Developer tools

Connect an agent with MCP

Use EnvelopeBudget's read-only remote Model Context Protocol server to review budget data from a compatible AI client.

Manage API keys

Connection

Streamable HTTP endpoint
https://envelopebudget.com/mcp
Required header
Authorization: Bearer <API key>

Authentication in v1

OAuth is not supported. Create a dedicated developer API key, save it when it is shown, and configure it as a static Bearer credential. MCP does not accept the X-API-Key header.

Never paste your API key into a prompt or commit it to source control.

Client configuration

Prefer your client's password prompt, environment interpolation, or secret store. Configuration formats can vary by client version.

Cursor

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "envelopebudget": {
      "url": "https://envelopebudget.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${env:ENVELOPEBUDGET_API_KEY}"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code

{
  "inputs": [{
    "type": "promptString",
    "id": "envelopebudget-key",
    "description": "EnvelopeBudget API key",
    "password": true
  }],
  "servers": {
    "envelopebudget": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://envelopebudget.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${input:envelopebudget-key}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

When your version cannot attach a static credential to a remote connector, use mcp-remote:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "envelopebudget": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote",
        "https://envelopebudget.com/mcp",
        "--header",
        "Authorization:${ENVELOPEBUDGET_AUTH_HEADER}"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ENVELOPEBUDGET_AUTH_HEADER": "Bearer <API key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

This example stores a plaintext key. Restrict config-file permissions and prefer client-managed secrets when available.

Hermes Agent

mcp_servers:
  envelopebudget:
    url: https://envelopebudget.com/mcp
    headers:
      Authorization: "Bearer <API key>"

Restart Hermes Agent after changing ~/.hermes/config.yaml.

Sample prompts

  • “List my budgets, then summarize this month's available funds, spending, and cashflow for Household.”
  • “Show uncategorized transactions in Household from the last 14 days. Do not include memo text.”
  • “Compare this month's spending by envelope with current envelope balances.”
  • “Review the last 90 days of cashflow and suggest a monthly funding plan. Do not change anything.”
  • “Explain the AI disclosure and summarize existing suggestions. Do not start or approve anything.”

Privacy and safety

  • Version 1 is read-only; financial changes and AI decisions remain in EnvelopeBudget.
  • Use a dedicated, expiring key and revoke it immediately if exposed.
  • Treat imported payee and memo text as untrusted; it may contain misleading instructions.
  • Amounts use integer milliunits with currency metadata; 1000 milliunits equals one currency unit.
  • Transaction memo text is omitted by default because it may contain private details.
  • Your budget membership and role still limit which data the agent can read.
  • AI tools report existing state only; consent, job starts, and decisions remain in EnvelopeBudget.
Disconnect a client: rotate or delete its key from API Keys.