Autotask MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides AI assistants with structured access to Kaseya Autotask PSA data and operations.

🚀 Quick Start

Want to connect to Claude Desktop in 5 minutes? See our Quick Start Guide for Claude Desktop!

Features

• 🔌 MCP Protocol Compliance: Full support for MCP resources and tools
• 🛠️ Comprehensive API Coverage: Access to companies, contacts, tickets, time entries, and more
• 🔍 Advanced Search: Powerful search capabilities with filters across all entities
• 📝 CRUD Operations: Create, read, update operations for core Autotask entities
• 🔄 ID-to-Name Mapping: Automatic resolution of company and resource IDs to human-readable names
• ⚡ Intelligent Caching: Smart caching system for improved performance and reduced API calls
• 🔒 Secure Authentication: Enterprise-grade API security with Autotask credentials
• 🐳 Docker Ready: Containerized deployment with Docker and docker-compose
• 📊 Structured Logging: Comprehensive logging with configurable levels and formats
• 🧪 Test Coverage: Comprehensive test suite with 80%+ coverage

Table of Contents

• Installation
• Configuration
• Usage
• API Reference
• ID-to-Name Mapping
• Docker Deployment
• Claude Desktop Integration
• Development
• Testing
• Contributing
• License

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ (LTS recommended)
• Valid Autotask API credentials
• MCP-compatible client (Claude Desktop, Continue, etc.)

NPM Installation

npm install -g autotask-mcp

From Source

git clone https://github.com/your-org/autotask-mcp.git
cd autotask-mcp
npm install
npm run build

Configuration

Environment Variables

Create a .env file with your configuration:

# Required Autotask API credentials
AUTOTASK_USERNAME=your-api-user@example.com
AUTOTASK_SECRET=your-secret-key
AUTOTASK_INTEGRATION_CODE=your-integration-code

# Optional configuration
AUTOTASK_API_URL=https://webservices.autotask.net/atservices/1.6/atws.asmx
MCP_SERVER_NAME=autotask-mcp
MCP_SERVER_VERSION=1.0.0

# Logging
LOG_LEVEL=info          # error, warn, info, debug
LOG_FORMAT=simple       # simple, json

# Environment
NODE_ENV=production

💡 Pro Tip: Copy the above content to a .env file in your project root.

Autotask API Setup

1. Create API User: In Autotask, create a dedicated API user with appropriate permissions
2. Generate Secret: Generate an API secret for the user
3. Integration Code: Obtain your integration code from Autotask
4. Permissions: Ensure the API user has read/write access to required entities

For detailed setup instructions, see the Autotask API documentation.

Usage

Command Line

# Start the MCP server
autotask-mcp

# Start with custom configuration
AUTOTASK_USERNAME=user@example.com autotask-mcp

MCP Client Configuration

Add to your MCP client configuration (e.g., Claude Desktop):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "autotask": {
      "command": "autotask-mcp",
      "env": {
        "AUTOTASK_USERNAME": "your-api-user@example.com",
        "AUTOTASK_SECRET": "your-secret-key",
        "AUTOTASK_INTEGRATION_CODE": "your-integration-code"
      }
    }
  }
}

API Reference

Resources

Resources provide read-only access to Autotask data:

• autotask://companies - List all companies
• autotask://companies/{id} - Get specific company
• autotask://contacts - List all contacts
• autotask://contacts/{id} - Get specific contact
• autotask://tickets - List all tickets
• autotask://tickets/{id} - Get specific ticket
• autotask://time-entries - List time entries

Tools

Tools provide interactive operations:

Company Operations

• search_companies - Search companies with filters
• create_company - Create new company
• update_company - Update existing company

Contact Operations

• search_contacts - Search contacts with filters
• create_contact - Create new contact

Ticket Operations

• search_tickets - Search tickets with filters
• create_ticket - Create new ticket

Time Entry Operations

• create_time_entry - Log time entry

Utility Operations

• test_connection - Test API connectivity

Example Tool Usage

// Search for companies
{
  "name": "search_companies",
  "arguments": {
    "searchTerm": "Acme Corp",
    "isActive": true,
    "pageSize": 10
  }
}

// Create a new ticket
{
  "name": "create_ticket",
  "arguments": {
    "companyID": 12345,
    "title": "Server maintenance request",
    "description": "Need to perform monthly server maintenance",
    "priority": 2,
    "status": 1
  }
}

ID-to-Name Mapping

The Autotask MCP server includes intelligent ID-to-name mapping that automatically resolves company and resource IDs to human-readable names, making API responses much more useful for AI assistants and human users.

Automatic Enhancement

All search and detail tools automatically include an _enhanced field with resolved names:

{
  "id": 12345,
  "title": "Sample Ticket",
  "companyID": 678,
  "assignedResourceID": 90,
  "_enhanced": {
    "companyName": "Acme Corporation",
    "assignedResourceName": "John Smith"
  }
}

Mapping Tools

Additional tools are available for direct ID-to-name resolution:

• get_company_name - Get company name by ID
• get_resource_name - Get resource (user) name by ID
• get_mapping_cache_stats - View cache statistics
• clear_mapping_cache - Clear cached mappings
• preload_mapping_cache - Preload cache for better performance

Performance Features

• Smart Caching: Names are cached for 30 minutes to reduce API calls
• Bulk Operations: Efficient batch lookups for multiple IDs
• Graceful Fallback: Returns "Unknown Company (123)" if lookup fails
• Parallel Processing: Multiple mappings resolved simultaneously

Testing Mapping

Test the mapping functionality:

npm run test:mapping

For detailed mapping documentation, see docs/mapping.md.

Docker Deployment

Quick Start

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/your-org/autotask-mcp.git
cd autotask-mcp

# Create environment file
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your credentials

# Start with docker-compose
docker compose up -d

Production Deployment

# Build production image
docker build -t autotask-mcp:latest .

# Run container
docker run -d \
  --name autotask-mcp \
  --env-file .env \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  autotask-mcp:latest

Development Mode

# Start development environment with hot reload
docker compose --profile dev up autotask-mcp-dev

Claude Desktop Integration

This section explains how to connect the Autotask MCP Server to Claude Desktop for seamless AI-powered Autotask interactions.

Prerequisites

1. Claude Desktop: Download and install Claude Desktop
2. MCP Server Running: Have the Autotask MCP server running locally or in Docker
3. Autotask Credentials: Valid Autotask API credentials configured

Configuration Steps

1. Locate Claude Desktop Configuration

The Claude Desktop configuration file location varies by operating system:

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

2. Configure MCP Server Connection

Add the Autotask MCP server to your Claude Desktop configuration:

For Local Development:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "autotask": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/autotask-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "AUTOTASK_USERNAME": "your-api-username@company.com",
        "AUTOTASK_SECRET": "your-api-secret",
        "AUTOTASK_INTEGRATION_CODE": "your-integration-code"
      }
    }
  }
}

For Docker Deployment:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "autotask": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "--rm", "-i",
        "--env-file", "/path/to/your/.env",
        "autotask-mcp:latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

For NPM Global Installation:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "autotask": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["autotask-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "AUTOTASK_USERNAME": "your-api-username@company.com",
        "AUTOTASK_SECRET": "your-api-secret",
        "AUTOTASK_INTEGRATION_CODE": "your-integration-code"
      }
    }
  }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop

After updating the configuration:

1. Completely quit Claude Desktop
2. Restart the application
3. Verify the connection in the Claude interface

Verification

Check MCP Server Status

Look for the MCP server indicator in Claude Desktop:

• Connected: Green indicator with "autotask" label
• Disconnected: Red indicator or missing server

Test Basic Functionality

Try these example prompts in Claude:

Show me all companies in Autotask

Create a new ticket for Company ID 123 with title "Server maintenance"

Search for contacts with email containing "@example.com"

Available MCP Resources

Once connected, Claude can access these Autotask resources:

Companies

• autotask://companies - List all companies
• autotask://companies/{id} - Get specific company details

Contacts

• autotask://contacts - List all contacts
• autotask://contacts/{id} - Get specific contact details

Tickets

• autotask://tickets - List all tickets
• autotask://tickets/{id} - Get specific ticket details

Time Entries

• autotask://time-entries - List all time entries

Available MCP Tools

Claude can perform these actions via MCP tools:

Company Operations

• search_companies: Find companies with filters
• create_company: Create new companies
• update_company: Modify existing companies

Contact Operations

• search_contacts: Find contacts with filters
• create_contact: Create new contacts

Ticket Operations

• search_tickets: Find tickets with filters
• create_ticket: Create new tickets

Time Entry Operations

• create_time_entry: Log time entries

Utility Operations

• test_connection: Verify Autotask API connectivity

Example Usage Scenarios

1. Ticket Management

Claude, show me all open tickets assigned to John Doe and create a summary report

2. Customer Information

Find the contact information for ACME Corporation and show me their recent tickets

3. Time Tracking

Create a time entry for 2 hours of work on ticket #12345 with description "Database optimization"

4. Company Analysis

Show me all companies created in the last 30 days and their primary contacts

Troubleshooting Claude Integration

Connection Issues

Problem: MCP server not appearing in Claude Solutions:

1. Check configuration file syntax (valid JSON)
2. Verify file path in the configuration
3. Ensure environment variables are set correctly
4. Restart Claude Desktop completely

Problem: Authentication errors Solutions:

1. Verify Autotask credentials are correct
2. Check API user permissions in Autotask
3. Ensure integration code is valid

Performance Issues

Problem: Slow responses from Claude Solutions:

1. Check network connectivity to Autotask API
2. Monitor server logs for performance bottlenecks
3. Consider implementing caching for frequently accessed data

Debug Mode

Enable debug logging for troubleshooting:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "autotask": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/autotask-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "AUTOTASK_USERNAME": "your-username",
        "AUTOTASK_SECRET": "your-secret",
        "AUTOTASK_INTEGRATION_CODE": "your-code",
        "LOG_LEVEL": "debug"
      }
    }
  }
}

Security Considerations

Credential Management

• Store credentials in environment variables, not directly in config
• Use .env files for local development
• Consider using secrets management for production

Network Security

• Run MCP server in isolated network environments
• Use HTTPS for all API communications
• Monitor and log all API access

Access Control

• Limit Autotask API user permissions to minimum required
• Regular rotation of API credentials
• Monitor API usage patterns

Development

Setup

git clone https://github.com/your-org/autotask-mcp.git
cd autotask-mcp
npm install

Available Scripts

npm run dev          # Start development server with hot reload
npm run build        # Build for production
npm run test         # Run test suite
npm run test:watch   # Run tests in watch mode
npm run test:coverage # Run tests with coverage
npm run lint         # Run ESLint
npm run lint:fix     # Fix ESLint issues

Project Structure

autotask-mcp/
├── src/
│   ├── handlers/           # MCP request handlers
│   ├── mcp/               # MCP server implementation
│   ├── services/          # Autotask service layer
│   ├── types/             # TypeScript type definitions
│   ├── utils/             # Utility functions
│   └── index.ts           # Main entry point
├── tests/                 # Test files
├── plans/                 # Project documentation (gitignored)
├── prompt_logs/           # Development logs (gitignored)
├── Dockerfile             # Container definition
├── docker-compose.yml     # Multi-service orchestration
└── package.json          # Project configuration

Testing

Running Tests

# Run all tests
npm test

# Run with coverage
npm run test:coverage

# Run in watch mode
npm run test:watch

# Run specific test file
npm test -- tests/autotask-service.test.ts

Test Categories

• Unit Tests: Service layer and utility functions
• Integration Tests: MCP protocol compliance
• API Tests: Autotask API integration (requires credentials)

Coverage Requirements

• Minimum 80% coverage for all metrics
• 100% coverage for critical paths (authentication, data handling)

Configuration Reference

Environment Variables

Logging Levels

• error: Only error messages
• warn: Warnings and errors
• info: General information, warnings, and errors
• debug: Detailed debugging information

Log Formats

• simple: Human-readable console output
• json: Structured JSON output (recommended for production)

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Authentication Errors

Error: Missing required Autotask credentials

Solution: Ensure all required environment variables are set correctly.

Connection Timeouts

Error: Connection to Autotask API failed

Solutions:

• Check network connectivity
• Verify API endpoint URL
• Confirm API user has proper permissions

Permission Denied

Error: User does not have permission to access this resource

Solution: Review Autotask API user permissions and security level settings.

Debug Mode

Enable debug logging for detailed troubleshooting:

LOG_LEVEL=debug npm start

Health Checks

Test server connectivity:

# Test basic functionality
npm run test

# Test API connection (requires credentials)
LOG_LEVEL=debug npm start

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Development Guidelines

• Follow TypeScript best practices
• Maintain test coverage above 80%
• Use conventional commit messages
• Update documentation for API changes
• Add tests for new features

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Support

• 📚 Documentation
• 🐛 Issue Tracker
• 💬 Discussions

Acknowledgments

• Model Context Protocol by Anthropic
• Autotask REST API by Kaseya
• autotask-node library

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