Read Shiftbase rosters, timesheets, absences and availability; schedule shifts and review absences. 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": {
"shiftbase": {
"url": "https://shiftbase.usefulapi.io/mcp"
}
}
}Add to VS Code or add this to .vscode/mcp.json:
{
"servers": {
"shiftbase": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://shiftbase.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 Shiftbase API key.
Create one in Shiftbase → Settings → App center → Public API → Add. The open API needs the App Center Plus add-on. Your key is used only to call the Shiftbase API on your behalf; it 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 Shiftbase 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 Shiftbase connector, then ask in plain words. The AI picks the tools.
| Tool | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
shiftbase_get_account | read | Get account The Shiftbase account this API key belongs to: company, country, time zone, working-day start/end, plan facts. GET /accounts. |
shiftbase_list_users | read | List employees List employees (users) with their teams and departments, contact details, employee number, start/end dates and plus-min hours balance. Use it to map user ids in schedules, timesheets and absences to names. Identity, bank and birth data are never returned. GET /users. |
shiftbase_get_user | read | Get employee One employee by user id or email address, with teams and departments. GET /users/{identifier}. |
shiftbase_list_departments | read | List departments List departments (sites/branches that own teams, shifts and schedules) with address and timesheet/clocking settings. GET /departments. |
shiftbase_list_teams | read | List teams List teams (the rows of the schedule within a department), optionally for one department. GET /teams. |
shiftbase_list_locations | read | List locations List active locations (addresses that group departments). GET /locations. |
shiftbase_list_shift_types | read | List shift types List shift types (the templates a scheduled shift uses: name, short name, default start/end time and break), optionally for one department. Their ids are the shift_id for shiftbase_create_roster. GET /shifts. |
shiftbase_list_rosters | read | List scheduled shifts List the schedule (rosters = shifts assigned to employees) for a date range of at most 62 days: date, start/end time, break, employee, team, shift type, department, published state, hours and cost. Each item's occurrence_id identifies it for shiftbase_get_roster and shiftbase_update_roster. GET /rosters. |
shiftbase_get_roster | read | Get scheduled shift One scheduled shift by its occurrence_id, with the employee, shift type, team and who created/changed it. GET /rosters/{occurrenceId}. |
shiftbase_list_open_shifts | read | List open shifts List open (unassigned) shifts that employees can pick up, for a date range of at most 62 days (default: today). Needs the Basic plan or higher. GET /open_shifts. |
shiftbase_get_availability | read | Get employee availability Employee availability (available / unavailable, all day or from a time) for a date range of at most 62 days, from Shiftbase's availability report. Needs the Basic plan and the "View reports" permission. POST /reports/availability (export json; reads only). |
shiftbase_list_timesheets | read | List timesheets List timesheets (worked hours: clock in/out, breaks, total, status Approved/Declined/Pending, wage and surcharges) for a date range of at most 62 days. GET /timesheets. |
shiftbase_get_timesheet | read | Get timesheet One timesheet by id, with its clocked breaks. GET /timesheets/{timesheetId}. |
shiftbase_list_clocked_in | read | List clocked-in employees Who is clocked in right now: employee, since when, their scheduled shift, team, department and location. GET /timesheets/clock. |
shiftbase_list_absences | read | List absences List absences (leave, sick leave, other time off) overlapping a date range of at most 366 days: employee, absence type, start/end date, hours or days, status Approved/Declined/Pending and who reviewed it. Needs the Basic plan. GET /absentees. |
shiftbase_get_absence | read | Get absence One absence by id, with the per-day hours and who reviewed it. GET /absentees/{absenteeId}. |
shiftbase_list_absence_types | read | List absence types List absence types (e.g. Holiday, Sick, Unpaid leave): name, unit (hours or days), whether it costs leave hours, colour. Their ids are the absence_type_id for absences. GET /absentee_options. |
shiftbase_get_expected_absence_hours | read | Get expected absence hours How many hours an absence would cost for an employee, per day and in total (from the schedule or the contract, per the absence policy), for a period of at most 366 days. Changes nothing. POST /absentees/expected. |
shiftbase_create_roster | write | Schedule a shift WRITE: put one employee on the schedule for one date (a single, non-recurring shift) in a team, with a shift type, start/end time and break. The employee is notified only when notify is true. POST /rosters. |
shiftbase_update_roster | write | Change a scheduled shift WRITE: change a scheduled shift: move it to another date, time, employee, team or shift type, or change its break or note. Reads the shift first and sends it back with your changes. For a recurring shift, scope says what changes: "occurrence" (this date only), "sequence" (this date and all later ones) or "original" (the whole series; also the right scope for a non-recurring shift). PUT /rosters/{occurrenceId}/{scope}. |
shiftbase_request_absence | write | Request an absence WRITE: add an absence (leave/time-off request) for an employee. By default it is a Pending request for a manager to review; status Approved books it directly (needs the approve-absence permission). The hours per day come from Shiftbase's own expected-hours calculation (the same as shiftbase_get_expected_absence_hours). Needs the Basic plan. POST /absentees. |
shiftbase_review_absence | write | Approve or decline an absence WRITE: approve or decline an absence request. Reads the absence first and sends it back unchanged except for the status (needs the approve-absence permission). PUT /absentees/{absenteeId}. |
shiftbase_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. | |
shiftbase_request_feature | Request a missing feature Tell usefulapi that the user needs something the Shiftbase 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. | |
shiftbase_upgrade | Upgrade to Pro (unlimited*) Get Pro: unlimited tool calls (fair use limit: 10,000 a month) on Shiftbase (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. | |
shiftbase_cancel_subscription | Cancel the Pro subscription Cancel the caller's Shiftbase 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 shiftbase_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 account | $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 Shiftbase server only. Subscribe with shiftbase_upgrade (it returns a Stripe Checkout link). Cancel any time with shiftbase_cancel_subscription: Pro continues to the end of the paid period, with no refund for the current period, and running shiftbase_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 Shiftbase. The server calls the Shiftbase API with your own Shiftbase 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 Shiftbase 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 Shiftbase 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 Shiftbase 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 Shiftbase.
Yes, if you approve it. 4 of the 22 Shiftbase 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 Shiftbase server only. Cancel any time: Pro then runs to the end of the paid period. Run shiftbase_usage_status to see how many calls you used.
Ask the AI to run shiftbase_upgrade: it returns a Stripe Checkout link. To cancel, run shiftbase_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 shiftbase_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.