---
title: Overview
description: Open-source control plane for your AI agents
icon: Info
---

import Callout from "../../../../components/ui/Callout.astro";

![deco](https://assets.decocache.com/mcp/9a3facd8-1199-4635-becc-bdc3f5ee7ab1/deco-banner-capy.png)

## The control plane for your AI agents

deco Studio is the open-source control plane for your AI agents — **one MCP endpoint for all your agents, tools, and models**. Build and hire agents, connect them to your tools, run them on schedules or events, and **track every token and dollar in real time**. Use the cloud or self-host on your own infrastructure — built on the [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io).

### Agents

An agent is an AI configured for one specific job: a focused set of tools, clear instructions, and its own thread history. Agents are the working surface of Studio — you spend most of your time inside one. Each agent is also its own MCP endpoint, so external clients like Cursor and Claude Desktop can use it directly.

### Connections

Plug in any tool or service — GitHub, Slack, databases, your own API, anything MCP-compatible. Set up credentials once at the org level, then attach the tools you want to each agent. Credentials never leave Studio.

### Automations

Run an agent unattended on a schedule or in response to an event. Attached to a specific agent, so the scope of what the run can do is whatever you've configured for that agent.

### Observability

**Know what every agent costs.** Every tool call your agents make is logged automatically — who called it, when, what came back, how long it took, and what it cost. Track token spend across providers, latency, and error rates in one place to debug, audit, and watch performance.

### Extensibility

Studio is open at every layer:

- **MCP apps** — bundle tools with React views in a single package, and Studio will render those views directly inside the agent. Start from the [template repo](https://github.com/decocms/mcp-app).
- **Sandboxes** — back an agent with a GitHub repository and Studio runs it as an isolated dev environment scoped to that agent (typically the agent's own MCP server).
- **Git-native** — code-backed agents live in a real repo with branches and PRs, surfaced in the agent's **Review changes** tab. Your version control stays your source of truth.
- **MCP everywhere** — every agent is exposed as its own MCP endpoint, callable from Cursor, Claude Desktop, your own code, or another agent.

### Digital Experience: packaged agents on top of Studio

For teams managing storefronts and content-heavy digital experiences, deco ships a **Digital Experience suite** built on top of Studio — the flagship is the **[Agentic CMS](./agentic-cms)**, the evolution of [deco.cx](https://docs.deco.cx). See [Digital Experience](./digital-experience) for the full picture.

---

## Three ways to work

Studio meets you at your level. The same product supports three kinds of work, and you move between them freely:

- **Chat — for everyone.** Just talk to [Decopilot](./decopilot/overview), the built-in pilot on your home screen. Ask for what you want and it gets it done — answering questions, running your tools, and even creating agents, automations, and connections _for_ you. A brand-new, non-technical user can be productive on day one without configuring anything.
- **Configure — for power users.** When you want repeatable systems, set them up by hand: design focused [agents](./agents), curate their [tools](./connections), schedule [automations](./automations), and manage roles and access. You're building the machine the whole team relies on.
- **Build — for developers.** Go deeper with code. Back an agent with a [sandbox](./agents#where-an-agent-runs) and a Git repo, run it locally with your own harness, and extend Studio itself by shipping [MCP apps](./agents) — tools bundled with their own React UI. Your repo stays the source of truth.

Most teams use all three at once: the pilot for quick work, hand-built systems for the routine, and code for anything custom.

---

### What you can do with Studio

| | |
|---|---|
| **Build & hire agents** | Compose focused AI workers from your tools and instructions — or hire ready-made ones from the [Store](./store) |
| **Connect tools** | Add GitHub, Slack, databases, or any MCP server with one-click OAuth — credentials stay secure |
| **Run hands-free** | Trigger agents on schedules or events with automations |
| **See everything** | Logs, costs, and traces for every agent action, in one dashboard |
| **Extend with code** | Ship MCP apps (tools + UI) and back agents with Git repos in their own sandboxes |
| **Control access** | Manage who can use which tools with team roles and permissions |
| **Run on your terms** | Self-host on your own infrastructure or use our cloud |

### Deployment options

| | |
|---|---|
| **Cloud** | [studio.decocms.com](https://studio.decocms.com) — manage everything from your browser |
| **Desktop** | `brew install --cask deco-studio` — run agents on your machine with your Claude Code or Codex subscription |
| **Team** | Shared connections, roles, and cost tracking across your organization |
| **Self-hosted** | Deploy to your own infrastructure with Docker or Kubernetes |

---

## Get started

**[Quickstart](./quickstart)** — Get running in 5 minutes

**[Key concepts](./concepts)** — Anatomy of the Studio UI, plus how the pieces fit together

**[Self-hosting](./self-hosting/quickstart)** — Docker Compose or Kubernetes

## Links

- **Website**: [decocms.com](https://www.decocms.com/)
- **Studio**: [studio.decocms.com](https://studio.decocms.com)
- **GitHub**: [github.com/decocms/studio](https://github.com/decocms/studio)
- **Discord**: [decocms.com/discord](https://decocms.com/discord)

<Callout type="info">
  Looking for docs on **deco.chat** (our legacy admin platform)? Select **deco.chat - legacy admin** from the version dropdown in the sidebar.
</Callout>
