Code uses the tools instead of writing a backend:

Using the splitforms MCP server, create a form called "Contact"
with fields name, email, and message. Get the account access key,
then add a styled contact form to app/contact/page.tsx whose submit
handler POSTs the form data plus access_key to
https://splitforms.com/api/submit. Add a hidden honeypot field and
a thank-you state.

Claude Code calls create_form to provision the form, get_access_key for your public key, and writes the component into your project wired to the real endpoint. No route.ts, no email SDK, no SMTP — splitforms receives, stores, emails, and filters spam.

To verify later: "list the last 10 submissions for the Contact form" → the agent calls list_submissions and prints them, so you can confirm a live form is healthy from the terminal.

Step 3: Understand the two credentials

This is the one thing to get right. There are two separate credentials and they live in two separate places:

• MCP token (sk_mcp_...) — a secret. Authorizes Claude Code to act on your account. Lives only in the MCP config's env block. Never in your repo or client code.
• Access key (sf_live_...) — public. Authenticates the shipped form's POST request. Lives in the form's client-side code. Safe to view-source.

The generated handler uses only the public key:

const ACCESS_KEY = "sf_live_..."; // public, from get_access_key

async function onSubmit(e) {
  e.preventDefault();
  const data = new FormData(e.currentTarget);
  data.append("access_key", ACCESS_KEY);
  const res = await fetch("https://splitforms.com/api/submit", {
    method: "POST",
    body: data,
  });
  // handle success / error
}

Step 4: Test and ship

Submit a test entry and confirm it lands in your dashboard and inbox in ~5 seconds — or ask Claude Code to list recent submissions. Add your production domain to Allowed Domains before launch. Troubleshooting: contact form not working.

What to do next

• Same flow in Cursor: add a form backend in Cursor with MCP
• Prompt-only AI builders: Lovable · v0 · Bolt.new
• Tool reference and prompts: splitforms MCP
• Ready to start: get a free access key

FAQ