Hoursmith MCP server
Connect Claude, Cursor, Zed, and other AI tools to your Hoursmith workspace with the official Model Context Protocol server.
The Hoursmith MCP server lets AI tools like Claude Desktop, Cursor, and Zed read and write your workspace in natural language — start tracking time, look up unpaid invoices, or spin up a new client without leaving your assistant.
It's the official Model Context Protocol server for Hoursmith,
published as @hoursmith/mcp-server Studio Agency.
What it is
The server is a thin, typed bridge over the Hoursmith REST API. Each tool maps to exactly one API call, so anything you can do over the API you can do through MCP — and nothing more. It:
- Runs over stdio, launched on demand by your MCP client (no long-running service to host).
- Authenticates with a Hoursmith API token (
hsk_…) you provide in your client's config. - Exposes 31 tools across identity, clients, projects, tasks, time entries, expenses, invoices, and members.
- Logs only to stderr and never prints your token.
Because it sits on top of the REST API, every call runs with the exact permissions of the membership that minted the token. The server adds no powers of its own — see Security.
MCP vs. the REST API. Reach for MCP when you want an AI assistant to act on your workspace conversationally. Reach for the REST API when you're writing your own integration or automation. They share the same auth, plans, and permission model.
What you can do with it
Once connected, you can ask your assistant things like:
- "What did I track this week?"
- "Log 90 minutes to the Acme redesign for today."
- "Which invoices are unpaid?"
- "Create a client called Globex with email billing@globex.com."
See Example prompts for more, and Available tools for the full list of what's possible.
The MCP server can read invoices and create time entries, but it cannot create or send invoices, or manage members — that mirrors the REST API, which is read-only for those resources.
Before you start
You'll need a Hoursmith API token and a workspace on the Studio or Agency plan. The full checklist is in Requirements.
Get connected
Requirements
Node, an API token, and a Studio+ plan.
Install
How clients launch the server with npx.
Claude Desktop
Add the config block and restart.
Available tools
All 31 tools and the API calls they map to.