Read Namely employee profiles, groups, teams, jobs and reports; update profiles, post to the feed. 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": {
"namely": {
"url": "https://namely.usefulapi.io/mcp"
}
}
}Add to VS Code or add this to .vscode/mcp.json:
{
"servers": {
"namely": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://namely.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 Namely site name and Personal Access Token.
The site name is the first part of your Namely address: acme for acme.namely.com. In Namely open the API menu (ask your Namely administrator if you do not see it), tab Personal Access Tokens, and create a token. The token acts with the permissions of the profile that created it, so use an account that may see the HR data you want to ask about; it is valid for 2 years. It is used only to call the Namely API on your behalf 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 Namely site name and Personal Access Token. 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 Namely connector, then ask in plain words. The AI picks the tools.
| Tool | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
namely_get_me | read | Get my profile Get the profile of the user the connected token belongs to (name, email, job title, manager, access role). Namely API: GET /profiles/me. |
namely_list_profiles | read | List employee profiles List employee profiles (active, pending and inactive unless filtered) with paging, sorting and filters. Returns {profiles, meta:{count}, linked}. Use format=short for a smaller record (ids, names, email, status, job title); the full record includes every custom field the token may see (compensation, addresses and other sensitive HR data). An empty page means the end. Namely API: GET /profiles (limit 100 requests per minute). |
namely_get_profile | read | Get employee profile Get one employee's full profile by id: personal and job data, manager, groups, teams and the custom fields the token may see (can include compensation and other sensitive HR data). Namely API: GET /profiles/{id}. |
namely_list_profile_fields | read | List profile fields List the fields of the employee profile as configured at this company (standard and custom), with their labels, sections and the valid format of each value. Namely API: GET /profiles/fields. |
namely_list_groups | read | List groups List all groups (departments, office locations and other company groups). Every group belongs to one group type. Namely API: GET /groups. |
namely_get_group | read | Get group Get one group by id, with the profiles (members) linked to it. Namely API: GET /groups/{id}. |
namely_list_group_types | read | List group types List the group types (the containers of groups, such as Department or Office). Namely API: GET /group_types. |
namely_list_teams | read | List teams List all teams with their team categories. Namely API: GET /teams. |
namely_get_team | read | Get team Get one team by id, with the profiles (members) linked to it. Namely API: GET /teams/{id}. |
namely_list_job_titles | read | List job titles List all job titles; each belongs to one job tier. Namely API: GET /job_titles. |
namely_list_job_tiers | read | List job tiers List all job tiers (the levels that group job titles). Namely API: GET /job_tiers. |
namely_list_events | read | List feed events List events of the company home feed (announcements, birthdays, work anniversaries, new arrivals), newest first by default, with limit and after (an event id) for paging. Namely API: GET /events. |
namely_list_event_comments | read | List event comments List the comments on a feed event. Namely API: GET /events/{event-id}/comments. |
namely_get_report | read | Get report Run a saved Namely report by id and return its columns and rows (live data; each row is a list in column order). Find the id in the URL of the report in Namely. Reports can contain sensitive HR data such as salary history. Namely API: GET /reports/{id}. |
namely_update_profile | write | Update employee profile Change standard fields of an employee profile (name, emails, start date, status, manager, job title). WRITES live HR data. Send only the fields to change. Setting user_status to pending needs a personal_email. Namely API: PUT /profiles/{id}. |
namely_create_announcement | write | Post announcement Post an announcement to the company home feed, visible to every employee. Markdown; to mention a person write [Full Name](/people/<profile_id>). With is_appreciation, mentioned people are appreciated. email_all=true ALSO EMAILS every active employee at their company address (needs the permission) and cannot be undone: set it only when the user explicitly asks. Namely API: POST /events. |
namely_create_event_comment | write | Comment on event Add a comment to a feed event, posted as the token's user and visible to employees who see the event. Markdown; mention a person with [Full Name](/people/<profile_id>). Namely API: POST /events/{id}/comments. |
namely_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. | |
namely_request_feature | Request a missing feature Tell usefulapi that the user needs something the Namely 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. | |
namely_upgrade | Upgrade to Pro (unlimited*) Get Pro: unlimited tool calls (fair use limit: 10,000 a month) on Namely (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. | |
namely_cancel_subscription | Cancel the Pro subscription Cancel the caller's Namely 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 namely_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 Namely server only. Subscribe with namely_upgrade (it returns a Stripe Checkout link). Cancel any time with namely_cancel_subscription: Pro continues to the end of the paid period, with no refund for the current period, and running namely_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 Namely. The server calls the Namely API with your own Namely 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 Namely site name and Personal Access Token. See Before you connect for where to find them.
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 Namely site name and Personal Access Token. 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 Namely 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 Namely.
Yes, if you approve it. 3 of the 17 Namely tools can create or change data. The other 14 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 Namely server only. Cancel any time: Pro then runs to the end of the paid period. Run namely_usage_status to see how many calls you used.
Ask the AI to run namely_upgrade: it returns a Stripe Checkout link. To cancel, run namely_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 namely_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.