Actual MCP Server

Talk to your budget. Run it anywhere. Trust it in production.

Actual MCP Server is a Model Context Protocol server that connects any MCP-compatible AI assistant (such as LibreChat, LobeChat, Claude Desktop, and more) directly to your self-hosted Actual Budget instance. Ask natural language questions, create transactions, analyse spending, and manage your entire budget without ever opening the Actual Budget UI.

┌─────────────┐   MCP/HTTP    ┌──────────────────┐   Actual API   ┌──────────────┐
│  LibreChat  │ ◄───────────► │  Actual MCP      │ ◄───────────► │   Actual     │
│  LobeChat   │               │  Server          │               │   Budget     │
│  (remote)   │               │  (71 tools)      │               │   Server     │
└─────────────┘               └──────────────────┘               └──────────────┘

┌─────────────┐   MCP/stdio   ┌──────────────────┐   Actual API   ┌──────────────┐
│  Claude     │ ◄───────────► │  Actual MCP      │ ◄───────────► │   Actual     │
│  Desktop    │               │  Server          │               │   Budget     │
│  (local)    │               │  (71 tools)      │               │   Server     │
└─────────────┘               └──────────────────┘               └──────────────┘

Why this project?

Most Actual Budget MCP implementations are simple stdio bridges designed for single-user, local use with Claude Desktop. This project goes further:

• 71 tools, the most comprehensive coverage available. Accounts, transactions, categories, payees, tags, notes, rules, budgets, batch operations, bank sync, and more. Covers the reachable Actual Budget API with no genuine gaps.
• HTTP and stdio transport. Runs as a real remote server for LibreChat/LobeChat (--http), or as a direct local process for Claude Desktop (--stdio). No Docker or HTTP server is needed for local use.
• 6 exclusive ActualQL-powered tools. Search and summarise transactions by month, amount, category, or payee using Actual Budget's native query engine. Aggregated results, no raw data dumped into the AI context window.
• Multi-budget switching at runtime. Configure multiple budget files and let the AI switch between them mid-conversation with actual_budgets_switch.
• Multi-user ready with OIDC. Secure every session with JWKS-validated JWTs and per-user budget ACLs. No shared tokens required.
• Production-grade reliability. Connection pooling (up to 15 concurrent sessions), automatic retry with exponential backoff, and a full test suite (unit + E2E + integration).

Verified working with LibreChat, LobeChat, and Claude Desktop. All 71 tools tested end-to-end. Any MCP-compatible client should work.

---

Table of Contents

• Quick Start
• Upgrading
• Available Tools
• Configuration
• Multi-Budget Switching
• Transport & Authentication
• Testing
• Documentation
• Contributing
• License
• Disclaimer

---

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Actual Budget server running (local or remote)
• Your Budget Sync ID: Actual → Settings → Show Advanced Settings → Sync ID
• Node.js 22+ (npm method) or Docker

Option A: Docker (recommended)

docker run -d \
  --name actual-mcp-server-backend \
  -p 3600:3600 \
  # Use the same URL you type in your browser to open Actual Budget:
  #   http://localhost:5006          (if Actual Budget runs on the same machine)
  #   http://192.168.1.50:5006       (if it runs on another machine on your network)
  #   https://actual.yourdomain.com  (if you use a domain name)
  #   http://actual:5006             (if both containers share a Docker network; use container name)
  -e ACTUAL_SERVER_URL=http://localhost:5006 \
  -e ACTUAL_PASSWORD=your_password \
  -e ACTUAL_BUDGET_SYNC_ID=your_sync_id \
  -e MCP_SSE_AUTHORIZATION=your_secret_token \
  -v actual-mcp-data:/app/data \        # required, see note below
  -v actual-mcp-logs:/app/logs \
  ghcr.io/agigante80/actual-mcp-server:latest

Why the /app/data volume is required: Actual Budget does not expose a REST API. The official @actual-app/api library (used internally by this server) works by downloading a local copy of your budget data, running all queries on that local copy, then syncing changes back. The /app/data volume gives the container a persistent, writable place to store that local copy (it is the directory the image creates and owns as the runtime user). Without it the container has nowhere to write and will fail on startup. See the Actual API docs for details.

actual-mcp does not need to run on the same machine as Actual Budget. You can have Actual Budget on one server and actual-mcp on another - as long as ACTUAL_SERVER_URL points to your Actual Budget instance, everything works.

Verify it's running:

# Quick health check
curl http://localhost:3600/health
# Expected: {"status":"ok","transport":"http","version":"..."}

# Full MCP handshake (also verifies your token)
curl -s -X POST http://localhost:3600/http \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer your_secret_token" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2024-11-05","capabilities":{},"clientInfo":{"name":"cli-test","version":"1.0"}}}' \
  | python3 -m json.tool
# Success: JSON response with "protocolVersion" and "serverInfo"
# Wrong token: {"error": "Unauthorized"}
# Server not running: curl: (7) Failed to connect

Also available on Docker Hub: agigante80/actual-mcp-server:latest

Option B: Docker Compose

git clone https://github.com/agigante80/actual-mcp-server.git
cd actual-mcp-server
cp .env.example .env        # fill in ACTUAL_SERVER_URL, ACTUAL_PASSWORD, ACTUAL_BUDGET_SYNC_ID

docker compose --profile production up -d   # production: MCP server listens on :3600
# or
docker compose --profile dev up -d          # dev mode with hot-reload

The compose file defines only the dev and production profiles. The MCP server listens on :3600 directly: there is no bundled reverse proxy and no bundled Actual Budget server, so point ACTUAL_SERVER_URL at your own Actual instance. For TLS, enable native HTTPS with MCP_ENABLE_HTTPS=true (plus MCP_HTTPS_CERT and MCP_HTTPS_KEY), or front the server with your own reverse proxy.

Option C: npm (HTTP server)

# Quick start via npx (no clone needed):
ACTUAL_SERVER_URL=http://localhost:5006 \
ACTUAL_PASSWORD=your_password \
ACTUAL_BUDGET_SYNC_ID=your-sync-id \
MCP_SSE_AUTHORIZATION=your_token \
npx actual-mcp-server --http

# Or clone for development / custom config:
git clone https://github.com/agigante80/actual-mcp-server.git
cd actual-mcp-server
npm install
cp .env.example .env        # fill in required values
npm run build
npm run dev -- --http

Server starts at http://localhost:3600/http by default (the listen port is MCP_BRIDGE_PORT, default 3600).

Option D: stdio (Claude Desktop native, no Docker or HTTP server needed)

The stdio transport runs the MCP server as a child process. Claude Desktop spawns it directly and communicates over stdin/stdout. No network port, no auth token, no Docker required. No cloning needed: npx downloads and caches the package automatically.

Add to claude_desktop_config.json (see docs/guides/MCP_CLIENTS_SETUP.md for config file location and all client options):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "actual-budget": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "actual-mcp-server", "--stdio"],
      "env": {
        "ACTUAL_SERVER_URL": "http://localhost:5006",
        "ACTUAL_PASSWORD": "your_actual_password",
        "ACTUAL_BUDGET_SYNC_ID": "your-sync-id-here",
        "MCP_BRIDGE_DATA_DIR": "/absolute/path/to/data-dir"
      }
    }
  }
}

No token needed. stdio runs as a local process owned by your user. The transport itself is the security boundary. All 71 tools are available.

MCP_BRIDGE_DATA_DIR should be an absolute path. Without one, the data directory resolves relative to wherever the client spawns the process, which can be unpredictable. The directory is created automatically on first run.

Option E: Unraid (Community Applications)

Actual MCP Server is published in the Unraid Community Applications store: ca.unraid.net/apps/actual-mcp-server. This runs the HTTP transport, the right choice for LibreChat, LobeChat, and other remote MCP clients.

Install it from the Apps tab (Community Applications):

1. Open the Apps tab and search for actual-mcp-server, then click Install.
2. Fill in Actual server URL, Actual server password, and Actual server Sync ID (the Sync ID is in Actual Budget: open the budget, Settings, Show advanced settings, Sync ID).
3. Set a strong MCP auth token. Generate one with openssl rand -hex 32. A blank token disables all HTTP authentication and exposes your financial data unauthenticated on the LAN, so this is required (see Transport & Authentication).
4. Leave PUID=99 and PGID=100 (nobody:users) so the container can write the appdata Data and Logs directories, then start it.
5. Reach the health endpoint via the container's WebUI link (port 3600); point your MCP client at http://[server-ip]:3600/http with the Bearer token.

The Unraid template lives in unraid/actual-mcp-server.xml. For the publishing workflow see docs/UNRAID_CA_PUBLISHING.md.

Connect an AI client

LibreChat / LobeChat: add to librechat.yaml (or LobeChat MCP plugin settings):

mcpServers:
  actual-mcp:
    type: "streamable-http"
    url: "http://actual-mcp-server-backend:3600/http"
    headers:
      Authorization: "Bearer YOUR_TOKEN_HERE"
    serverInstructions: true
    timeout: 600000

See docs/guides/AI_CLIENT_SETUP.md for full LibreChat, LobeChat, network, and HTTPS/TLS proxy setup.

Claude Desktop via HTTP (when the server is already running as a Docker container):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "actual-budget": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "http://localhost:3600/http",
        "--header",
        "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN_HERE"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop via stdio (native, no HTTP server needed; see Option D above):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "actual-budget": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/actual-mcp-server/dist/src/index.js", "--stdio"],
      "env": {
        "ACTUAL_SERVER_URL": "http://localhost:5006",
        "ACTUAL_PASSWORD": "your_password",
        "ACTUAL_BUDGET_SYNC_ID": "your-sync-id",
        "MCP_BRIDGE_DATA_DIR": "/absolute/path/to/actual-mcp-server/actual-data"
      }
    }
  }
}

See docs/guides/MCP_CLIENTS_SETUP.md for all options (including Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI), Linux/NVM path fixes, and troubleshooting.

---

Upgrading

Docker (Option A)

docker pull ghcr.io/agigante80/actual-mcp-server:latest
docker stop actual-mcp-server-backend
docker rm actual-mcp-server-backend
# Re-run the original docker run command with the same flags and volumes

Also available on Docker Hub: docker pull agigante80/actual-mcp-server:latest

Docker Compose (Option B)

docker compose pull
docker compose --profile production up -d

npm / cloned repo (Option C)

git pull
npm install
npm run build
# Then restart the server

npx / stdio (Options C & D)

If you run npx actual-mcp-server without a globally installed version, npx fetches the latest from the registry automatically. But if you previously installed it globally (npm install -g actual-mcp-server), the global install takes precedence, so you must upgrade it explicitly:

# Upgrade the global install
npm install -g actual-mcp-server

# Or force the registry version without touching your global install
npx actual-mcp-server@latest --http

For Claude Desktop (stdio), restart Claude after upgrading.

---

Available Tools

71 tools across all categories. All tools use the actual_<category>_<action> naming convention.

Accounts (7)

Tool	Description
actual_accounts_list	List all accounts
actual_accounts_create	Create new account
actual_accounts_update	Update account details
actual_accounts_delete	Permanently delete account
actual_accounts_close	Close account (soft delete)
actual_accounts_reopen	Reopen closed account
actual_accounts_get_balance	Get account balance at a date

Transactions (13)

Standard (6)

Tool	Description
actual_transactions_get	Get transactions for an account
actual_transactions_filter	Filter with advanced criteria
actual_transactions_create	Create new transaction(s)
actual_transactions_import	Import and reconcile transactions
actual_transactions_update	Update a transaction
actual_transactions_delete	Delete a transaction

Utility (1)

Tool	Description
actual_transactions_uncategorized	Summary of uncategorized transactions (totalCount, totalAmount, per-account breakdown); pass includeTransactions:true for paginated rows

Exclusive ActualQL-powered (6), unique to this MCP server

Tool	Description
actual_transactions_search_by_month	Search by month using $month transform
actual_transactions_search_by_amount	Find by amount range
actual_transactions_search_by_category	Search by category name
actual_transactions_search_by_payee	Find by payee/vendor
actual_transactions_summary_by_category	Spending summary grouped by category
actual_transactions_summary_by_payee	Top vendors with totals and counts

Transfers (1)

Tool	Description
actual_transfers_create	Create a paired transfer between two accounts (debit + credit linked by transfer_id, identical to UI "Make Transfer")

Note: Use actual_transfers_create for any account-to-account movement, not actual_transactions_create. The dedicated tool creates both sides (debit and credit) atomically so the books stay balanced. Limitations: both accounts must exist and be open, and from_account must differ from to_account.

Categories (4)

actual_categories_get · actual_categories_create · actual_categories_update · actual_categories_delete

Category Groups (4)

actual_category_groups_get · actual_category_groups_create · actual_category_groups_update · actual_category_groups_delete

Payees (7)

actual_payees_get · actual_payees_common_list · actual_payees_create · actual_payees_update · actual_payees_delete · actual_payees_merge · actual_payee_rules_get

Tags (4)

actual_tags_list · actual_tags_create · actual_tags_update · actual_tags_delete

Tool	Description
actual_tags_list	List all tags (id, tag word, optional color and description)
actual_tags_create	Create or upsert a tag by name; returns the tag UUID
actual_tags_update	Update tag name, color, or description by UUID
actual_tags_delete	Soft-delete a tag by UUID

Notes (2)

actual_notes_get · actual_notes_update

Tool	Description
actual_notes_get	Get the note for any entity (account/category/category-group/payee UUID, or budget-YYYY-MM)
actual_notes_update	Set or clear the note for any entity; validates entity exists or matches budget-YYYY-MM pattern

Budgets (10)

Tool	Description
actual_budgets_list_available	List all configured budget files
actual_budgets_switch	Switch active budget (multi-budget)
actual_budgets_get_all	List available budget files
actual_budgets_getMonths	List budget months
actual_budgets_getMonth	Get budget for a specific month
actual_budgets_setAmount	Set category budget amount
actual_budgets_transfer	Transfer amount between categories
actual_budgets_setCarryover	Enable/disable carryover
actual_budgets_holdForNextMonth	Hold funds for next month
actual_budgets_resetHold	Reset hold status

Rules (4)

actual_rules_get · actual_rules_create · actual_rules_update · actual_rules_delete

Advanced Query & Sync (2)

Tool	Description
actual_query_run	Execute custom ActualQL query
actual_bank_sync	Trigger bank sync (GoCardless/SimpleFIN)

Batch Operations (1)

actual_budget_updates_batch: batch multiple budget updates in one call

Server Information & Lookup (4)

Tool	Description
actual_server_info	Server status, version, build info
actual_server_get_version	Actual Budget server version
actual_get_id_by_name	Resolve an exact name → UUID for accounts, categories, payees
actual_entities_search	Find accounts/categories/payees by a name pattern (contains/startsWith/endsWith/exact/fuzzy). Fixes "payee not found" from a partial or mistyped name

Session Management (2)

actual_session_list · actual_session_close

Not Yet Implemented

• Scheduled/recurring transactions (getSchedules, createSchedule, updateSchedule, deleteSchedule)

---

Configuration

All configuration is via environment variables. Copy .env.example to .env to get started.

Complete Environment Variables Reference

Variable	Default	Required	Description
Actual Budget Connection
ACTUAL_SERVER_URL	(none)	Yes	URL of your Actual Budget server. Use the same URL you type in your browser: http://localhost:5006 (local), http://192.168.1.x:5006 (network), https://actual.yourdomain.com (domain), or http://actual:5006 (container name if on the same Docker network)
ACTUAL_PASSWORD	(none)	Yes	Password for Actual Budget server
ACTUAL_BUDGET_SYNC_ID	(none)	Yes	Budget Sync ID from Actual (Settings then Sync ID)
ACTUAL_BUDGET_PASSWORD	(none)	No	Optional encryption password for encrypted budgets
ALLOW_INSECURE_UPSTREAM	false	No	Allow an http:// upstream even when ACTUAL_BUDGET_PASSWORD is set (#161). Off by default so a plaintext upstream plus an encryption password is refused
MCP Server Settings
MCP_BRIDGE_PORT	3600	No	Port for MCP server to listen on
MCP_BRIDGE_BIND_HOST	0.0.0.0	No	Host address to bind server to (0.0.0.0 = all interfaces)
MCP_BRIDGE_DATA_DIR	./actual-data	No	Directory to store Actual Budget local data (SQLite). Required to be a persistent path. The @actual-app/api library downloads a local copy of your budget here to run queries; use a volume mount in Docker to persist it across restarts
MCP_BRIDGE_PUBLIC_HOST	auto-detected	No	Public hostname/IP for server (shown in logs)
MCP_BRIDGE_PUBLIC_SCHEME	auto-detected	No	Public scheme (http or https)
MCP_BRIDGE_USE_TLS	false	No	Set to true to advertise https:// in the server URL (for reverse-proxy setups where TLS is terminated upstream)
Transport Configuration
MCP_TRANSPORT_MODE	--http	No	Transport mode. Only --http is a valid value; stdio is selected via the --stdio CLI flag, not this var
MCP_HTTP_PATH	/http	No	HTTP endpoint routing path
MCP_BRIDGE_HTTP_PATH	same as MCP_HTTP_PATH	No	Advertised HTTP path shown to clients (set when a reverse proxy rewrites the path)
MCP_HTTP_BODY_LIMIT	512kb	No	Maximum accepted JSON-RPC request body size (e.g. 512kb, 1mb)
Session Management
USE_CONNECTION_POOL	true	No	Enable session-based connection pooling
MAX_CONCURRENT_SESSIONS	15	No	Maximum concurrent MCP sessions allowed
SESSION_IDLE_TIMEOUT_MINUTES	5	No	Minutes before idle session cleanup
Security & Authentication
AUTH_PROVIDER	none	No	Auth mode: none (static Bearer) or oidc (JWKS-validated JWT)
MCP_SSE_AUTHORIZATION	(none)	No	Static Bearer token (AUTH_PROVIDER=none; highly recommended in production)
MCP_ALLOW_UNAUTHENTICATED	false	No	Opt-out for required-by-default HTTP auth (#242). On a non-loopback bind with no token and no OIDC the server refuses to start; set to true to run open deliberately (e.g. behind your own proxy)
OIDC_ISSUER	(none)	If OIDC	OIDC issuer URL (e.g., https://sso.example.com)
OIDC_ALLOW_INSECURE_ISSUER	false	No	Allow a plaintext (http) OIDC issuer on a trusted network (#244). Off by default (http issuer refused at startup); set true only for local/LAN testing
OIDC_RESOURCE	(none)	No	Expected aud claim in JWT (your client ID)
OIDC_ACCEPTED_AUDIENCES	(none)	No	Extra accepted aud values beyond OIDC_RESOURCE, comma-separated (#245). For IdPs that put the client-id in aud (e.g. Authentik). Strict allowlist, never a wildcard
OIDC_SCOPES	(none)	No	Comma-separated required scopes; leave empty for Casdoor
AUTH_BUDGET_ACL	(none)	No	Per-user budget ACL; see AI Client Setup
MCP_ENABLE_HTTPS	false	No	Enable native TLS. Requires MCP_HTTPS_CERT and MCP_HTTPS_KEY
MCP_HTTPS_CERT	(none)	No	Path to PEM certificate file (required when MCP_ENABLE_HTTPS=true)
MCP_HTTPS_KEY	(none)	No	Path to PEM private key file (required when MCP_ENABLE_HTTPS=true)
Logging Configuration
MCP_BRIDGE_STORE_LOGS	false	No	Enable file logging (vs console only)
MCP_BRIDGE_LOG_DIR	app/logs (beside the install)	No	Directory for log files (if STORE_LOGS=true). .env.example and Docker set it explicitly (e.g. ./logs, /app/logs)
MCP_BRIDGE_LOG_LEVEL	debug (dev) / info (prod)	No	Log level: error, warn, info, debug
LOG_FORMAT	auto	No	Log output format: json or pretty. Precedence: explicit LOG_FORMAT wins, else NODE_ENV=production selects json, else pretty
MCP_SERVICE_NAME	actual-mcp-server	No	Service name stamped on every structured (json) log record
Log Rotation (when MCP_BRIDGE_STORE_LOGS=true)
MCP_BRIDGE_MAX_FILES	14d	No	Keep rotated logs for N days (e.g., 14d, 30d)
MCP_BRIDGE_MAX_LOG_SIZE	20m	No	Rotate when file reaches size (e.g., 20m, 100m)
MCP_BRIDGE_ROTATE_DATEPATTERN	YYYY-MM-DD	No	Date pattern for rotated log filenames
Development & Debugging
DEBUG	(none)	No	Enable debug mode (verbose logging) when set to any truthy value
LOG_LEVEL	(none)	No	Debug-detection toggle: set to debug to enable extra transport debug output. Distinct from MCP_BRIDGE_LOG_LEVEL (the winston level); has no default and is not itself a log level
MCP_BRIDGE_DEBUG_TRANSPORT	false	No	Enable transport-level debug logging
Advanced/Internal
ACTUAL_API_CONCURRENCY	5	No	Max concurrent Actual API operations
NODE_ENV	(none) / production	No	Node environment. No app default; the Docker image sets production, which selects json logs and hides stack traces in error responses
VERSION	auto-detected	No	Server version (auto-set by build/Docker)
TZ	UTC	No	Timezone for timestamps (e.g., America/New_York)

---

Multi-Budget Switching

Configure multiple Actual Budget files so the AI can switch between them at runtime using actual_budgets_list_available and actual_budgets_switch.

BUDGET_N_SERVER_URL and BUDGET_N_PASSWORD fall back to ACTUAL_SERVER_URL / ACTUAL_PASSWORD when omitted.

Variable	Required	Fallback
BUDGET_DEFAULT_NAME	No	"Default"
BUDGET_N_NAME	Yes (enables group)	(none)
BUDGET_N_SYNC_ID	Yes	(none)
BUDGET_N_SERVER_URL	No	ACTUAL_SERVER_URL
BUDGET_N_PASSWORD	No	ACTUAL_PASSWORD
BUDGET_N_ENCRYPTION_PASSWORD	No	(none)

# Default budget
ACTUAL_SERVER_URL=http://actual:5006
ACTUAL_PASSWORD=my-password
ACTUAL_BUDGET_SYNC_ID=aaaaaaaa-aaaa-aaaa-aaaa-aaaaaaaaaaaa
BUDGET_DEFAULT_NAME=Personal

# Budget 1 (same server, same password)
BUDGET_1_NAME=Family
BUDGET_1_SYNC_ID=bbbbbbbb-bbbb-bbbb-bbbb-bbbbbbbbbbbb

# Budget 2 (different server)
BUDGET_2_NAME=Business
BUDGET_2_SERVER_URL=https://actual-office.example.com
BUDGET_2_PASSWORD=office-password
BUDGET_2_SYNC_ID=cccccccc-cccc-cccc-cccc-cccccccccccc

---

Transport & Authentication

The server supports two transport modes:

Mode	Flag	Use case	Auth
HTTP	--http	LibreChat, LobeChat, Docker, multi-user deployments	Bearer token or OIDC
stdio	--stdio	Claude Desktop, Cursor, local single-user use	None (OS process isolation)

The two modes are mutually exclusive. Pass exactly one flag when starting the server.

stdio transport

stdio is the simplest way to connect Claude Desktop directly to Actual Budget. The MCP server runs as a child process; Claude Desktop spawns it, communicates over stdin/stdout using NDJSON (the MCP wire format), and the process exits cleanly when Claude Desktop closes.

Key properties of stdio mode:

• No network port. The transport is a pipe, not a socket.
• No auth token. Process ownership is the security boundary.
• All logs go to stderr so they never corrupt the JSON-RPC framing on stdout
• The process exits when stdin closes (Claude Desktop shutting down)
• All 71 tools are available, identical to HTTP mode

Start manually to verify:

cd /path/to/actual-mcp-server
ACTUAL_SERVER_URL=http://localhost:5006 \
ACTUAL_PASSWORD=your_password \
ACTUAL_BUDGET_SYNC_ID=your-sync-id \
node dist/src/index.js --stdio

Send a test request (keep stdin open with sleep):

{ echo '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2024-11-05","capabilities":{},"clientInfo":{"name":"test","version":"1.0"}}}'; sleep 5; } \
| ACTUAL_SERVER_URL=http://localhost:5006 ACTUAL_PASSWORD=your_password ACTUAL_BUDGET_SYNC_ID=your-sync-id \
  node dist/src/index.js --stdio 2>/dev/null

Claude Desktop config (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "actual-budget": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/actual-mcp-server/dist/src/index.js", "--stdio"],
      "env": {
        "ACTUAL_SERVER_URL": "http://localhost:5006",
        "ACTUAL_PASSWORD": "your_actual_password",
        "ACTUAL_BUDGET_SYNC_ID": "your-sync-id-here",
        "MCP_BRIDGE_DATA_DIR": "/absolute/path/to/actual-mcp-server/actual-data"
      }
    }
  }
}

Path must be absolute. Claude Desktop does not inherit shell PATH, so node must also be absolute if you use NVM or a non-standard install: /home/youruser/.nvm/versions/node/v22.x.x/bin/node.

See docs/guides/MCP_CLIENTS_SETUP.md for all connection options (stdio native, mcp-remote via HTTP/HTTPS), other clients (Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI, Claude Code), Linux path fixes, and troubleshooting.

HTTP transport

HTTP transport uses the /http endpoint (StreamableHTTP) with optional Bearer token or OIDC authentication.

Static Bearer token (single-user)

# Generate a token
openssl rand -hex 32

# Add to .env
MCP_SSE_AUTHORIZATION=your_token_here

Clients send: Authorization: Bearer your_token_here

OIDC (multi-user)

AUTH_PROVIDER=oidc
OIDC_ISSUER=https://sso.yourdomain.com
OIDC_RESOURCE=your-client-id    # must match 'aud' JWT claim
OIDC_SCOPES=                    # leave empty for Casdoor

See AI Client Setup, OIDC for AUTH_BUDGET_ACL format and Casdoor notes.

---

Testing

Command	What It Tests	Requires Live Server
npm run build	TypeScript compilation	No
npm run test:unit-js	71-tool smoke, schema validation, auth ACL	No
npm run test:adapter	Adapter, retry logic, concurrency	No
npm run test:e2e	MCP protocol compliance (Playwright)	No
npm run test:e2e:docker:full	Full stack integration	Yes (Docker)
npm run test:integration	Live server sanity checks	Yes
npm run test:integration:full	Full live integration suite	Yes

Integration test levels (tests/manual/): sanity → smoke → normal → extended → full → cleanup

See tests/manual/README.md and tests/e2e/README.md for details.

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Documentation

Document	Contents
docs/guides/MCP_CLIENTS_SETUP.md	Start here to connect Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code (Copilot), Gemini CLI, or Claude Code
docs/guides/AI_CLIENT_SETUP.md	LibreChat & LobeChat setup, Docker networking, HTTPS/TLS proxy, OIDC
docs/guides/DEPLOYMENT.md	Docker, Docker Compose profiles, production config, Kubernetes
docs/ARCHITECTURE.md	Component layers, data flow, transport protocols
docs/SECURITY_AND_PRIVACY.md	Auth models, threat model, hardening
docs/TESTING_AND_RELIABILITY.md	Test strategy, coverage, reliability patterns
docs/NEW_TOOL_CHECKLIST.md	Step-by-step guide for adding a new MCP tool
CONTRIBUTING.md	Development setup, code standards, PR process
.env.example	Fully annotated environment variable reference

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for development setup, code standards, and the PR process.

Quick flow:

1. Fork → git checkout -b feature/my-feature
2. Make changes + add tests
3. npm run build && npm run test:unit-js must pass
4. Open a Pull Request

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Architecture

• Runtime: Node.js 22 (Alpine Linux in Docker)
• Language: TypeScript (ESM, NodeNext module resolution)
• MCP SDK: @modelcontextprotocol/sdk
• Actual API: @actual-app/api
• Validation: Zod (runtime types + JSON Schema for tool inputs)
• Transports: Express + StreamableHTTP (--http) · StdioServerTransport (--stdio)
• Logging: Winston with daily rotation (all output routed to stderr in stdio mode)

Every Actual API call goes through the withActualApi() wrapper in src/lib/actual-adapter.ts, which handles init/shutdown lifecycle, retry (3 attempts, exponential backoff), and concurrency limiting. See docs/ARCHITECTURE.md for full design documentation.

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License

MIT. See LICENSE for details.

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Acknowledgments

• Actual Budget: open-source budgeting software
• Model Context Protocol: standardised AI-app integration
• LibreChat: open-source ChatGPT alternative
• s-stefanov/actual-mcp: original adapter pattern

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Disclaimer

This project started as a personal learning exercise to explore the Model Context Protocol technology. It is an independent open-source project, not affiliated with, endorsed by, or supported by Actual Budget or any other organisation.

The software is provided as-is, without warranty of any kind. The author accepts no responsibility for how it is used, for any data loss, financial errors, or other consequences arising from its use. If you connect it to real financial data, you do so entirely at your own risk.

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Support

• GitHub Issues: bug reports and feature requests
• GitHub Discussions: questions and ideas

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Version: 0.7.11 | Tool Count: 71 (verified LibreChat-compatible)

Wardn source review notes

Reviewed upstream package version: actual-mcp-server 0.7.11 from package.json, VERSION, and npm. The package target preserves the documented stdio launch from the importer and source docs: npx -y actual-mcp-server --stdio. HTTP deployment is documented through --http, Docker, Docker Compose, and self-hosted /http; it is represented as optional CLI/config metadata rather than a hosted remote endpoint.