> Allowing an execution environment to also access MCPs, tools, and user data requires careful design to where API keys are stored, and how tools are exposed.
If your tools are calling APIs on-behalf of users, it's better to use OAuth flows to enable users of the app to give explicit consent to the APIs/scopes they want the tools to access. That way, tools use scoped tokens to make calls instead of hard to manage, maintain API keys (or even client credentials).
Agreed, OAuth is certainly preferred for many reasons, but replace "API keys" with "OAuth access tokens" and you have the same fundamental challenge of ensuring an LLM or untrusted code never has access to the user's secrets.
If the apps the AI assistant is trying to connect to support OAuth 2.0, it's easy to setup a social connection (or a custom social connection) with Auth0 (Auth for GenAI). It allows you to connect to hundreds of API services, and configure the granularity of scopes you want to set at a per connection level.
Checkout the step-by-step quickstart [1] if you want to go through calling the Google Calendar API from an AI agent (Vercel AI SDK based in this case). There are also how-tos for other frameworks like LangGraph, GenKit, LlamaIndex, etc. Async authorization is also supported via CIBA (Client-Initiated Backchannel Authentication).
You can also secure remote MCP servers [1] with Auth0.
There are many usability improvements that can be made to this for speed of slide creation.
Feedback
1. For me, it's not a good user experience if I have to click a button on toolbar, that opens a popup, to click through categories, and select a shape. That is too many clicks. Why aren't they just open on the left side or somewhere, especially making it easier to select in widescreens. Keyboard shortcuts fix this, but there's a learning curve.
2. If I have to create 5 different box shapes with different colors, I have to go through that process 5 times. Yes, I can create it once and duplicate it multiple times, but there should be a recently used shapes or something that makes it easier to pick. Google slides has the same issue. Keyboard shortcuts fix this, but there's a learning curve.
3. When creating a shape, I like to drag it vs. click it and have it show up on the canvas. There is no drag option in Pitch.
4. Connecting two shapes using an arrow/line should be possible from the shape on the canvas, and not by creating a new line/arrow and dragging their endpoints to connect the shapes.
Sailing has really helped me get away from it all; 'it' being the stresses of work and life. Besides the allure of open waters and beautiful sceneries, getting out of a marina, unfurling the sails, killing the motor, and then just using the wind and the water to propel a boat towards a destination is one of the most gratifying feelings I've experienced.
And then there's the myriad terminology and theory, with the various points of sails, different types sails, fine-tuning their shapes for optimizing speed, navigation rules, man overboard procedures, various knots, etc. Those, with the occasional spray of salt water, the feel of the rudder, the way the boat reacts to minor adjustments keeps the activity exciting enough to not get boring and monotonous.
DigitalOcean | Product Managers | New York - NY, Cambridge - MA, Palo Alto - CA, Remote - U.S. & Canada
| Full-Time | https://www.digitalocean.com
DigitalOcean is a public cloud service provider and is looking to hire product managers for various product groups - storage, networking, managed Kubernetes, etc.
Contact me directly if you're interested: kchhina( ... a t ..) digitalocean.com
Everyone I know says Via is much better than Pool. I don’t really use either but my wife takes Via to work as it’s only $2.50 more than the Subway and often gets the front seat.
I don’t know if I could though. I have a certain love for getting on the crowded morning subway. It gives you something to legitimately hate anyways.
For me, it's a hopeless endeavor to keep track of stuff I want to read. So, if ever want to read something, I do read it right there, right then, or just hope that I'll remember that I bookmarked it somewhere and will be able to get to it at some point in the future when I have to. Depending on the device/site I am on, I do one of the following, and then end up never really coming back to it.
- bookmark the page
- add to "read later" on Chrome
- add to "reading list" on Safari
- clip to Evernote
- click "favorite" on HN
- (edit) (forgot to add) OneTab Chrome extension to save dozens of open tabs
Yesterday was my last day at work at a Silicon Valley tech giant. The 680-Mission-880-237 commute is no more. Instead, a startup in Manhattan, a subway ride away from a tiny apartment. New city, new challenges. We’ll see how much I don’t, or do miss the Bay Area. Hasta luego as well.
