MCP Setup Guide

MCP (Model Context Protocol) lets AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT work inside your account for you. Once connected, you can ask your assistant in plain English to manage contacts, run agents, build websites, send campaigns, and much more - it does the work using 290+ tools across your whole workspace.

This guide walks you through connecting your AI client. There are two ways to connect:

Pick the tab that matches your client below.

Remote Setup (OAuth)​

No API key or Node.js required. Your AI client connects to the MCP server directly and authenticates via OAuth.

https://app.doyouwantclients.com/mcp

https://app.doyouwantclients.com/mcp

https://app.doyouwantclients.com/mcp

Agencies and sub-accounts​

A connection works on one account: the one the sign-in page names when you click Allow. Switching accounts in the app does not change a connection you already made, and no tool moves a connection into another account.

Each account has its own address. Open the account, go to Settings > API / MCP > Connect and copy the address shown there; it ends in ?account= followed by that account's id. Claude and ChatGPT keep one connection per address, so an agency keeps one connection to its own account and one to each sub-account it works in.

Connect a sub-account you manage from your agency​

Sign in with a login of your own in that sub-account, never with your customer's password:

1. Open the sub-account (Settings > Sub-Accounts > Login as) and go to Settings > Team Users. Invite your own email with the Admin role, or a role with the permissions you need. Accept the invitation from the email you receive and set a password for it. Your customer sees you in their Team Users list and can remove you at any time. (Your customer can send that invitation instead.)
2. Still in the sub-account, open Settings > API / MCP > Connect and copy the sub-account's address.
3. In Claude or ChatGPT, add a new connector with that address. Keep your agency connector as it is.
4. The sign-in page names the account this browser is signed in to. If that is your agency, click Use a different account, sign in with your own email, pick the sub-account in the list of your accounts, and click Allow once the page names the sub-account.
5. Ask the assistant "Which account am I connected to?": it answers with the account, its parent and the user the connection acts as.

The connection acts as your team user in the sub-account, with that role's permissions, and never reaches the agency or another sub-account.

Local Setup (API Key)​

Run the MCP tool locally on your machine. This works with any client that supports stdio MCP servers.

Before You Start​

1. Make sure Node.js 18+ is installed - run node --version to check
2. Go to Settings > API Keys in
3. Click Create API Key, give it a name like "AI Assistant", select the Admin role
4. Copy the sk_... key - you'll need it below

Installation​

claude mcp add votel-mcp \
  -e API_KEY=sk_your_api_key_here \
  -e API_URL=https://app.doyouwantclients.com \
  -- npx -y votel-mcp@latest

claude mcp list

claude mcp remove votel-mcp

claude mcp add --transport http votel-mcp https://app.doyouwantclients.com/mcp

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "votel-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "votel-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "API_KEY": "sk_your_api_key_here",
        "API_URL": "https://app.doyouwantclients.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "votel-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "votel-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "API_KEY": "sk_your_api_key_here",
        "API_URL": "https://app.doyouwantclients.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "votel-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "votel-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "API_KEY": "sk_your_api_key_here",
        "API_URL": "https://app.doyouwantclients.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

npx -y votel-mcp@latest

{
  "servers": {
    "votel-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "votel-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "API_KEY": "sk_your_api_key_here",
        "API_URL": "https://app.doyouwantclients.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "votel-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "votel-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "API_KEY": "sk_your_api_key_here",
        "API_URL": "https://app.doyouwantclients.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Client Compatibility​

Environment Variables Reference​

What Your Assistant Can Do​

Once connected, your assistant gets 290+ tools covering the whole workspace. Just ask for what you want in plain English - the assistant picks the right tools itself.

The always-current list - every tool with a plain-language description - lives in the app under Settings > API / MCP > MCP Tools.

Verifying Your Setup​

After configuring any client, test with these prompts:

1. "List my websites" - should return your existing sites (or say none found)
2. "List my contacts" - should return contacts from your CRM
3. "Create a website called Test Site", then "Delete the Test Site website" - should provision and clean up a test site

If these work, your setup is complete.

Common Issues​

npx not found​

Make sure Node.js (v18+) is installed. Run node --version to check. Install from nodejs.org if needed. This only applies to the local (API key) setup - remote OAuth doesn't need Node.js.

Permission denied​

On macOS/Linux, you may need to allow the npx command in your system security settings the first time it runs.

API key not working​

• Make sure you copied the full key (starts with sk_)
• Check that the key hasn't expired (Settings > API Keys shows expiration)
• Verify the key has Admin or higher role

OAuth login page doesn't appear​

• Make sure you're using a paid plan (Claude Pro+, ChatGPT Pro+)
• Check that the URL is exactly https://app.doyouwantclients.com/mcp
• Try clearing your browser cache and reconnecting

The sign-in page names my agency, not the sub-account​

The page names the account your browser is signed in to on this domain. A sub-account opened with Login as is a separate session the page cannot see. Click Use a different account and sign in with a login of your own in the sub-account (see Agencies and sub-accounts above).

"A connector with this URL already exists" (Claude)​

Claude keeps one connector per address. Use the address shown on each account's own Settings > API / MCP > Connect page, which ends in ?account= and that account's id, instead of the plain /mcp address.

ChatGPT reads my account but makes no changes​

Without Developer mode, ChatGPT uses a connector for search only. Turn Developer mode on in ChatGPT's settings (the menu moves; it has been under Connectors > Advanced), reconnect, and confirm each change when ChatGPT asks. The MCP server itself serves every tool your role allows.

"Session not found" after connecting​

The MCP server session may have expired. Disconnect and reconnect the server in your client settings.