Bland plugin

The Bland plugin is the recommended way to connect a coding agent to Bland. It layers a full agent-engineering workflow on top of the Bland MCP server: skills for every part of the platform, /bland:* slash commands for a file-based pathway workspace, and Norm, the agent builder with a self-driving convergence loop. One plugin, three layers:

The hosted MCP server at api.bland.ai/v1/mcp does the work: reads and writes against your account, the pathway compiler, call logs, analytics, and docs search.
Skills teach the agent how to use it well. They load on demand when the conversation matches: pathways, analytics, evals, call review, tools, personas, knowledge bases, automations, triage, debugging, the raw API, and setup.
Norm and the /bland:* commands turn a pathway into local files you edit like code, validate against the real compiler, simulate, and commit.

Using VS Code, Windsurf, Gemini CLI, or a client the plugin does not support? Connect the server directly from the MCP clients page.

Prerequisites

A Bland API key from app.bland.ai/settings/api-keys. Never paste it into the chat; each host stores it for you as described below.
Node.js 18 or newer for the workspace commands and hooks. Claude Code ships with it.

Install

Claude Code
Claude Desktop
Cursor
Codex

Inside a Claude Code session:

/plugin marketplace add CINTELLILABS/bland-plugins
/plugin install bland@bland

The install prompts for your API key and stores it in your OS keychain. Scripted installs pass it on the command line so it never enters the model context:

claude plugin marketplace add CINTELLILABS/bland-plugins
claude plugin install bland@bland --config bland_api_key=YOUR_KEY

Restart the session, then verify:

/bland:status --check

Install as for Claude Code. The Desktop plugin browser does not prompt for the key, so enter it in a session:

/plugin configure bland@bland

Restart the app afterwards so the MCP connection picks it up.

Install from the Cursor marketplace, or add CINTELLILABS/bland-plugins as a plugin. Open Plugins → Configure and set BLAND_API_KEY. Reload the window; the bland MCP server shows as connected in the MCP status panel.

codex plugin marketplace add CINTELLILABS/bland-plugins

Install it from /plugins, then set BLAND_API_KEY in the environment that launches Codex. Enter it in your own terminal without echoing it or leaving it in shell history:

printf 'Bland API key: '
read -rs BLAND_API_KEY
printf '\n'
export BLAND_API_KEY
codex

Codex reads the key from that environment only. For Codex Desktop, the key must be in the app’s environment when it starts.

Never paste your API key into the chat. The install prompt, the --config flag, and the host’s plugin settings keep it out of the model context. To set, fix, or rotate the key on Claude Code, run /plugin configure bland@bland.

Upgrading from the Norm plugin

Version 2.0 renamed the plugin from norm to bland. Run /plugin uninstall norm@bland, then /plugin install bland@bland and enter your key when prompted. The new plugin does not migrate the old credentials, so the key must be configured once. Commands moved from /norm:* to /bland:*, and the domain commands (tools, analytics, evals, review, and the rest) became skills that load on demand: just ask.

The flow, start to production

Build it. /bland:norm build me a booking flow that collects name, callback number, and a time, then confirms it back. Norm designs the pathway, validates it with the real compiler, and saves it.
Give it tools. Ask for a tool that checks availability in your booking API. The tools skill builds it, test-runs it against the real endpoint, and attaches it to the node that needs it.
Prove it works. /bland:loop <pathway_id> --goal 'caller books an appointment and gets it confirmed back'. Norm simulates the customer, grades every outcome with evidence, fixes what fails, and repeats until the call passes.
Define what to measure. Ask for an outcome schema: booked yes/no, appointment time, reason if not booked. Verified on real calls before you trust it.
Score every call. Ask for a scorecard for this pathway. Every production call auto-scores after it ends.
Watch it. Ask for an ops dashboard. A live board in the Bland UI: volume, completion, outcomes, score trends.
Iterate from reality. Ask which calls are behind a strange number, review the call to find the exact turn it broke, then /bland:loop <pathway_id> --from-call <call_id> to fix the flow against that real call.

Edit an existing pathway

Norm turns a pathway into local files you can read and edit: prompts as Markdown, configuration as YAML.

/bland:clone                  # list pathways and pick one
/bland:clone <pathway_id>     # pull it into a local workspace
# edit the pathway/ files, or tell Norm what to change
/bland:validate               # offline structural pre-check
/bland:test                   # simulated conversation, no real dial
/bland:commit                 # save as a new version on the server

Committing saves a new working version. Production is unchanged until you publish. Ask Norm to publish when you want the new version on live traffic.

Command reference

Command	What it does
`/bland:norm <request>`	Build, edit, test, and publish agents end to end. The main entry point.
`/bland:loop <pathway_id> --goal '…'`	Convergence loop: simulate, grade outcomes, fix, and repeat until the goal passes. Also `--from-call <id>` or `--transcript <file>`.
`/bland:clone [pathway_id \| new <name>]`	List pathways, pull one into a local file workspace, or scaffold a new one.
`/bland:validate`	Offline structural pre-check of the workspace.
`/bland:test [node]`	Simulated conversation against the pathway, or a focused check of one node.
`/bland:commit`	Rebuild the graph from files, run the server compiler, save a working version, optionally publish.
`/bland:status [--server \| --check]`	Workspace state and drift from the server, or a full environment self-test.

Skills

Skills load automatically when the conversation matches their description, on every host that reads SKILL.md.

Skill	Use when
setup	Connecting the plugin, adding or rotating a key, pointing at a dev server, fixing auth errors.
pathways	Authoring a pathway as local files: nodes, edges, conditions, global prompt, structured YAML.
analytics	Call metrics, trends, citation schemas, structured extraction, dashboards.
evals	LLM judges, rubric calibration, scorecards, automatic scoring of production calls.
call-review	Reconstruct what happened on a real call and tie the failure to a node, edge, variable, or tool.
debug	Systematic root-cause for anything misbehaving: reproduce, isolate, fix, verify.
tools	Custom REST and code tools, secrets by reference, test-run before attaching.
persona	Voices, call configuration, knowledge and tool attachments, draft to production.
knowledge	Knowledge bases the agent retrieves from and cites mid-call.
automations	Event-driven triggers and pipelines that place calls or send messages.
triage	File and track issues found in agents, with evidence attached.
api	Any Bland REST endpoint, docs-first, when nothing else covers it.

Safety

Reads are free. Anything that mutates state, costs money, or dials a phone asks for confirmation first.
Norm never invents numbers or verdicts. Every claim is backed by a query, a read-back, or a transcript quote.
Your API key stays in the host’s configuration and flows only to the MCP connection.

Advanced: the setup skill explains how to point the plugin at a non-production API URL, for example a staging server. The MCP transport requires https, so expose local servers through a tunnel.

Bland MCP Server

The hosted MCP endpoint behind the plugin.

Tool reference

Every tool the server exposes.

Norm

The in-app version of Norm in the Bland dashboard.

Conversational Pathways

The flow graph Norm builds and edits.

Docs for agents: llms.txt

Welcome

Getting Started

Core Bland Features

AI Agents & MCP

Basic Tutorials

Advanced Features

Platform Information

SDKs & Tools

Bland Enterprise

Bland plugin

Prerequisites

Install

Upgrading from the Norm plugin

The flow, start to production

Edit an existing pathway

Command reference

Skills

Safety

Bland MCP Server

Tool reference

Norm

Conversational Pathways

​Prerequisites

​Install

​Upgrading from the Norm plugin

​The flow, start to production

​Edit an existing pathway

​Command reference

​Skills

​Safety

​Related

Bland MCP Server

Tool reference

Norm

Conversational Pathways

Prerequisites

Install

Upgrading from the Norm plugin

The flow, start to production

Edit an existing pathway

Command reference

Skills

Safety

Related