MCP & external AI tools

Coco CRM exposes an MCP (Model Context Protocol) endpoint, so external AI tools can read and write your CRM data directly. Tools like Claude Desktop, Claude Code, and Cursor — or any custom agent that speaks MCP — can connect with an API key and operate on your workspace.

What is MCP?

MCP is an open standard that lets AI assistants connect to external systems as "tools". Once your AI tool is connected to Coco CRM's MCP endpoint, the assistant can query records, create them, and update them as part of a conversation — the same way the built-in AI assistant does, but from outside the app.

Typical uses

  • Ask Claude about your pipeline — "Which deals over $50k are closing this quarter?" answered from live CRM data.
  • Bulk updates from an agent — have an AI agent enrich company records, reassign owners, or clean up fields across many records.
  • Cross-tool workflows — combine CRM data with other MCP-connected systems in a single agent session.
  • Drafting from context — generate outreach emails or call summaries grounded in the actual record history.

Setup outline

  1. Generate an API key in Settings → API & Webhooks. See API and webhooks.
  2. Add an MCP server in your AI tool's settings, pointing at Coco CRM's MCP endpoint. Each tool has its own way of registering MCP servers (a config file for Claude Desktop, MCP settings in Cursor, claude mcp add for Claude Code).
  3. Authenticate the server with your API key (typically as a Bearer token).

Once connected, the AI tool discovers the available CRM operations automatically and can start using them in conversation.

Security

  • The key inherits its creator's permissions. An MCP connection can only see and change what the member who created the API key can see and change — roles and object permissions apply exactly as they do in the app.
  • Create a dedicated key per tool so access can be revoked individually.
  • Treat MCP keys like passwords: never commit them to code or share them in chat.
  • Review keys periodically in Settings → API & Webhooks and delete any that are no longer used.

Troubleshooting

  • Tool can't connect: confirm the endpoint URL and that the API key is passed as authentication.
  • "Permission denied" on some objects: the key's creator lacks access to that object — check Members and roles.
  • Stale schema: if you've added custom objects recently, reconnect the MCP server so the tool rediscovers available operations.