Look up people, groups, service rosters, songs, follow-up flows and giving in Elvanto. Hosted by usefulapi — connect from Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or any MCP client.
Team and Enterprise: an Owner adds the connector for the organization first.
Run this command, then run /mcp in Claude Code to log in:
Add to Cursor or add this to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"elvanto": {
"url": "https://elvanto.usefulapi.io/mcp"
}
}
}Add to VS Code or add this to .vscode/mcp.json:
{
"servers": {
"elvanto": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://elvanto.usefulapi.io/mcp"
}
}
}No Add custom MCP server option? It depends on your account or workspace settings: see OpenAI's guide.
Run these commands. The second one opens the login page:
Other MCP clients (Windsurf, Cline, Zed and more): add the URL as a remote MCP server (Streamable HTTP). The client then opens the login page in your browser. Do not add an Authorization header: see Before you connect.
The login page asks for your Elvanto API key.
Find it in Elvanto → Settings → Account Settings → API → API Key (administrators only). The key has admin-level access to your account; it is used only to call the Elvanto API on your behalf and to derive a private account id, and is never shown to anyone.
Add only the URL. Do not add an Authorization header or an API key to the client config. The server signs you in with OAuth: the login page asks for your Elvanto API key. If the config has such a header, remove it: some clients then send that header instead of the login token, and every call fails with 401.
Turn on the Elvanto connector, then ask in plain words. The AI picks the tools.
| Tool | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
elvanto_list_people | read | List people List people in the church database, optionally filtered by category and by suspended / contact / archived status. Paginated (the response carries page, per_page, total). Elvanto: people/getAll. |
elvanto_search_people | read | Search people Find people matching field values, e.g. {"email":"[email protected]"} or {"lastname":"Smith","volunteer":"yes"}. Searchable keys: firstname, preferred_name, lastname, email, phone, mobile, category_id, archived, contact, deceased, volunteer, gender, birthday, anniversary, marital_status, school_grade, security_code, receipt_name, giving_number, groups, date_added / date_modified / last_login (UTC, yyyy-mm-dd or yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss; matched as on-or-after), and custom_<field id>. Use only one of archived / contact / deceased at a time. Elvanto: people/search. |
elvanto_get_person | read | Get one person Fetch one person by id, optionally with extra fields (birthday, addresses, departments, locations, family, custom fields...). Elvanto: people/getInfo. |
elvanto_list_people_categories | read | List people categories List the people categories (e.g. New People, Church Members, Inactive) with their ids. Elvanto: people/categories/getAll. |
elvanto_list_custom_fields | read | List custom person fields List the church's custom person fields (id, name, type and allowed values). Use the id as custom_<id> in fields / search. Elvanto: people/customFields/getAll. |
elvanto_list_groups | read | List groups List small groups / ministries with meeting day, time, place and frequency; add fields=["people"] to include members and leaders. Elvanto: groups/getAll. |
elvanto_get_group | read | Get one group Fetch one group by id, optionally with its members (fields=["people"]). Elvanto: groups/getInfo. |
elvanto_list_services | read | List services List services (upcoming by default). Add fields such as volunteers (the roster), plans (order of service) and songs to answer 'who is serving Sunday?' or 'what are we singing?'. Elvanto: services/getAll. |
elvanto_get_service | read | Get one service Fetch one service by id with optional detail: service/rehearsal times, plan (order of service), volunteers roster, songs, files, notes. Elvanto: services/getInfo. |
elvanto_list_songs | read | List songs List or search the song library by title, artist or lyrics (with CCLI number, categories and locations). Elvanto: songs/getAll. |
elvanto_list_song_arrangements | read | List a song's arrangements List the arrangements of one song — sequence, BPM, keys, lyrics and chord chart (optionally transposed). Elvanto: songs/arrangements/getAll. |
elvanto_list_calendars | read | List calendars List the church's calendars with their ids. Elvanto: calendar/getAll. |
elvanto_list_calendar_events | read | List calendar events List calendar events between two dates, optionally for specific calendars (use "services" as a calendar to include services). Elvanto: calendar/events/getAll. |
elvanto_list_people_flows | read | List people flows List people flows — the church's follow-up pipelines (e.g. First Time Guest Follow Up) — with their steps and admins. Elvanto: peopleFlows/getAll. |
elvanto_list_people_flow_steps | read | List a people flow's steps List the steps of one people flow with descriptions, instructions, due rules and admins. Elvanto: peopleFlows/steps/getAll. |
elvanto_list_people_flow_step_people | read | List people in a flow step List the people currently in one people-flow step, with status, due date and assigned admin — e.g. who still needs a follow-up call. Not paginated. Elvanto: peopleFlows/steps/people. |
elvanto_list_financial_categories | read | List financial categories List giving / chart-of-accounts categories (funds) with ids; status 1 = active, 0 = archived. Elvanto: financial/categories/getAll. |
elvanto_list_transactions | read | List giving transactions List giving transactions between two dates, optionally for one fund — donor, date, method, batch and per-fund amounts. Read-only: this server never writes financial records. Elvanto: financial/transactions/getAll. |
elvanto_create_person | write | Create a person Add a new person to the church database (e.g. a first-time guest). Returns the new person id and family id. Does not create a login. Elvanto: people/create. |
elvanto_update_person | write | Update a person Edit an existing person's details — name, contact info, category, flags, family, or extra fields. Only the fields you pass change. Cannot touch username, password or login status. Elvanto: people/edit. |
elvanto_add_person_to_group | write | Add a person to a group Add a person to a group, optionally as Leader or Assistant Leader. Undoable by removing them from the group in Elvanto. Elvanto: groups/addPerson. |
elvanto_add_person_to_flow_step | write | Add a person to a people-flow step Put a person into a people-flow step (e.g. start a new guest's follow-up), optionally assigning a step admin. Elvanto: peopleFlows/steps/addPerson. |
elvanto_create_calendar_event | write | Create a calendar event Create an event on a calendar, optionally repeating. Times are 24-hour GMT. Use status "draft" to stage it unpublished. Elvanto: calendar/events/create. |
elvanto_usage_status | Usage status (free-tier meter) Report the caller's current usage: the plan, calls used this month, the limit of the plan (the free monthly cap or the Pro fair use limit), remaining, and whether the limit is reached. Read-only; does not count against the meter. | |
elvanto_request_feature | Request a missing feature Tell usefulapi that the user needs something the Elvanto tools cannot do yet (a missing tool, field or filter). Call it only when the user asks for something none of the tools can do, and tell the user that you send the request. Do not call it for errors or for normal requests. Do not include personal data, credentials or customer records. Stored with the product name and the client type (for example Claude or Cursor), without the user's account. At most 5 requests per day. Does not count against the meter. | |
elvanto_upgrade | Upgrade to Pro (unlimited*) Get Pro: unlimited tool calls (fair use limit: 10,000 a month) on Elvanto (the free tier caps monthly usage). Plans: "monthly" — $9/month; "yearly" — $90/year (2 months free). Cancel any time: Pro then runs to the end of the paid period, so it also suits a one-time job. *A fair use limit applies. For heavy use (near Pro's limit): "plus" or "plus_yearly" — Pro+, $19/month or $190/year, unlimited tool calls (fair use limit: 100,000 a month); an existing Pro subscription changes to Pro+ in place (needs confirm: true; the price difference for the rest of the period is charged at once). Otherwise returns a short link to open in your browser (it opens Stripe Checkout); after payment the account upgrades automatically. Does not count against the meter. | |
elvanto_cancel_subscription | Cancel the Pro subscription Cancel the caller's Elvanto Pro subscription at the end of the paid period (no refund for the current period; Pro continues until then, then the free tier applies). Requires confirm: true. Run elvanto_upgrade later to undo the cancel before the period ends. Does not count against the meter. |
| Plan | Price | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 50 tool calls / month |
| Proper user | $9/mo · $90/yr | Unlimited* |
*Pro fair use limit: 10,000 tool calls a month on this server. For more, write to [email protected].
Pro covers this Elvanto server only. Subscribe with elvanto_upgrade (it returns a Stripe Checkout link). Cancel any time with elvanto_cancel_subscription: Pro continues to the end of the paid period, with no refund for the current period, and running elvanto_upgrade before then undoes the cancel. Or write to [email protected].
No. usefulapi is an independent service. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Elvanto. The server calls the Elvanto API with your own Elvanto access, so it sees only the data that your account can see.
Yes. In Claude, add this server's URL as a custom connector. In ChatGPT, add it as a custom MCP server in Plugins. Then log in once. Cursor, VS Code, Claude Code and Codex work too. See the setup steps.
The login page asks for your Elvanto API key. See Before you connect for where to find it.
No. Add only the URL. Do not add an Authorization header or an API key to the client config. The server signs you in with OAuth: the login page asks for your Elvanto API key. If the config has such a header, remove it: some clients then send that header instead of the login token, and every call fails with 401.
The login stores them encrypted in the authorization grant of your connection. The server uses them to call the Elvanto API for you and to derive a private account id for usage metering. usefulapi does not show them on any page or in any reply. To stop all access, remove the connector and change or delete these credentials in Elvanto.
Yes, if you approve it. 5 of the 23 Elvanto tools can create or change data. The other 18 are marked read-only. Most MCP clients ask you to approve a tool call before it runs.
The Free plan gives 50 tool calls / month. Pro costs $9/mo or $90/yr, with unlimited tool calls (fair use limit: 10,000 tool calls a month), for this Elvanto server only. Cancel any time: Pro then runs to the end of the paid period. Run elvanto_usage_status to see how many calls you used.
Ask the AI to run elvanto_upgrade: it returns a Stripe Checkout link. To cancel, run elvanto_cancel_subscription. Pro continues to the end of the paid period.
Tell the AI what you wanted to do. It can send the request with elvanto_request_feature. We store the text with the server name, the type of AI client and the tool you tried, not with your account, and read every request when we plan new tools. You can send up to 5 requests per day.
Any client that supports remote MCP servers (Streamable HTTP) with OAuth login: Claude (web and desktop), Claude Code, ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf and others.
This is a Model Context Protocol endpoint — meant to be connected from an AI client, not opened in a browser. An invalid_token response at the URL is the auth gate working as designed; clients authenticate automatically.