Claude Desktop Integration Guide

This guide will help you set up the Monta Partner API MCP server with Claude Desktop, giving Claude access to control EV charging infrastructure through Monta's API.

Prerequisites

Claude Desktop installed
Node.js 18+ installed
Monta Partner API credentials (Client ID and Client Secret)

Quick Setup

Time required: 2 minutes

Option A: Use Launcher Script (downloads latest from server)

Download the launcher script
Add to Claude Desktop config with your credentials
Restart Claude Desktop

Option B: Use Local Development Build (for testing unreleased changes)

Clone/have the repository locally
Run npm run build:bundle
Point Claude Desktop directly to the bundle
Restart Claude Desktop

See detailed steps below:

Installation

Option A: Use Launcher Script (Recommended)

This option downloads the latest stable release from the server.

Step 1: Download the Launcher Script

Download the launcher script for your operating system:

Browser Download

Click to download the launcher script for your operating system:

macOS/Linux: https://partner-api-mcp.monta.app/scripts/monta-mcp.sh
Windows: https://partner-api-mcp.monta.app/scripts/monta-mcp.bat

Save to a location of your choice (e.g., ~/Development/monta-mcp.sh on macOS/Linux, or %USERPROFILE%\Documents\monta-mcp.bat on Windows).

macOS/Linux only: Make the script executable:

chmod +x ~/Development/monta-mcp.sh

Command Line Download

macOS/Linux:

curl -o ~/Development/monta-mcp.sh https://partner-api-mcp.monta.app/scripts/monta-mcp.sh
chmod +x ~/Development/monta-mcp.sh

Windows (PowerShell):

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://partner-api-mcp.monta.app/scripts/monta-mcp.bat -OutFile "$env:USERPROFILE\Documents\monta-mcp.bat"

The launcher script automatically:

Checks for Node.js 18+ installation
Validates authentication environment variables
Downloads the latest MCP adapter bundle
Runs the MCP server

Step 2: Configure Claude Desktop

Find your Claude Desktop 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

Edit the configuration file to add the Monta MCP server:

macOS/Linux:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "monta-partner-api": {
      "command": "/bin/bash",
      "args": ["/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/Development/monta-mcp.sh"],
      "env": {
        "MONTA_CLIENT_ID": "your-client-id-here",
        "MONTA_CLIENT_SECRET": "your-client-secret-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Windows:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "monta-partner-api": {
      "command": "cmd.exe",
      "args": ["/c", "C:\\Users\\YOUR_USERNAME\\Documents\\monta-mcp.bat"],
      "env": {
        "MONTA_CLIENT_ID": "your-client-id-here",
        "MONTA_CLIENT_SECRET": "your-client-secret-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

⚠️ Important replacements:

Replace YOUR_USERNAME with your actual username
Replace your-client-id-here with your Monta Client ID
Replace your-client-secret-here with your Monta Client Secret
Use full paths - don't use ~ or %USERPROFILE% as they may not expand correctly

Alternative: Using Bearer Token

If you have a bearer token instead, replace the env section:

"env": {
  "MONTA_BEARER_TOKEN": "your-bearer-token-here"
}

Step 3: Restart Claude Desktop

Quit and restart Claude Desktop to load the new configuration.

Option B: Use Local Development Build

Use this option when you need to test unreleased changes or the production server hasn't been updated yet.

Step 1: Build the Bundle Locally

Clone the repository (if you haven't already):

git clone https://github.com/your-org/monta-partner-api-mcp.git
cd monta-partner-api-mcp

Install dependencies and build:
```
npm install
npm run build:bundle
```
This creates the bundle at bundle/monta-mcp-adapter.js.

Step 2: Configure Claude Desktop

Find your Claude Desktop 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

Edit the configuration file to point directly to the local bundle:

macOS/Linux:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "monta-partner-api": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/Development/monta-partner-api-mcp/bundle/monta-mcp-adapter.js"],
      "env": {
        "MONTA_CLIENT_ID": "your-client-id-here",
        "MONTA_CLIENT_SECRET": "your-client-secret-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Windows:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "monta-partner-api": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:\\Users\\YOUR_USERNAME\\Development\\monta-partner-api-mcp\\bundle\\monta-mcp-adapter.js"],
      "env": {
        "MONTA_CLIENT_ID": "your-client-id-here",
        "MONTA_CLIENT_SECRET": "your-client-secret-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

⚠️ Important replacements:

Replace YOUR_USERNAME with your actual username
Replace the full path to match where you cloned the repository
Replace your-client-id-here with your Monta Client ID
Replace your-client-secret-here with your Monta Client Secret
Use full absolute paths - don't use ~ or %USERPROFILE%

Alternative: Using Bearer Token

If you have a bearer token instead, replace the env section:

"env": {
  "MONTA_BEARER_TOKEN": "your-bearer-token-here"
}

Step 3: Restart Claude Desktop

Quit and restart Claude Desktop to load the new configuration.

Note: With this option, you'll need to manually rebuild the bundle (npm run build:bundle) whenever you make changes to the source code.

Verify Installation

After restarting Claude Desktop, verify the integration is working:

Open Claude Desktop
Look for "monta-partner-api" in the available tools (you might see a 🔌 icon)
Try a simple command: "Can you list my Monta teams?"

Troubleshooting

The server doesn't appear in Claude Desktop

Check the configuration file path - make sure you're editing the right file
Verify JSON syntax - use a JSON validator to check for syntax errors
Check the script path - use the full absolute path (e.g., /Users/username/Development/monta-mcp.sh) instead of ~/monta-mcp.sh
Make script executable - run chmod +x /path/to/monta-mcp.sh (macOS/Linux)
Restart Claude Desktop completely (quit and reopen)

"Disconnected" connector or browser popup

If you see a disconnected connector or Claude opens a browser:

This means your credentials aren't configured properly
Claude is trying to use OAuth (which this server doesn't support)
Double-check your config file has actual credentials, not placeholder text
Make sure you saved the config file after editing
Completely quit and restart Claude Desktop

Authentication errors

If you see "No authentication credentials available":

Verify your credentials are correct in the config file
For Client ID/Secret: ensure both are provided
For Bearer Token: ensure it's not expired
Don't use placeholder values - use your actual credentials

View logs for debugging

Check Claude Desktop logs:

macOS: ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp*.log
Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\logs\
Linux: ~/.config/Claude/logs/

Common error fixes

Error	Solution
"Node.js not found"	Install Node.js 18+ from https://nodejs.org/
"Permission denied"	Run `chmod +x /path/to/monta-mcp.sh` (macOS/Linux)
"Script not found" or "No such file or directory"	Use full absolute path in config (not `~`), verify file exists
"401 Unauthorized"	Check your Monta API credentials
"Failed to download adapter"	Check internet connection and firewall settings
Module not found errors	Delete cached bundle and restart (script will re-download)

Getting Help

Monta API Documentation: https://docs.partner-api.monta.com
MCP Protocol Docs: https://modelcontextprotocol.io
Support: Contact Monta support for API issues

Security Best Practices

Never share your configuration file - it contains your API credentials
Use environment variables for production deployments
Rotate credentials regularly through Monta's portal
Restrict file permissions on your config: chmod 600 claude_desktop_config.json

How It Works

The MCP server works by:

Script Download: The launcher script downloads the latest MCP adapter bundle from https://partner-api-mcp.monta.app/mcp/bundle.js
Dynamic Tool Generation: The adapter fetches Monta's OpenAPI spec and creates MCP tools for each endpoint
Stdio Communication: Claude Desktop runs the script locally and communicates via standard input/output
Authentication: Your credentials are passed to the Monta API for each request
Auto-Update: The script automatically updates the adapter bundle daily (checks every 24 hours)

Usage Examples

Once installed, you can use natural language with Claude:

Basic Queries

"Show me all charge points"
"What's the status of charge point 123?"
"List teams I have access to"

Charging Operations

"Start charging at charge point 456"
"Stop charging session 789"
"Show me active charging sessions"

Advanced Operations

"Get charging statistics for the last week"
"Update the price for charge point 123"
"Create a webhook for charging events"

Summary

Setup takes just 2 minutes:

Download the launcher script from https://partner-api-mcp.monta.app/scripts/monta-mcp.sh (or .bat for Windows)
Make it executable: chmod +x /path/to/monta-mcp.sh
Add to Claude Desktop config with full absolute path and your Monta credentials
Restart Claude Desktop

Important: Always use full absolute paths in the Claude Desktop config (e.g., /Users/username/Development/monta-mcp.sh), not relative paths like ~/monta-mcp.sh.

The MCP server provides Claude with direct access to all Monta Partner API endpoints as native tools. The launcher script automatically keeps your adapter up to date.