Harvest MCP server

This MCP server lets you track time in Harvest using natural language commands. It understands conversational inputs like "2 hours on Project X today" and even handles leave requests automatically with phrases like "I'm off sick today."

Prerequisites

Before installation, you'll need:

• Node.js installed on your system
• A Harvest account
• Personal access token from Harvest Developer Tools
• Your Harvest Account ID (shown on the same page as your token)

Installation

Setting Up the Server

1. Install the Claude desktop app

2. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/adrian-dotco/harvest-mcp-server.git
cd harvest-mcp-server

3. Install dependencies and build:

npm install
npm run build

4. Run the setup script:

node build/setup.js

5. When prompted, enter your:

   • Harvest Personal Access Token
   • Harvest Account ID
   • Standard work day hours (default: 7.5)
   • Timezone (default: Australia/Perth)

6. Restart the Claude desktop app

Updating the Server

To update to the latest version:

git pull
npm install
npm run build

Usage

Logging Time

Use the log_time command with natural language to create time entries:

Regular time entries:

"2 hours on Project X doing development work today"
"45 minutes on Project Y testing yesterday"
"3.5 hours on Project Z meetings last Friday"

Leave requests (automatically uses your configured standard work day hours):

"I'm off sick today"
"I'm unwell today"
"Taking annual leave next week"

Getting Time Reports

Use get_time_report with natural language queries:

Time Period Options:

"Show time report for last month"
"Get time summary for this week"
"Show hours from January 1st to January 31st"
"Report time for Q1"
"Show me yesterday's hours"

Report Types:

By Project (default):

"Show time report for last month"
"Get project hours for this week"

By Client:

"Show time report by client for this month"
"Get hours by client for Q1"

By Task:

"Show time summary by task for January"
"Get task breakdown for last week"

By Team Member:

"Show team hours for last week"
"Get time report by user for this month"

Each report provides total hours worked, billable vs non-billable hours, and other relevant details.

Listing Projects

To see all available Harvest projects:

List my projects

Listing Tasks

To view available tasks for a specific project:

Show tasks for Project X

Viewing Recent Entries

To see your recent time entries:

Show my recent time entries

Configuration

The server supports these environment variables:

• HARVEST_ACCESS_TOKEN: Your Harvest personal access token
• HARVEST_ACCOUNT_ID: Your Harvest account ID
• STANDARD_WORK_DAY_HOURS: Default hours for a full work day (default: 7.5)
• TIMEZONE: Your timezone (default: Australia/Perth)

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "harvest" '{"command":"node","args":["build/index.js"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "harvest": {
            "command": "node",
            "args": [
                "build/index.js"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "harvest": {
            "command": "node",
            "args": [
                "build/index.js"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect