Connect AI tools to Tidyflow with MCP

Tidyflow exposes a Model Context Protocol (MCP) endpoint. Any MCP-compatible tool can connect to your live workspace and work with your data. That includes ChatGPT, coding agents like Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor, plus other clients that support remote MCP servers.

Connections act with your own account’s permissions: a connected tool can only see and do what you can.

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Before you start

• Workspace AI must be enabled. An owner or admin accepts the AI terms of use once for the workspace.
• You must give your personal consent. Each user opts in for their own data, and connected tools stop working without it.
• You need an MCP-compatible tool that supports remote (streamable HTTP) MCP servers with OAuth.

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Step 1: Enable AI in Tidyflow

1. Go to Settings → Artificial intelligence.
2. If you’re an owner or admin and AI is not enabled yet, tick I have read and accept the AI terms of use, choose the delegated client access, and click Enable AI. This also records your personal consent.
3. If AI is already enabled for the workspace, go to Personal consent and click Grant consent.

See Turn on AI for your firm for the full enablement steps.

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Step 2: Copy your MCP URL

1. Still in Settings → Artificial intelligence, go to Connections.
2. Next to MCP URL, click Copy URL.

The URL looks like https://app.tidyflow.com/mcp.

If you don’t see the MCP URL

The Connections section shows the MCP URL only once AI is enabled for the workspace. Until then, the MCP access row explains why:

• “Enable workspace AI above first” means you are an owner or admin and the workspace AI terms have not been accepted. Enable AI on the same page.
• “Ask an owner or admin to enable AI for your workspace” means your firm hasn’t accepted the AI terms of use yet. An owner or admin accepts them on the same page.
• “Not available for this workspace” means MCP access is turned off for your workspace. Contact Tidyflow support if you see this.

The URL can show before you have given your personal consent, but a tool cannot connect until you do. Grant it under Personal consent at the top of the page.

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Step 3: Add the endpoint to your AI tool

Add the MCP URL to your tool as a remote (streamable HTTP) MCP server. The exact steps vary by tool, so check its MCP documentation.

ChatGPT

Add Tidyflow as a custom MCP server in ChatGPT on the web:

1. Go to ChatGPT Plugins.
2. Select the plus button, then Add custom MCP server.
3. Enter a name, such as Tidyflow, and paste your MCP URL as the Server URL.
4. Choose OAuth for authentication.
5. Review OpenAI’s risk warning, select I understand and want to continue, then select Create as a plugin.
6. Install the plugin. To use it in a conversation, type @ in the prompt box and select it.

Whether you can add a custom MCP server depends on your ChatGPT plan and workspace settings, and an admin may need to allow it. OpenAI can change these steps, so see OpenAI’s custom MCP server guide if yours look different.

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http tidyflow https://app.tidyflow.com/mcp

Codex

Add the server to ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.tidyflow]
url = "https://app.tidyflow.com/mcp"

Then sign in to authorize it:

codex mcp login tidyflow

Cursor and other tools

Add a new remote (streamable HTTP) MCP server and paste the same URL. No API key or manual token is needed; you authorize in the next step.

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Step 4: Authorize the connection

The first time your tool connects, for example when you add it in ChatGPT, run codex mcp login, or first use the server in Claude Code, it opens your browser to sign in to Tidyflow and approve access. Once you approve, the tool is connected and works with your live workspace.

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What connected tools can do

A tool connected over MCP can do the following, as long as your own role and permissions allow it:

• Clients: look up clients and contacts, read client briefs, notes and activity, add clients and notes, import a client list from a spreadsheet, and manage client groups
• Jobs: look up, create, update, merge and delete Jobs, update many Jobs in one instruction, import past Jobs from a spreadsheet, and manage subtasks, comments and tags
• Job templates: create and update templates, then deploy one to a client, a client group or every client
• Client requests: draft a request, add items and choose its recipients
• Proposals: look up proposals, preview totals, and create or update drafts
• Billing: look up invoices, payments and recurring invoices, draft invoices from unbilled time, update or discard those drafts, and record a payment received outside Stripe
• Time and reports: log, correct and delete time, see running timers, and read aged receivables, capacity and realization reports
• Files: find files, read their contents and get download links
• Inbox: read threads in the inboxes you can access, assign, close or snooze them, and create or update email drafts
• Signatures: prepare a signature request from a template for a person to review and send

For ideas, see What you can ask Tidyflow Agent. Most of its examples also work through a connected tool. Routines, @mentions, delegated work and sending client requests are only available with Tidyflow Agent.

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What connected tools can’t send to clients

Tools connected over MCP can’t send email, proposals, invoices, client requests or signature requests. These stay as drafts until a person sends them from Tidyflow, and recording a payment never charges anyone.

Settings already in your workspace still run. For example, if a Job template’s client request is set to auto-send, a Job deployed from that template sends the request on its schedule, so check your templates before deploying them with a connected tool.

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Changes from connected tools apply straight away

A connected tool works on your live workspace, so its changes take effect immediately, including deleted Jobs and bulk updates. Tidyflow Agent’s confirmation cards don’t appear for connected tools.

Your AI tool may ask you to approve actions itself. ChatGPT asks you to confirm write actions by default, and you can choose to remember that choice for a conversation. Check what your tool is about to do before you approve it.

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How client data is handled with connected tools

Whatever a connected tool reads, including file and email text, goes directly to that tool’s provider. Tidyflow doesn’t replace sensitive details with placeholders for connected tools, as it does for its built-in AI features.

From there, the data is covered by your agreement and settings with that provider, such as your OpenAI account’s data settings for ChatGPT. Check those before using a connected tool with client documents.

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Manage or disconnect a tool

1. Go to Settings → Artificial intelligence.
2. Under Connections, each connected tool is listed with when it was last used and when it connected.
3. Click Revoke next to a tool to disconnect it.

To disconnect every tool for your user at once, click Revoke consent under Personal consent at the top of the same page.