Install in Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop is Anthropic’s native macOS and Windows app for Claude. Once you connect the BuildWorkPro MCP server, Claude can read your bids, draft follow-ups, summarize projects, and more — all scoped to the permissions you grant.

Prerequisites

• Claude Desktop installed. Download from claude.ai/download.
• A BuildWorkPro account with access to the tenant you want to connect.
• A few minutes to walk the OAuth consent flow.

You do not need an API key. Claude Desktop registers itself with BuildWorkPro using Dynamic Client Registration the first time you connect.

Connect with Streamable HTTP (recommended)

1. Open the Claude Desktop config.

   In Claude Desktop, open Settings -> Developer -> Edit Config. This opens claude_desktop_config.json in your default editor. The file lives at:

   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add the BuildWorkPro server entry.

   Add or extend the mcpServers block:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "buildworkpro": {
         "url": "https://app.buildworkpro.com/api/mcp",
         "transport": "http"
       }
     }
   }

   If you already have other MCP servers configured, add buildworkpro alongside them under the same mcpServers object.

3. Restart Claude Desktop.

   Fully quit (Cmd+Q on macOS, right-click tray icon -> Quit on Windows) and relaunch. The new server registers on startup.

4. Authorize the connection.

   Open a new chat and click the tools icon in the message input. You’ll see buildworkpro listed with a “Sign in” prompt. Click it. Your browser opens to https://app.buildworkpro.com/oauth/authorize with a consent screen showing exactly which scopes Claude is requesting (for example contacts:read, bids:read, projects:read).

   Review the scopes, choose which ones to grant, and confirm. The browser hands an authorization code back to Claude Desktop. You’re now connected.

5. Test it.

   In a Claude chat, ask:

   List my open bids.

   Claude calls the bids.list tool, scoped to your tenant, and returns the results. Try a few more:

   Show me the highest-value bid in negotiation.

   Summarize my active projects.

   Find Jane Doe in my contacts.

Scope grants matter

The consent screen lets you control exactly what Claude can do. Read scopes (*:read) are safe — they only let Claude fetch data. Write scopes (*:write) let Claude create or update records. Workflow scopes (bids:send, pay_apps:approve, change_orders:approve) let Claude take actions that affect your business. Grant only what you trust the model with. You can revoke access at any time in Settings -> Developer -> Connected apps.

stdio install (local development only)

If you’re hacking on the BuildWorkPro MCP server source itself, you can run it locally and connect Claude Desktop over stdio. This bypasses OAuth entirely — Claude launches your local Node process directly.

macOS / Linux

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "buildworkpro-local": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/buildworkpro/server/mcp/stdio.js"],
      "env": {
        "BUILDWORKPRO_API_KEY": "bwp_live_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Windows

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "buildworkpro-local": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:\\path\\to\\buildworkpro\\server\\mcp\\stdio.js"],
      "env": {
        "BUILDWORKPRO_API_KEY": "bwp_live_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

The stdio entry point is shipped in the BuildWorkPro repo. It reads the BUILDWORKPRO_API_KEY env var and runs against the production REST API. Use this only for local dev — for everyday use, the Streamable HTTP path above is safer (no long-lived API key exposed to your AI client).

Troubleshooting

• Server doesn’t appear in the tool list. Quit and relaunch Claude Desktop fully — config is read once at startup.
• OAuth redirect fails. Make sure you’re signed into BuildWorkPro in the same browser Claude opens. If your default browser is different, sign in there first.
• “Insufficient scope” error. Claude requested a scope you didn’t grant. Disconnect from Settings -> Developer -> Connected apps, reconnect, and grant the missing scope on the consent screen.
• Tool calls fail with 401. Your refresh token may have expired or been revoked. Disconnect and reconnect.