Overview
The Assignar MCP (Model Context Protocol) server lets Claude connect directly to your own Assignar data, so you can ask questions and build outputs using plain-language prompts instead of running reports.
Once connected, you can ask things like:
- "How many hours did John Doe work last week?"
- "Show me this week's allocations."
- "Create a PDF of all the site diaries for Client X last week."
- "What's the status of order 10482?"
Read-only. The MCP server can fetch data from Assignar but cannot write back to it. Nothing you ask Claude to do can change or delete your Assignar records.
What data is available. The MCP server exposes the same data as the Assignar Public API. See the Assignar API documentation for the full list of available resources.
Before you start
You need API access enabled on your Assignar account. To check, go to Settings → API Access in the left-hand navigation. If you don't see API Access, contact your Customer Success Manager — it's an add-on feature they can enable for you.
This guide covers Claude Desktop on Mac and Windows. The connection runs through a small bridge on your own computer, so it won't work in Claude on the web or on the Claude mobile apps.
Setup
Step 1: Get your Assignar API credentials
In Assignar, go to Settings → API Access and copy your Client ID and Client Secret. Keep this page open, or paste both values somewhere handy — you'll need them in Step 4.
Keep your Client Secret private. It grants access to your Assignar data. Don't share it, post it in a ticket, or include it in a screenshot.
Step 2: Install Node.js
The connector runs on your own computer and needs Node.js version 20 or newer.
Mac: Go to nodejs.org, download the macOS installer marked LTS, open the .pkg file and click through with the default options.
Windows: Go to nodejs.org, download the Windows LTS .msi installer, open it and click through with the default options.
To confirm it worked, open a terminal:
- Mac: press Cmd + Space, type Terminal, press Enter
- Windows: press the Windows key, type PowerShell, press Enter
Type node --version and press Enter. You should see v20.x or higher.
Step 3: Open your Claude Desktop config file
In Claude Desktop, go to Settings → Developer → Edit Config.
This opens the folder containing the file, not the file itself. From that folder, open claude_desktop_config.json in a plain text editor — right-click the file, choose Open With, then TextEdit (Mac) or Notepad (Windows).
Step 4: Add the Assignar connection
If the file is empty, or contains only {}:
Replace the entire contents with the following.
{
"mcpServers": {
"assignar": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-remote",
"https://mcp.assignar.com/api/mcp",
"--header", "X-Assignar-Client-Id:YOUR_CLIENT_ID",
"--header", "X-Assignar-Client-Secret:YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET",
"--header", "X-Assignar-Region:YOUR_REGION"
]
}
}
}
If the file already contains other MCP servers:
Don't replace the file, or you'll disconnect your existing servers. Instead, add the "assignar" block inside the existing "mcpServers" object, separated by a comma. The result should look like this:
{
"mcpServers": {
"your-existing-server": {
"command": "...",
"args": ["..."]
},
"assignar": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-remote",
"https://mcp.assignar.com/api/mcp",
"--header", "X-Assignar-Client-Id:YOUR_CLIENT_ID",
"--header", "X-Assignar-Client-Secret:YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET",
"--header", "X-Assignar-Region:YOUR_REGION"
]
}
}
}
Now replace the three placeholder values
Keep the quote marks around each value.
| Placeholder | Replace with |
|---|---|
| YOUR_CLIENT_ID | Your Client ID from Step 1 |
| YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET | Your Client Secret from Step 1 |
| YOUR_REGION | au if your account is hosted in Australia / New Zealand, or us if it's hosted in the United States / Canada |
Check your region carefully. Using the wrong region is the most common setup problem. The connection will appear to work but will return authentication errors or no data at all. If you're not sure which region your account is in, ask your Customer Success Manager.
Save the file when you're done.
Step 5: Restart Claude Desktop
Config changes only load on a fresh launch, so quit the app properly rather than just closing the window:
- Mac: press Cmd + Q, or right-click the dock icon and choose Quit
- Windows: right-click the Claude icon in the system tray and choose Quit — clicking the X only hides the window
Then reopen Claude Desktop.
Step 6: Verify the connection
Once Claude Desktop is back open, the Assignar tools should appear under the Search and tools control below the prompt box.
The first launch after setup can take up to a minute, because the connector downloads a small component the first time it runs. If the tools aren't there immediately, wait a moment and check again before troubleshooting.
Then try a prompt like "show me this week's allocations" and Claude will pull straight from your Assignar data.
Troubleshooting
No Assignar tools appear
Make sure you fully quit Claude Desktop (Cmd + Q on Mac, Quit from the system tray on Windows) and relaunched it. Closing the window doesn't reload the config. If it's a fresh setup, also give it a minute on first launch while the connector downloads.
Claude Desktop shows an error on startup
This is almost always a JSON syntax problem — usually a missing comma or bracket. Paste the file contents into a JSON validator to find it. If you added Assignar alongside an existing server, check there's a comma between the two blocks and that the braces still balance.
My other MCP servers disappeared
The config file was probably overwritten rather than added to. Re-add your other servers inside the same "mcpServers" object, comma-separated, following the second example in Step 4.
npx command not found
Node.js either isn't installed or isn't on your system PATH. Reinstall it from nodejs.org using the LTS installer, restart your terminal, and run node --version again. On Mac you can alternatively install it with Homebrew: brew install node.
Authentication errors, or the tools return no data
Three things to check, in order:
- Region. Confirm X-Assignar-Region matches where your account is hosted (see the table in Step 4). This is the most frequent cause.
- Credentials. Confirm your Client ID and Client Secret were copied in full, with no leading or trailing spaces, and that the quote marks are still in place.
- API access. Confirm API Access is still enabled under Settings → API Access in Assignar.
If you need to regenerate your credentials, note that doing so will break any other integration using the same Client ID and Secret. Check what else is connected before you rotate them.
Still stuck?
Contact Assignar Support with the region you're using and the error message shown in Claude Desktop. Never include your Client Secret.