Connect Claude Desktop to Mangobeds with MCP

Claude Desktop can read your live Mangobeds data once you add it as an MCP server. A Claude Desktop MCP connection takes a little more setup than the others, because Claude Desktop cannot send a custom header from its own configuration: it goes through the mcp-remote bridge, which needs Node.js installed. For the background on MCP, or if you use a different tool, start with Connect Mangobeds to AI tools with MCP.

If that sounds like more than you want, Claude in your browser and on your phone connects with no key and no file at all, and answers the same questions.

Before you start

• Node.js installed. The bridge runs through npx, which comes with Node.
• Your API key. In Mangobeds, go to Apps > MCP and pick Claude Desktop. The configuration shown there already has your key in it. Everything below uses a placeholder instead.

Add the server

Open Settings > Developer > Edit Config, add this to claude_desktop_config.json, and restart Claude Desktop:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mangobeds": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://api.mangobeds.com/mcp",
        "--header",
        "X-API-Key:${MANGOBEDS_API_KEY}"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MANGOBEDS_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Then ask “what properties do I have in Mangobeds?” to check. It should answer without you giving it an ID.

If claude_desktop_config.json already has an mcpServers object, add “mangobeds” inside it. Two separate mcpServers blocks make the file invalid JSON, and Claude Desktop then loads none of your servers rather than complaining about the new one.

Leave no space after X-API-Key:

That is not a typo. On Windows, Claude Desktop does not escape spaces inside a command’s arguments, so “X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY” splits into two pieces, only half the header reaches Mangobeds, and you get an authentication error that looks exactly like a bad key. Passing the key as an environment variable and removing the space avoids it entirely.

The same file works on macOS and Linux, so there is no reason to use a different one there.

What you can ask

Claude Desktop 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

• Check the JSON is valid. A stray comma or a duplicated mcpServers block stops Claude Desktop loading the file at all.
• Quit Claude Desktop properly and reopen it. Closing the window is not enough on macOS; the app keeps running and keeps the old configuration.
• Check Node.js is installed and that npx runs from a terminal. Without it the bridge never starts, and Claude Desktop reports the server as failed with little explanation.
• Check the space. No space after X-API-Key:, as above. This is the single most common cause on Windows.
• Check the key. Copy it again from Apps > MCP. If the key was deleted and regenerated, the old one stops working immediately.