A default install advertises three read tools and nothing else. Turning on writes adds drafts, notes, tags, status and assignment — none of which email anybody — and reaching the customer needs a second flag plus per-call confirmation naming the operation and the target, or the call is refused before it leaves the server. Deletes and admin configuration are not exposed under any flag, and any write can be sent with a dry-run switch to see the exact request first.
An MCP server for Help Scout that keeps its advertised surface small: three tools handle discovery, schema loading and execution, and every supported read operation is reached through them rather than crowding the client's tool list.
- `search_help_scout` to find the right operation by intent, `describe_help_scout` to load its schema, and `read_help_scout` to run it — 55 read operations across the Mailbox and Docs APIs
- Conversations: `searchConversations` by keyword, date, status, tag, email domain or ticket number, plus `getConversation`, `getConversationSummary` and `getThreads` for the full history
- Customers and organizations: `listCustomers`, `searchCustomersByEmail`, `getCustomer`, `getCustomerContacts`, `listOrganizations`, `getOrganizationMembers`, `getOrganizationConversations`
- Docs knowledge base: `searchDocsArticles` and `getDocsArticle`, through the separate Docs API
- Reports and metadata across conversations, channels, productivity, happiness, users, teams and routing
- An optional fourth tool for writes — drafts, internal notes, tags, status, assignment and snooze — that only appears when an operator enables it
A Help Scout private app, giving you `HELPSCOUT_APP_ID` and `HELPSCOUT_APP_SECRET` — OAuth2 client credentials only, personal access tokens are not supported. Knowledge base tools additionally need `HELPSCOUT_DOCS_API_KEY`. Install the bundle for Claude Desktop with no Node required, or run the npm package with npx. `HELPSCOUT_DEFAULT_INBOX_ID` scopes searches to one inbox, and `REDACT_MESSAGE_CONTENT` replaces message bodies with placeholders.
One command plus a key — npx help-scout-mcp-server@2.1.0, then supply credentials