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Connect Claude Code to Mangobeds with MCP

3 min read

Claude Code connects to Mangobeds with a single command. A Claude Code MCP connection uses your API key rather than signing in, because Claude Code runs on your own computer and can send a header with each request. For the background on MCP, or if you use a different tool, start with Connect Mangobeds to AI tools with MCP.

Before you start

In Mangobeds, go to Apps > MCP and pick Claude Code. The command shown there already has your API key in it, so copying from that page saves you filling anything in. Everything below uses a placeholder instead.

Add the server

Run this in your terminal, replacing the placeholder with your own key:

claude mcp add --transport http mangobeds https://api.mangobeds.com/mcp --header "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Then run /mcp inside Claude Code to check that Mangobeds shows as connected, and ask “what properties do I have in Mangobeds?” to confirm it can reach your data. It should answer without you giving it an ID.

Which projects it applies to

Claude Code stores MCP servers in one of three scopes, and the default is local, meaning this project on this machine only. To use Mangobeds in every project you open, add –scope user:

claude mcp add --scope user --transport http mangobeds https://api.mangobeds.com/mcp --header "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Avoid –scope project for this one. That writes an .mcp.json file into the repository itself, so your API key would be committed along with it and shared with anyone who can read the repo.

Run claude mcp list at any time to see what is configured and at which scope.

On Windows

If the connection fails to authenticate on Windows, suspect the space in “X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY”. Some tools split the header value at that space, so only half of it reaches Mangobeds and you get an authentication error that looks like a bad key. Your key is fine; the space is the problem. The Windows-safe form is the mcp-remote setup in the Claude Desktop guide, which passes the key as an environment variable with no space after the colon.

What you can ask

Claude Code can list your properties itself, then answer from your live data: bookings and who is checking in, availability, why a room is blocked on a date, what a room costs on a given day, your seasonal rates, and your guests. It can also read these help guides, so “how do I set up seasonal rates?” is answered next to what your own rates actually say. With permission it can correct a guest’s details, add a guest to a booking, and send one of your saved messages.

An API key carries every permission, so a connection made this way can do all of it, including sending a real email or WhatsApp to a guest. If you would rather grant read-only access, Claude in the browser asks you to tick what it may do. Either way, anything it changes is written into the booking’s activity.

If it does not connect

  • Run /mcp inside Claude Code. It reports the connection state per server, which is faster than guessing.
  • It works in one project but not another. It was added at the default local scope. Add it again with –scope user.
  • Check the key. Copy it again from Apps > MCP. If the key was deleted and regenerated, the old one stops working immediately.
  • Start a new session. Claude Code picks up the available tools when a session starts, so one opened before you connected, or before an update on our side, may still be working from an older set.