Connect AI Assistants (MCP)

CardClan has a built-in MCP server. Connect it to your AI assistant and you can manage cards in plain language:

“Send the Holiday Thanks card to everyone in this list tomorrow at 9am, then tell me who opened it on Friday.”

Your assistant works with your CardClan account, workspaces and plan limits, the same as when you use the app.

What you need

A CardClan account
Your CardClan API key, found in Settings → AI Assistants (MCP). This is the same key used for integrations like Pabbly Connect.
An AI assistant that supports remote MCP servers, such as Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor or VS Code

Server URL: https://app.cardclan.io/api/mcpTransport: Streamable HTTP · Auth header: Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY

Setup

Get your API key

In CardClan, open Settings → AI Assistants (MCP). Click Generate API key if you don’t have one yet, then copy it.

Add CardClan to your assistant

Choose your client below, or copy the ready-made snippet from the same settings page. The snippet there already includes your key.

Try it

Ask something like “What CardClan cards do I have?” Your assistant will call CardClan and answer.

Claude Code
Claude Desktop
Cursor
VS Code
Other clients

Run in your terminal:

claude mcp add --transport http cardclan https://app.cardclan.io/api/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Start claude and run /mcp to confirm cardclan is connected.

Open Settings → Developer → Edit Config and add CardClan to claude_desktop_config.json, then restart Claude Desktop. Requires Node.js.

claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cardclan": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://app.cardclan.io/api/mcp", "--header", "Authorization:${CARDCLAN_AUTH}"],
      "env": { "CARDCLAN_AUTH": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (all projects) or .cursor/mcp.json (one project):

mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cardclan": {
      "url": "https://app.cardclan.io/api/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

Add to .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace, or run MCP: Add Server from the command palette:

.vscode/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "cardclan": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://app.cardclan.io/api/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

Any client that supports remote MCP servers over Streamable HTTP with a custom header will work:

URL: https://app.cardclan.io/api/mcp
Header: Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY (or X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY)

ChatGPT connectors and claude.ai web connectors currently require OAuth sign-in, which the CardClan MCP server doesn’t support yet. Use one of the clients above in the meantime.

What you can ask

Find and inspect cards

“List my cards in the Holidays folder”
“What merge tags does the Welcome card need?”
“Give me the share link for the Thank You card”

Send or schedule cards

“Send the Welcome card to jane@acme.com (company: Acme) now”
“Schedule the Holiday card for these 25 people on Dec 20 at 9am New York time”
“Also send last week’s card to Sam”

Your assistant first runs a preview: it checks every email address, makes sure each merge tag has a value, skips people who unsubscribed or already got the card, and shows how many plan recipients the send will use. It should ask you before anything is emailed.

Track delivery and engagement

“Who opened the Holiday card?”
“Did any sends fail? Retry them”
“Cancel the scheduled send to bob@acme.com”
“How did my cards perform in the last 30 days?”

Organize

“Create a folder called Q4 Clients and move these three cards into it”
“Rename the Holidays folder to Holidays 2026”

Available tools

Tool	What it does	Changes data
`whoami`	Your account and the workspaces you can access	No
`list_workspaces`	Workspaces with your role in each	No
`list_email_accounts`	Connected sender email accounts	No
`get_usage`	Remaining plan limits (recipients, cards, AI credits)	No
`list_cards`	Cards in a workspace, filterable by folder, status or title	No
`get_card`	Merge tags, subject line, sender, share link, delivery stats	No
`get_card_link`	Generic share link, or a personalized tracked link for one person (uses 1 plan recipient, no email sent)	Yes
`list_folders` / `create_folder` / `rename_folder` / `delete_folder`	Manage folders. Deleting a folder keeps its cards.	Yes, except list
`move_cards_to_folder`	Move cards into or out of a folder	Yes
`list_recipients`	Recipients with delivery status and whether they opened the email or viewed the card	No
`preview_send`	Dry run of a send: validation, sender, subject, schedule, quota impact	No
`send_card`	Email a card to up to 100 recipients per call, now or scheduled. Works on new and already-sent cards.	Yes, sends email
`cancel_scheduled_recipient`	Cancel a scheduled send. The recipient is returned to your plan.	Yes
`retry_recipient`	Re-send to a recipient whose delivery failed	Yes, sends email
`get_card_analytics`	Opens, views, reactions, comments and downloads for a card	No
`get_workspace_engagement`	Workspace engagement and most engaged contacts	No

Safety and limits

Your API key gives full access to your CardClan account, including sending email. Keep it private. Don’t commit it to code repositories or paste it into shared documents.

You stay in control. Tools that change data or send email are marked as such, and most assistants ask for your approval before running them.
Plan limits apply. Every recipient counts against your plan’s recipient limit, exactly like sending from the app. A send that would go over your limit is refused.
Workspace access. The assistant can only see workspaces you own or are an active member of.
Activity log. Every action taken with your key appears under Settings → AI Assistants (MCP) → Recent activity for 90 days.
Rate limit. 120 requests per minute per account.
Video cards are still sent from the CardClan app.

Troubleshooting

401: Missing or invalid CardClan API key

Check that the header is exactly Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY, with no extra spaces or quotes. You can copy the full snippet from Settings → AI Assistants (MCP).

Multiple workspaces available; pass workspaceId

Your account has more than one workspace. Tell the assistant which one to use, for example “use my Marketing workspace”.

Missing merge tag values

The card has merge tags without a fallback, such as company. Give the assistant a value for each recipient, or add a fallback to the merge tag in the card editor.

Not enough recipients left on the plan

The send needs more recipients than your plan has remaining. Send to fewer people or upgrade your plan in Settings → Billing.

Need help? Contact support@cardclan.io.

Overview

Generate Covers

Generate Images

Text Assist

Credits & Limits

AI Assistants (MCP)

Connect AI Assistants (MCP)

What you need

Setup

What you can ask

Available tools

Safety and limits

Troubleshooting

​What you need

​Setup

​What you can ask

​Available tools

​Safety and limits

​Troubleshooting

What you need

Setup

What you can ask

Available tools

Safety and limits

Troubleshooting