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How-to · About 5 minutes

How to connect Onplana to Claude Desktop

Five steps. Generate a PAT, paste the config snippet, restart Claude Desktop, verify with a tool call. Total time about 5 minutes.

What you’ll be able to do after: ask Claude things like “create a project plan for the Q3 launch with weekly milestones,” or “summarize this week’s risks across all active projects,” and Claude runs the work directly in Onplana.

Open Onplana → Integrations Download Claude Desktop

The five steps

  1. 1

    Generate an Onplana connection token

    Sign in to Onplana at app.onplana.com. Go to Integrations → AI agents → Generate connection (under the "Other MCP client" tile). Copy the personal access token (it starts with `pat_`). The token has MCP_AGENT scope only — it can call MCP tools but cannot create other tokens, modify billing, or anything outside the MCP surface.

  2. 2

    Open Claude Desktop config

    In Claude Desktop, click Settings → Developer → Edit Config. This opens claude_desktop_config.json in your default editor. On macOS this lives at ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. On Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json. If the file is empty or doesn't exist, create it with `{}`.

  3. 3

    Paste the Onplana MCP server config

    Add an "onplana" entry under the "mcpServers" key. The full config: {"mcpServers": {"onplana": {"url": "https://mcp.onplana.com/mcp", "headers": {"Authorization": "Bearer pat_paste-your-token-here"}}}}. Replace pat_paste-your-token-here with the token you copied in step 1. Save the file.

  4. 4

    Restart Claude Desktop

    Quit Claude Desktop completely (Cmd+Q on macOS, full close on Windows). Reopen it. The Onplana tool should appear in the tools picker.

  5. 5

    Verify the connection

    In a new conversation, ask: "list my Onplana projects". Claude calls Onplana's list_projects tool and shows you the result. If you see an error: re-check the token, confirm your Onplana plan tier includes MCP (PRO and above), and confirm the config file is valid JSON.

claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "onplana": {
      "url": "https://mcp.onplana.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer pat_paste-your-token-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

How to verify it’s working

Open a new Claude Desktop conversation and try any of:

  • “List my Onplana projects.”
  • “What’s overdue in my Onplana account?”
  • “Create an Onplana task in project X called ‘Migrate Postgres to Aurora’.”
  • “Generate a status report for project Y.”

Claude shows you the tool call inline before running it, so you can review what data is being read or written. Mutations on free / starter plans return a PREVIEW result by default (the change is not committed until you approve); PRO and above commit immediately.

Frequently asked

Which Onplana plan includes MCP access?

MCP access is included with the PRO plan ($12/seat/month, $10 annual) and above. FREE and STARTER plans do not include MCP. You can upgrade or downgrade at any time from app.onplana.com/billing.

Is OAuth available as an alternative to PAT?

Yes. Claude Desktop's Custom Connector flow supports OAuth 2.1 with PKCE. Onplana publishes RFC 9728 + RFC 8414 discovery metadata at https://mcp.onplana.com/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource and oauth-authorization-server. The PAT-paste flow described here is the simpler path; OAuth is for users who prefer not to manage long-lived tokens.

What tools does Claude get access to?

27 tools across reads (list_projects, get_project, list_tasks, list_my_tasks, list_overdue, list_team_members, list_org_members, list_risks, find_similar_projects, search_org_knowledge, summarize_project, analyze_project_risks, generate_status_report) and writes (create_project, create_task, update_task, assign_task, create_milestone, create_comment, bulk_update_tasks, create_sprint_with_tasks, submit_timesheet, add_project_member, link_dependency, move_task_to_sprint, update_project). Plan tier gates some tools; see onplana.com/mcp for the full catalog.

Can Claude delete projects or tasks via MCP?

No. Onplana intentionally does not expose delete_* tools through MCP in v1. Updates are reversible via the audit log; deletes would not be. The 27-tool catalog covers reads + creates + updates; soft-delete via update_task status changes is the closest available primitive.

Where can I revoke the connection?

Two ways. (1) For PAT-based connections: Onplana → Integrations → AI agents → tap the token row → Revoke. (2) For OAuth-based connections: Onplana → Integrations → AI agents → Connected apps → tap the row → Revoke. Both take effect immediately; the next Claude tool call returns 401 and Claude prompts you to reconnect.

What happens if my token leaks?

Revoke it immediately (see above). Mint a new one in the same panel. The compromised token is invalidated server-side within seconds. Audit logs in OrgSettings → Security show every action the leaked token took, so you can review what the attacker may have seen or changed.

Does this work on Linux?

Claude Desktop is currently macOS and Windows only. On Linux: use a third-party MCP client like the official MCP Inspector (npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector), Cursor (Linux supported), or wire the Onplana connection into a local agent script using Onplana's typed TypeScript client SDK.

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