MCP

Connect Productlane to Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Claude, ChatGPT, or any MCP-compatible client so an AI agent can read and act on your workspace directly. The agent can triage threads, send replies, file issues, publish changelogs, and manage docs, all within the permissions you grant.

For the complete setup reference, see the full MCP guide.

Server URL

https://productlane.com/api/mcp

One endpoint serves every client. There are two ways to authenticate, both exposing the same tools. Pick based on who is connecting.

Plan requirement

MCP access needs an active plan. A workspace on the free plan with no active trial gets a 402 error on every MCP call, whether it connects over OAuth or an API key. Start a subscription or an active trial to use MCP; connected apps and keys resume working automatically once the workspace has an active plan.

Option 1: Connect with OAuth (recommended)

Best for connecting an AI client to your own workspace. One click in the client, no keys to copy, and you choose exactly what to grant.

Open Connect MCP from the app (the onboarding checklist or the command menu) and pick your client. Each one has its own setup path:

• Claude Code: run claude mcp add --transport http productlane https://productlane.com/api/mcp in your terminal, then restart Claude Code.

• Cursor: click Add to Cursor. Cursor opens with the server prefilled, ready to authorize in the browser. Reload Cursor once you have.

• VS Code: run code --add-mcp '{"name":"productlane","type":"http","url":"https://productlane.com/api/mcp"}' in your terminal, then reload VS Code.

• Claude: search for "Productlane" in Settings → Connectors → Browse connectors, since Productlane is listed in Claude's connector directory. You can still add it manually under Add custom connector by pasting the server URL and authorizing.

• ChatGPT: go to Settings → Connectors, turn on developer mode under Advanced, then add a custom MCP server with the URL https://productlane.com/api/mcp. Set Authentication to OAuth and leave the token fields empty. Create the server, then sign in and approve access on the Productlane authorization screen.

Whichever path you pick, the client opens a Productlane authorization screen in your browser next.

1. Sign in if needed, pick the workspace to connect, and choose the access to grant: Full requested access, or Only select permissions to pick individual ones.

2. Click Authorize. The client is connected.

Review and revoke connected apps anytime in Settings → API → Connected apps. Revoking stops that app's access immediately.

Option 2: Connect with an API key

Best for scripts, servers, or any setup without a browser to complete the OAuth flow.

1. Create a key in Settings → API and pick the scopes the integration needs. Copy the key (shown once).

2. Add the server in your client, pointing it at https://productlane.com/api/mcp, and pass the key as the Authorization: Bearer pl_v2_... header.

For Claude, add it as a custom connector:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "productlane": {
      "url": "https://productlane.com/api/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer pl_v2_..." }
    }
  }
}

For Cursor, go to Settings → MCP → Add new MCP server and use the same URL and header.

To rotate a key, create a new one, update the client config, then revoke the old key.

What the agent can do

The MCP server exposes the same surface as the v2 API. Connected clients can work with:

• Threads - list, read, update status, send messages, and post internal comments. Each thread shows sla_deadline_at and sla_breached, and the list accepts a sla_breached filter, so an agent can pull every open thread that is past its SLA deadline.

• Contacts and companies - look people and organizations up, create and update them, and manage blocked senders.

• Issues and projects - file issues to Linear, read workflow states, and manage projects.

• Changelogs - read entries, create drafts, edit drafts or published entries, publish, broadcast by email or Slack, and manage changelog tags. New entries start as drafts.

• Docs - create and update help center articles and groups, including an article's cover image, and propose drafts for review.

• Tags, members, and the portal - manage tags and tag groups, invite and manage members with admin, and read the public roadmap.

Each tool is gated by the scopes you grant, so the agent only sees the tools its access allows.

What MCP does not cover

MCP cannot manage connectors, the live data sections shown on threads. An agent connected over MCP cannot create a connector or change its URL or headers. Set those up under Settings → Connectors.

Example prompts

Once connected, ask the client in plain language:

• "Summarize my open threads from the last 24 hours and draft a reply to the oldest one."

• "Create a Linear issue from this thread and link it to the customer's request."

• "Find every company on the Enterprise tier with an open thread."

• "Draft a changelog entry for the project we just shipped, then leave it unpublished for review."

• "Propose a help center article explaining our new export feature, as a draft for review."

• "Export every thread from last month to a CSV with one row per message, showing the author, timestamp, thread ID, and status."

Scopes control what the agent can do

Whichever method you use, access is limited to the scopes you grant: reading and managing threads, contacts, companies, changelogs, help center articles, projects, issues, and tags, plus member and workspace management with admin. A read-only key or grant exposes only read tools. Grant a narrow set when you want the agent limited to part of your workspace.

For the full list of scopes, see the API reference.

Verify the connection

Ask the client to call me_get. It returns your workspace, the key id, and the granted scopes. If it fails, the key or grant is missing, was revoked, is a deprecated v1 key, or the workspace has no active plan.

Troubleshooting

• A tool is missing. The connection lacks the scope that tool needs. Re-authorize with the OAuth flow and grant the scope, or mint a new key with it. If the tool is for managing connectors, that is expected: see What MCP does not cover above.

• 401 unauthenticated. The key or grant is missing or malformed. Reconnect the server.

• 402 forbidden. The workspace has no active plan and no active trial. Start a subscription to restore access.

• 410 unsupported_key_version. You passed a deprecated v1 key. Mint a v2 key in Settings → API and use that.

• 429 rate_limited. You hit the rate limit. Reads allow 1000 requests per minute and writes 60 per minute, per key. The client should wait for the window in the Retry-After response header.

Revoke access

For an OAuth connection, revoke the app in Settings → API → Connected apps. For an API key, revoke the key in Settings → API. The client stops working immediately.