The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a secure bridge that allows you to securely connect your ShiftCare account to external AI assistants like Claude or ChatGPT.
The MCP feature is only available on the ShiftCare Premium subscription plan
Instead of manually exporting reports or navigating through multiple pages in the ShiftCare app, MCP allows you to simply chat with your AI assistant to fetch, summarise, or analyse your data.
Once connected, you can ask your AI agent questions like:
"Show me my upcoming shifts for this week in ShiftCare."
"List all active clients in ShiftCare."
"What staff members are available in ShiftCare this weekend?"
"Show me upcoming shifts for [Client Name] via ShiftCare."
Choose Your AI Assistant
Because ShiftCare is not currently a "native" or default app inside Claude or ChatGPT, setting up the MCP requires a two-part process.
The Admin Setup: A Workspace or Organisation Admin in your AI platform must first enable developer settings (ChatGPT) and add ShiftCare as a Custom Connector/App using the secure URL for your region (AU, UK, US, or CA).
The Staff Setup: Once the Admin has published the custom connector/app to your workspace, individual team members can connect their personal ShiftCare accounts to the AI via a secure login window.
Please select the AI platform you are using below for complete step-by-step setup instructions:
ChatGPT: Connecting ShiftCare MCP to ChatGPT
Microsoft Copilot: Connecting ShiftCare MCP to Microsoft Copilot
Note: Some setup methods require technical knowledge, administrator privileges, or comfort using a command-line interface (CLI).
Command Line Setup (CLI)
For developers and technical users, you can connect the MCP server directly via Claude Code or OpenAI Codex.
Claude Code (by Anthropic)
Run the following command in your terminal for your specific region:
# 🇦🇺 Australia
claude mcp add --transport http shiftcare-au https://mcp.au.shiftcare.com/mcp
# 🇬🇧 UK
claude mcp add --transport http shiftcare-uk https://mcp.uk.shiftcare.com/mcp
# 🇺🇸 US
claude mcp add --transport http shiftcare-us https://mcp.us.shiftcare.com/mcp
# 🇨🇦 Canada
claude mcp add --transport http shiftcare-ca https://mcp.ca.shiftcare.com/mcp
💡 By default, mcp add is tied to the directory you’re working in. You can alternatively pass --scope project (kept as .mcp.json in your working directory, suitable for sharing with teammates) or --scope user (global, in ~/.claude.json).
OpenAI Codex
Tip: You can ask your AI to help you set this up. Just pass these instructions directly to your prompt:
Append to ~/.codex/config.toml (globally) or in .codex/config.toml in a directory (locally), replacing <region> with the account’s country code (au, uk, us, or ca):
[mcp_servers.shiftcare-au]
url = "https://mcp.au.shiftcare.com/mcp"
Then, run the following command in your terminal:
codex mcp login shiftcare
Authentication
The first time you interact with the MCP in an AI chat, the agent will redirect you to a secure ShiftCare login page. You will need to select your region and enter your ShiftCare credentials. Once authenticated, your AI agent will securely access your data without prompting you to log in again until your session expires.
Important Notes
Please keep the following caveats in mind when using the MCP integration:
Access Limitations: Currently, the MCP integration is restricted to Admin users only and is strictly Read-Only. Your AI can fetch and analyse data, but it cannot make changes or updates inside ShiftCare on your behalf (for now).
Token Usage: Using MCP tools contributes to your AI platform's token usage. Asking the AI to pull and analyse large amounts of ShiftCare data may lead to running out of your AI token limits quickly.
Privacy and Compliance
ShiftCare acts strictly as a data provider. We cannot see your chat conversations, view your context, or interact with your AI beyond fulfilling the data requests it makes on your behalf.
When you connect the MCP, you accept the responsibility of managing how the AI processes your data, including Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Protected Health Information (PHI), to ensure it meets your organisation's specific compliance needs (e.g., HIPAA, NDIS, etc).
We are actively working on expanding these capabilities! More functionality is coming soon, and we would love to hear your feedback on what you'd like to see next.
Need inspiration for what to ask? Check out our ShiftCare MCP Prompt Library for a comprehensive cheat sheet of questions and commands you can use to fetch and analyse your data.
For further assistance with Introduction to the ShiftCare MCP Server, please contact our Support team using online chat when you're logged into ShiftCare or email our Support team at support@shiftcare.com.