Maple Budget MCP: Quick Setup

Already have Python and Claude Desktop installed? This is the fast track. You'll be up and running in under 5 minutes.

Step 1: Download and Install the MCP Server

Open your terminal and run the following to create the server directory, download the MCP server file, and install its dependencies:

macOS:

mkdir -p ~/.maple-budget
curl -o ~/.maple-budget/mcp-server.py https://app.maplebudget.com/mcp-server.py
pip3 install mcp requests

Windows (Command Prompt):

mkdir "%USERPROFILE%\.maple-budget"
curl -o "%USERPROFILE%\.maple-budget\mcp-server.py" https://app.maplebudget.com/mcp-server.py
pip install mcp requests

Step 2: Create an API Key

1. Go to app.maplebudget.com/menu/api-keys
2. Click "Create API Key", give it a name like "Claude Desktop", and click "Generate Key"
3. Copy the API key immediately (starts with mbk_). You won't be able to see it again.

Step 3: Add the Config to Claude Desktop

Open Claude Desktop and go to Settings > Developer > Edit Config. This opens claude_desktop_config.json. Paste the following, replacing YOUR_API_KEY_HERE with the key you just copied:

macOS:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "maple-budget": {
      "command": "python3",
      "args": ["~/.maple-budget/mcp-server.py"],
      "env": {
        "MAPLE_BUDGET_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Windows:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "maple-budget": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["C:\\Users\\YOUR_USERNAME\\.maple-budget\\mcp-server.py"],
      "env": {
        "MAPLE_BUDGET_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

If you already have other MCP servers in this file, just add "maple-budget": { ... } inside the existing "mcpServers" object.

Step 4: Restart and Verify

Fully quit Claude Desktop (Cmd + Q on macOS, or right-click the system tray icon on Windows) and reopen it. Start a new conversation and you should see the MCP tools icon near the text input. Try asking:

"What's my budget summary for this month?" or "Here's my credit card statement, can you upload it all into Maple Budget and then analyze my spending?"

If you see your real data, you're all set on Maple Budget!

One-Shot Setup Script

If you want to do everything in one go, copy and paste this entire block into your terminal. It will prompt you for your API key and set up everything automatically.

macOS / Linux

# ----- Maple Budget MCP Server: One-Shot Setup -----

# 1. Create the server directory
mkdir -p ~/.maple-budget

# 2. Download the MCP server
curl -o ~/.maple-budget/mcp-server.py https://app.maplebudget.com/mcp-server.py

# 3. Install Python dependencies
pip3 install mcp requests

# 4. Prompt for your API key
echo ""
echo "Paste your Maple Budget API key (from https://app.maplebudget.com/menu/api-keys):"
read -r MAPLE_KEY

# 5. Detect the python command
if command -v python3 &> /dev/null; then
  PY_CMD="python3"
else
  PY_CMD="python"
fi

# 6. Write the Claude Desktop config
CONFIG_DIR="$HOME/Library/Application Support/Claude"
CONFIG_FILE="$CONFIG_DIR/claude_desktop_config.json"
mkdir -p "$CONFIG_DIR"

cat > "$CONFIG_FILE" << ENDOFCONFIG
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "maple-budget": {
      "command": "$PY_CMD",
      "args": ["$HOME/.maple-budget/mcp-server.py"],
      "env": {
        "MAPLE_BUDGET_API_KEY": "$MAPLE_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}
ENDOFCONFIG

echo ""
echo "Done! Config written to: $CONFIG_FILE"
echo "Now fully quit Claude Desktop (Cmd+Q) and reopen it."
echo "Start a new conversation and try: What's my budget summary for this month?"

Windows (PowerShell)

# ----- Maple Budget MCP Server: One-Shot Setup -----

# 1. Create the server directory
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.maple-budget"

# 2. Download the MCP server
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://app.maplebudget.com/mcp-server.py" -OutFile "$env:USERPROFILE\.maple-budget\mcp-server.py"

# 3. Install Python dependencies
pip install mcp requests

# 4. Prompt for your API key
Write-Host ""
$MAPLE_KEY = Read-Host "Paste your Maple Budget API key (from https://app.maplebudget.com/menu/api-keys)"

# 5. Build the server path with escaped backslashes for JSON
$serverPath = "$env:USERPROFILE\.maple-budget\mcp-server.py" -replace '\\', '\\'

# 6. Write the Claude Desktop config
$configDir = "$env:APPDATA\Claude"
$configFile = "$configDir\claude_desktop_config.json"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $configDir

@"
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "maple-budget": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["$serverPath"],
      "env": {
        "MAPLE_BUDGET_API_KEY": "$MAPLE_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}
"@ | Set-Content -Path $configFile

Write-Host ""
Write-Host "Done! Config written to: $configFile"
Write-Host "Now fully quit Claude Desktop and reopen it."
Write-Host "Start a new conversation and try: What's my budget summary for this month?"

Important: If you already have other MCP servers configured in claude_desktop_config.json, the one-shot script will overwrite your existing config. In that case, use Steps 1-3 above and manually add the "maple-budget" entry to your existing config file instead.