The MCP server talks to the same Zinc API v2 documented here, so orders placed through it are ordinary Zinc orders — visible in the dashboard, on
GET /orders, and over webhooks.Tools
Spending money always takes two steps
The assistant can only ever perform the first step of anything that moves money.prepare-order and prepare-topup draw a card; place-order and add-funds require a confirmation token that the MCP runtime hands to the card and withholds from the model. Only a human clicking the button inside that card can produce it.
This is what makes the confirmation card real rather than decorative. Without it, a model could call the spending tool on its own — and a prompt injection hidden in any web page it happened to read could become a purchase.
Each confirmation is bound to the exact order and account it was issued for, expires after 10 minutes, and carries an idempotency key. Clicking twice, reloading the card, or a client retrying a request that already succeeded cannot produce a second order or a second charge.
What search costs
search-products is the one tool whose use is billed: Zinc meters cross-retailer search against your wallet at the standard data-call fee of $0.01 per search. Two consequences:
- It is deliberately not marked read-only, so clients that auto-run safe tools will still ask you first.
- If your balance can’t cover a search, the tool says so and offers a top-up instead of retrying — a retry loop on a metered endpoint bills every attempt.
list-orders, get-order, get-order-tracking, get-wallet-balance) are free.
MCP server or Agent Skill?
Both let an agent shop through Zinc. They suit different setups:
If you’re in a chat client and have a Zinc account, start with the MCP server. If you want an agent to buy with no Zinc account at all, use the skill on MPP.
Prerequisites
- A Zinc account (sign up at app.zinc.com) with funds in your wallet.
- An MCP client that supports remote servers with OAuth — Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code, and others.
Next steps
Connect a client
Add the server in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or VS Code.
Usage guide
Search, order, track, and top up through conversation.

