Connecting an AI assistant
Clockwork CRM runs an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server. An AI assistant that supports MCP can connect to it and work with your Clockwork CRM on your behalf: finding contacts, reading an opportunity, adding a case or sending an email.
You connect the assistant with your own Clockwork CRM account. You do not need an API key, and the assistant never sees your password.
Your MCP address
Your Clockwork CRM's MCP address is:
https://YOUR-SUBDOMAIN.clockworkcrm.com/mcp
Replace YOUR-SUBDOMAIN with your Clockwork CRM subdomain, the first part of the address you use to
sign in.
Adding it to your assistant
| Assistant | Where to add it |
|---|---|
| Claude (web and desktop) | Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector, then paste the address |
| ChatGPT | Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector, choose MCP server, then paste the address. Custom connectors need a ChatGPT Plus, Business or Enterprise plan |
| Cursor, Windsurf, Claude Code and other MCP clients | Add an MCP server of type HTTP with the address. The client must support the Streamable HTTP transport |
Signing in and approving access
The first time the assistant connects, it opens a Clockwork CRM page in your browser.
- Sign in to Clockwork CRM, if you are not signed in already.
- The Authorise page opens. It names the assistant, shows its description if it gave one, and lists the permissions it is asking for.
- Under This app will be able to, untick any permission you do not want to give. Each permission is labelled with what it allows: Read, Write, Delete, Send, Trigger or Manage.
- Select Authorise to connect, or Deny to refuse. If you untick every permission, the connection is refused.
You can only give an assistant permissions that your own account has. Permissions you do not hold are listed under Requested but not grantable by you and are left out. Administrators can give any permission. If you hold none of the permissions asked for, Authorise is unavailable and the page asks you to speak to an administrator.
These permissions can only be given by an administrator:
- Manage Webhooks
- Write File Browser (Create Folders, Upload)
Permissions
The permissions an assistant can ask for, and the access to Clockwork CRM you need to give each one:
| Permission | You need access to |
|---|---|
| Read General Person Information, Read Person Notes, Read Person Timeline | Contacts |
| Write General Person Information, Write Person Notes | Contacts, and editing contacts |
| Delete Person Records | Contacts, and deleting contacts |
| Read General Company Information, Read Company Notes, Read Company Timeline, Read Company Employees | Contacts |
| Write General Company Information, Write Company Notes | Contacts, and editing contacts |
| Delete Company Records | Contacts, and deleting contacts |
| Read Phone Numbers, Read Call History, Read Call Transcriptions, Read SMS History, Send SMS (Uses Credits) | Contacts |
| Read General Case Information, Read Case Comments, Write Case Comments, Read Case History, Read Case Files, Write Case Files | Case management |
| Write General Case Information | Case management, and adding cases |
| Delete Case Records | Case management, and deleting cases |
| Read Case Types, Write Case Types | Case type management |
| Read Case Statuses, Write Case Statuses | Case status management |
| Read Custom Case Fields, Write Custom Case Fields | Case field management |
| Read Sale Records, Write Sale Records, Delete Sale Records | Sales and opportunities |
| Read Project Objects, Read Project Task Lists, Read Project Tasks, Including comments and logged time, Write Tasks, Comments and Time Logs, Read Project Files | Projects |
| Write Projects and Task Lists | Projects, and creating projects |
| Read Services, Delete Services, Read Products, Delete Products | Listing products and services |
| Write Services, Write Products | Adding products and services |
| Read Tax Rates, Write Tax Rates, Delete Tax Rates | Managing taxes |
| Read Resources, Write Resources, Delete Resources | Resources |
| Read Calendar Activities, Write Calendar Activities, Delete Calendar Activities | Calendar |
| Read Emails, Accounts and Folders, Send Email (Uses Credits) | |
| Read Knowledge Base Articles | Knowledge base |
| Read Forms and Submissions | Forms |
| Read Landing Pages and Views | Landing pages |
| Read Sequences | Email sequences |
| Read Bulk Email Shots | Email campaigns |
| Read Website Analytics | Website analytics |
| Read Users | User management |
| Read Tags, Write Tags | Tag management |
| Trigger Automations | Configuring automations |
Access is given to teams by an administrator. See Teams and permissions.
What it can do
The assistant works through Clockwork CRM's API as you. Each API action is a tool the assistant can use, covering people, companies, cases, sales, projects and tasks, products, services, tax rates, resources, calendar activities, email, telephony, tags, the file browser, the knowledge base, marketing, website analytics, users and webhooks.
The assistant sees every tool, but a tool only works if you approved the permission it needs. Otherwise the request is refused.
New tools appear as Clockwork CRM's API grows. You do not need to update or reconnect the assistant.
Emails and SMS messages the assistant sends use your Clockwork CRM's credits, as they do when you send them yourself.
Getting help from the documentation
A connected assistant can also search and read this documentation, so you can ask it how to do something in Clockwork CRM. Its help tools need no permission, so every connected assistant has them. Answers come with a link to the page on help.clockworkcrm.com.
An assistant that is not connected to Clockwork CRM can use the documentation too:
- help.clockworkcrm.com/llms-full.txt is every page in one file. Give an assistant this address, or paste the file into it.
- Any page can be read as plain markdown by adding .md to its address, for example help.clockworkcrm.com/contacts/people.md.
- help.clockworkcrm.com/llms.txt lists every page with a one-line summary.
How long access lasts
The assistant is given an access token that lasts one hour, and a refresh token that lasts 30 days. The assistant uses the refresh token to get a new access token in the background, and each renewal starts a new 30 days. If the assistant is not used for 30 days, it has to be authorised again.
Seeing and revoking access
Every assistant you have connected is listed on the Connected Apps tab of your profile, with when it was authorised, when its current access token expires, and the permissions it holds.
To disconnect an assistant:
- Open your profile from My Profile in the sidebar.
- Select Connected Apps.
- Select Revoke beside the assistant, then confirm.
The assistant is signed out straight away. To use it again, connect it and approve its permissions again. See Your profile.
Administrators can see the tokens issued to assistants under Administrator Tools → API Keys, by setting Type to OAuth, and revoke them there. Their permissions come from what the user approved and cannot be edited. See API keys and webhooks.
Related
Last updated