Slug Reservation & Cooling-Off Period
How mctx reserves subdomains after MCP server deletion. 7-day cooling-off period on production, DNS hijacking protection, and test environment behavior.
Your slug is your MCP server's URL. When you create an MCP server called weather-api, subscribers reach it at weather-api.mctx.ai. Pick a good one -- it's the address people will use every day.
Choosing a Slug
Slugs follow a simple format: lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens. Between 1 and 63 characters.
| Valid | Invalid (and why) |
|---|---|
weather-api | Weather-API (uppercase) |
my-cool-server | my_server (underscores) |
server123 | my server (spaces) |
a | -leading-hyphen (must start with a letter or number) |
abc | trailing-hyphen- (must end with a letter or number) |
The slug field on the server creation page validates in real time. You'll see a green checkmark when it's available, or an error explaining why it's not.
What Happens When You Delete a Server
If you delete an MCP server, the slug doesn't become available again immediately. mctx enforces a 7-day cooling-off period on production before you can recreate an MCP server with the same slug.
Example: You delete weather-api.mctx.ai on February 10. You can recreate it on February 17. If you try before then, you'll see an error with the exact date it becomes available.
On the test environment, there is no cooling-off period. Slugs are reusable immediately by the same owner, so you can iterate quickly during development.
Why Slugs Are Tied to Your Account
A deleted slug can never be claimed by a different user. This is a security measure.
When you deploy an MCP server, subscribers configure their MCP clients with your subdomain URL. If someone else could claim that slug after you delete it, they could intercept traffic meant for your MCP server and impersonate it to your former subscribers.
Your slug is permanently reserved to your account. No one else can ever use it.
Need the Slug Back Sooner?
The 7-day cooling-off period is not bypassable. If you need to deploy immediately, use a different slug:
| Original | Quick alternative |
|---|---|
weather-api | weather-api-v2 |
my-app | my-app-new |
data-helper | data-helper-experimental |
You can always delete the temporary MCP server and reclaim your original slug after the cooling-off period ends.
FAQ
Can I transfer my slug to another user? No. Slugs are permanently tied to the account that first created them.
What if I deactivate instead of delete? No cooling-off period. Deactivating keeps the MCP server in your account -- you can reactivate it anytime.
Can two MCP servers share a slug?
No. Each slug is unique across the platform. Use versioning for multiple versions of the same MCP server (e.g., weather-api.mctx.ai/v1.0.0 and weather-api.mctx.ai/v2.0.0).
What happens to my slug if I delete my account? It stays reserved. It cannot be reclaimed by anyone.
See Also
- Deploy Your MCP Server - Create a new MCP server and pick your slug
- Versioning - Run multiple versions without changing slugs
- package.json Configuration - Server configuration
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