Connect Claude Code

Claude Code is Anthropic's terminal-based coding agent. Pointing it at the ActuallyCare MCP server gives you a CRM you can query from the command line, script against, and wire into automations. This page is for developers — if you want the no-terminal setup, start at the quickstart instead.

Add the server#

One command, run anywhere:

claude mcp add --transport http actuallycare https://mcp.actuallycare.com/mcp

This registers the server under the name actuallycare using the Streamable HTTP transport. By default the entry is scoped to the current project for you only; see Project-scoped config for sharing it with a team.

Authenticate#

The server uses OAuth, and Claude Code handles the browser dance for you.

1. Start Claude Code and run the /mcp command, then select actuallycare.

   What you should see: The MCP server list with actuallycare showing as needing authentication, and an option to authenticate.

2. Choose authenticate. Your browser opens an ActuallyCare page — sign in with your ActuallyCare credentials if asked, then approve the Grant Claude access to ActuallyCare consent screen.

   What you should see: A success page in the browser, and back in the terminal, actuallycare showing as connected. The OAuth callback runs on a temporary localhost port that Claude Code opens for you, and the server accepts localhost redirect URIs — no redirect-URI setup needed.

Tokens refresh automatically, so this is a one-time step per machine.

Verify#

claude mcp list

What you should see: output similar to:

actuallycare: https://mcp.actuallycare.com/mcp (HTTP) - ✓ Connected

Then prove it end to end inside a session:

> Using ActuallyCare, list my escrows closing in the next 14 days.

Claude calls escrows_list and returns live data. Note there is no --mcp-list flag — manage servers with the claude mcp commands shown above.

Project-scoped config#

To check the server into a repo so every collaborator gets it, use project scope:

claude mcp add --transport http --scope project actuallycare https://mcp.actuallycare.com/mcp

This writes .mcp.json at the project root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "actuallycare": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.actuallycare.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Commit it. Each developer still authenticates individually via /mcp, so everyone sees their own CRM data under their own permissions.

What you can do with it#

• Ad-hoc CRM queries while you work. "Which listings expire this month?", "Pull the contact info for the buyer on the Maple St escrow."

• Scripted, non-interactive queries with print mode:

  Shell

  claude -p "Using ActuallyCare, list my hot leads as a markdown table with name, phone, and source"

  Copy

  Pipe that into files, cron jobs, or Slack notifiers.

• Building automations and integrations. Claude Code can call ActuallyCare tools while it writes code against them — e.g. "fetch one real client record with clients_get, then generate a TypeScript interface for it."

Tool names follow an entity_verb convention — escrows_list, clients_create, leads_convert, appointments_today, get_dashboard_stats. The server advertises the most-used tools up front and lets Claude discover the rest on demand, so don't worry if the initial tool list looks short. Browse the full reference at /tools.

Headless use with an API key#

OAuth is right for interactive use, but CI jobs and servers can't click through a browser. The MCP server also accepts an ActuallyCare API key in an X-API-Key header:

claude mcp add --transport http actuallycare https://mcp.actuallycare.com/mcp \
  --header "X-API-Key: $ACTUALLYCARE_API_KEY"

Or in .mcp.json, with environment-variable expansion so the key never lands in the repo:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "actuallycare": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.actuallycare.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-API-Key": "${ACTUALLYCARE_API_KEY}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Create a key at app.actuallycare.com → Settings → API Keys (/settings?tab=api). Keys are 64-character hex strings shown once at creation — store the full value immediately, and make sure the key is granted the scopes it needs (a key with no scopes gets 403 everywhere). Every user can create their own keys (Settings → API Keys → Create API Key). Full details in API authentication.

Troubleshooting#

Next steps#

• Custom apps — talk to the MCP server from your own code instead of Claude Code
• API vs MCP — when to use the REST API instead
• Tool reference — every tool, generated from the live registry