Connect an MCP Client to DeskDay

The DeskDay Public MCP server lets any Model Context Protocol client — Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, Cursor, VS Code, Antigravity, and more — act on your DeskDay tenant in natural language. Ask it to "list open critical tickets for Acme" or "log 30 minutes against ticket X" and the client calls DeskDay tools on your behalf, scoped to your MSP.

This guide is the same for everyone: point your client at one URL and sign in through your browser. There are no API keys to copy, paste, or rotate — the server mints and manages a short-lived key for you behind an OAuth flow.

Before you start

• A DeskDay account. You sign in with the same credentials you use for the DeskDay admin portal. The MCP grants exactly what your tenant's tools allow — everything stays scoped to your MSP/Organistion Account, and you can never see or touch another tenant's data.
• A client that supports remote MCP servers over OAuth. All the clients in this guide do. For stdio-only clients, see Any other client for the bridge option.
• A browser. The first connection opens a DeskDay/Logto sign-in page. Approve it once and the client stays connected until the grant expires.

Claude (Web)

Custom connectors on claude.ai require a Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise plan.

1. Open claude.ai and go to Settings → Connectors.
2. Click Add custom connector.
3. Fill in:
   • Name: DeskDay
   • Remote MCP server URL: https://mcp.deskday.ai/mcp
4. Click Add, then Connect. A browser window opens for DeskDay sign-in.
5. Approve the requested scopes. Claude shows the connector as Connected.
6. In any chat, open the tools/attachments menu and enable DeskDay to let Claude call its tools.

Claude (Desktop)

Claude Desktop (macOS/Windows) supports remote connectors natively.

1. Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Connectors (or Extensions → Advanced on some builds).
2. Click Add custom connector.
3. Enter the URL https://mcp.deskday.ai/mcp and a name like DeskDay.
4. Save. Claude opens your browser to complete DeskDay sign-in, then shows Connected.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "deskday": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.deskday.ai/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

ChatGPT (Web)

Custom connectors require ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, or Enterprise, and may need Developer mode enabled.

1. In chatgpt.com, go to Settings → Connectors (Business/Enterprise: Settings → Connectors; admins may need to allow custom connectors first).
2. If present, toggle on Developer mode (under Settings → Connectors → Advanced).
3. Click Create / Add custom connector and enter:
   • Name: DeskDay
   • MCP Server URL: https://mcp.deskday.ai/mcp
   • Authentication: OAuth (selected automatically via discovery)
4. Click Create, then Connect and complete DeskDay sign-in in the browser.
5. Start a chat, open the + / Tools menu, and enable DeskDay.

ChatGPT (Desktop)

The ChatGPT desktop app shares connector settings with the web app.

1. Sign in to the ChatGPT desktop app with the same account.
2. Open Settings → Connectors and confirm DeskDay is listed (connectors added on the web appear here, and vice-versa).
3. If it isn't there, add it exactly as in ChatGPT (Web) — the desktop app opens the same browser OAuth flow.
4. Enable DeskDay from the tools menu in a conversation.

Grok

Grok (grok.com / the xAI apps) supports remote MCP connectors. Support is best-effort — the grok.com and x.ai redirect hosts are allowlisted, but Grok's connector UI changes frequently.

1. Open grok.com → Settings → Connectors (or Integrations / MCP, depending on build).
2. Choose Add custom / remote MCP server.
3. Enter:
   • Name: DeskDay
   • Server URL: https://mcp.deskday.ai/mcp
4. Save and Connect; complete DeskDay sign-in in the browser.
5. Enable the connector in your conversation's tools menu.

Cursor

Cursor reads MCP servers from a JSON config. Use ~/.cursor/mcp.json for all projects, or .cursor/mcp.json inside a project.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "deskday": {
      "url": "https://mcp.deskday.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

1. Create or edit the file above.
2. Open Cursor → Settings → MCP (or Cursor Settings → Tools & Integrations). The deskday server appears.
3. Click Connect / Login. Cursor opens the browser for DeskDay sign-in (Cursor's anysphere.cursor-mcp and cursor.com redirect hosts are allowlisted).
4. Once the indicator turns green, the DeskDay tools are available to the Agent.

VS Code

VS Code (with GitHub Copilot / Agent mode) supports MCP servers via .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace, or globally through the command palette.

{
  "servers": {
    "deskday": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.deskday.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

1. Create .vscode/mcp.json with the config above.
2. VS Code shows a Start / Trust prompt on the server — accept it.
3. A browser window opens for DeskDay sign-in (VS Code uses a localhost loopback callback, which is allowlisted).
4. Open the Chat view, switch to Agent mode, and open the Tools picker to enable the DeskDay tools.

Antigravity

Google's Antigravity agentic IDE supports MCP servers through its MCP configuration. Support is best-effort — the gemini.google.com redirect host is allowlisted.

1. Open Antigravity → Settings → MCP / Tools (or the MCP servers panel).

2. Choose Add MCP server and select the HTTP / remote option.

3. Provide:

   • Name: DeskDay
   • URL: https://mcp.deskday.ai/mcp

4. If Antigravity uses a JSON config file instead of a form, add:

   mcp config

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "deskday": {
         "type": "http",
         "url": "https://mcp.deskday.ai/mcp"
       }
     }
   }

5. Save, then Connect and complete DeskDay sign-in in the browser.

Any other client (generic setup)

Any MCP client that supports remote HTTP servers with OAuth connects with the same details:

Most clients accept one of these two config shapes:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "deskday": {
      "url": "https://mcp.deskday.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

{
  "servers": {
    "deskday": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.deskday.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

stdio-only clients

If your client only speaks stdio (local command/args) and can't reach a remote HTTP server, bridge it with mcp-remote, which runs a local stdio↔HTTP proxy and handles the OAuth flow on an allowlisted localhost callback:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "deskday": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.deskday.ai/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Requires Node.js 18+ on the machine running the client.

How authentication works

You never handle a secret directly. Here's what happens on first connect:

1. Your client requests https://mcp.deskday.ai/mcp and receives a 401 with a WWW-Authenticate challenge pointing at the server's Protected Resource Metadata.
2. The client discovers the authorization server, dynamically registers itself (no manual app creation), and starts an Authorization Code + PKCE flow.
3. Your browser opens the DeskDay (Logto) sign-in page. You approve the requested scopes.
4. The server exchanges the code, verifies your identity, and issues a bearer token scoped to your MSP.
5. Behind the scenes it mints a short-lived DeskDay API key (encrypted at rest, default 7-day lifetime) bounded to exactly the scopes the MCP tools need — so a compromised session can never exceed what the tools can do, and everything remains isolated to your msp_id.

Re-authentication is automatic while your grant is valid; when it expires, your client prompts you to sign in again.

Available tools

Once connected, the client exposes these DeskDay tools (names are deterministic: deskday_list_* / deskday_get_* are read-only; create/update/close/apply/record/upload/delete modify data):

Troubleshooting

Compatibility & specification

Use this table to confirm a client can connect and to fill in any advanced configuration fields it asks for.

Still stuck? Reach out to DeskDay support with your client name, the exact error text, and the failing callback URL (if any). Do not share bearer tokens or minted keys — support never needs them.