Crunch Accounting (crunch-mcp)

Name: Crunch Accounting (crunch-mcp)
Author: mattoddie

by mattoddieversion 0.4.1i★ –iRuns on your computer

Registry nameio.github.mattoddie/crunch-mcp

Install

Overview

Description from the maker (original English)

Work with your Crunch Accounting books: expenses, receipts, invoices, clients, suppliers and banking

PopNx MCP’s three pillars

These three are never merged into one score: opinions, measurements and popularity are different things.

User voiceiNo reviews yetReviews open together with accounts in a later step
Our basic checksi1 of 1 passedChecked from public information; code not scanned yet
UsageiVery new★ –

What you can do with it

We have not written a plain-language summary for this one yet. Below are the facts we read from the registry.

Connection: Runs on your computer
Transport: stdio
Category: Accounting, finance & tax
You need to fill in: CRUNCH_CLIENT_ID, CRUNCH_CLIENT_SECRET, CRUNCH_REFRESH_TOKEN

Install

Pick the AI app you use, then copy the settings.

Before you install

Basic checks: 1 of 1 passed
Runs on your computer with your user’s permissions (files, network, apps).
You fill in yourself: MCP_TRANSPORT, CRUNCH_CLIENT_ID, CRUNCH_CLIENT_SECRET, CRUNCH_REDIRECT_URI, CRUNCH_REFRESH_TOKEN, CRUNCH_ALLOW_WRITES, CRUNCH_ALLOW_DELETES, CRUNCH_ALLOW_EMAIL, CRUNCH_TOOLSETS, CRUNCH_FILES_DIR, CRUNCH_AUDIT_LOG

Values marked secret are keys to your account. Never share them or paste them into a chat.

You need

DockerDocker installed

Which app do you use?

ClaudeClaude CodeCursorVS CodeChatGPT

Pick your app above. We remember it, so next time the button says “Install in …”.

Download the maker’s .mcpb file

The link goes to the maker’s own file; we do not host or repackage it. Open the file and Claude Desktop installs it.

Run this in your terminal

claude mcp add crunch --env MCP_TRANSPORT=your-value --env CRUNCH_CLIENT_ID=your-value --env CRUNCH_CLIENT_SECRET=your-value --env CRUNCH_REDIRECT_URI=your-value --env CRUNCH_REFRESH_TOKEN=your-value --env CRUNCH_ALLOW_WRITES=your-value --env CRUNCH_ALLOW_DELETES=your-value --env CRUNCH_ALLOW_EMAIL=your-value --env CRUNCH_TOOLSETS=your-value --env CRUNCH_FILES_DIR=your-value --env CRUNCH_AUDIT_LOG=your-value -- docker run -i --rm -e MCP_TRANSPORT -e CRUNCH_CLIENT_ID -e CRUNCH_CLIENT_SECRET -e CRUNCH_REDIRECT_URI -e CRUNCH_REFRESH_TOKEN -e CRUNCH_ALLOW_WRITES -e CRUNCH_ALLOW_DELETES -e CRUNCH_ALLOW_EMAIL -e CRUNCH_TOOLSETS -e CRUNCH_FILES_DIR -e CRUNCH_AUDIT_LOG ghcr.io/mattoddie/crunch-mcp:0.4.1

Fill in the empty values before running it.

Open in Cursor

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .cursor/mcp.json in your project, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "crunch": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e",
        "MCP_TRANSPORT",
        "-e",
        "CRUNCH_CLIENT_ID",
        "-e",
        "CRUNCH_CLIENT_SECRET",
        "-e",
        "CRUNCH_REDIRECT_URI",
        "-e",
        "CRUNCH_REFRESH_TOKEN",
        "-e",
        "CRUNCH_ALLOW_WRITES",
        "-e",
        "CRUNCH_ALLOW_DELETES",
        "-e",
        "CRUNCH_ALLOW_EMAIL",
        "-e",
        "CRUNCH_TOOLSETS",
        "-e",
        "CRUNCH_FILES_DIR",
        "-e",
        "CRUNCH_AUDIT_LOG",
        "ghcr.io/mattoddie/crunch-mcp:0.4.1"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MCP_TRANSPORT": "your-value",
        "CRUNCH_CLIENT_ID": "your-value",
        "CRUNCH_CLIENT_SECRET": "your-value",
        "CRUNCH_REDIRECT_URI": "your-value",
        "CRUNCH_REFRESH_TOKEN": "your-value",
        "CRUNCH_ALLOW_WRITES": "your-value",
        "CRUNCH_ALLOW_DELETES": "your-value",
        "CRUNCH_ALLOW_EMAIL": "your-value",
        "CRUNCH_TOOLSETS": "your-value",
        "CRUNCH_FILES_DIR": "your-value",
        "CRUNCH_AUDIT_LOG": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.

Open in VS Code

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .vscode/mcp.json in your project

{
  "servers": {
    "crunch": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e",
        "MCP_TRANSPORT",
        "-e",
        "CRUNCH_CLIENT_ID",
        "-e",
        "CRUNCH_CLIENT_SECRET",
        "-e",
        "CRUNCH_REDIRECT_URI",
        "-e",
        "CRUNCH_REFRESH_TOKEN",
        "-e",
        "CRUNCH_ALLOW_WRITES",
        "-e",
        "CRUNCH_ALLOW_DELETES",
        "-e",
        "CRUNCH_ALLOW_EMAIL",
        "-e",
        "CRUNCH_TOOLSETS",
        "-e",
        "CRUNCH_FILES_DIR",
        "-e",
        "CRUNCH_AUDIT_LOG",
        "ghcr.io/mattoddie/crunch-mcp:0.4.1"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MCP_TRANSPORT": "your-value",
        "CRUNCH_CLIENT_ID": "your-value",
        "CRUNCH_CLIENT_SECRET": "your-value",
        "CRUNCH_REDIRECT_URI": "your-value",
        "CRUNCH_REFRESH_TOKEN": "your-value",
        "CRUNCH_ALLOW_WRITES": "your-value",
        "CRUNCH_ALLOW_DELETES": "your-value",
        "CRUNCH_ALLOW_EMAIL": "your-value",
        "CRUNCH_TOOLSETS": "your-value",
        "CRUNCH_FILES_DIR": "your-value",
        "CRUNCH_AUDIT_LOG": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.

This one runs on your computer, and ChatGPT can only connect to servers on the internet. Pick another app.

Your choice stays on this device in a cookie; no account needed.

Values you fill in

MCP_TRANSPORT env
Serve MCP over stdio. The image serves HTTP by default.
CRUNCH_CLIENT_ID required env
The client ID Crunch gave you when it approved your API application.
CRUNCH_CLIENT_SECRET secret env
Only for confidential clients, which Crunch issues a secret. Leave empty for a public client.
CRUNCH_REDIRECT_URI env
Only if your API account has a redirect URI registered with Crunch. Empty means http://127.0.0.1:8976/callback.
CRUNCH_REFRESH_TOKEN secret env
Optional refresh token to start from instead of logging in. Don't use it anywhere else afterwards.
CRUNCH_ALLOW_WRITES env
Allow creating and changing records, including issuing invoices. Off means read-only.
CRUNCH_ALLOW_DELETES env
Also allow deleting records and removing payments. Needs CRUNCH_ALLOW_WRITES.
CRUNCH_ALLOW_EMAIL env
Also allow emailing invoices and turning on payment reminders. Needs CRUNCH_ALLOW_WRITES.
CRUNCH_TOOLSETS env
Optional comma-separated toolsets to expose fewer tools, e.g. account,reference,expenses. Empty means all.
CRUNCH_FILES_DIR env
Optional folder, inside the container, for receipts to attach and files to save. Mount it too. Empty turns it off.
CRUNCH_AUDIT_LOG env
Optional audit log of every change: stderr, or a file path inside the container. Empty turns it off.

These settings are generated from the maker’s registry entry. If the README says otherwise, follow the README.

What it can do

Runs on your computer; the tool list appears in your AI app after you install it.

Basic checksi

We check information anyone can see; we have not read the code. Checks that do not apply are left out of the count. · Checked Nov 8, 2026

✓ Pass
Maker matches the repo
The registry name was verified with the GitHub account mattoddie, which owns the repo
… Not checked yet
Still maintained
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
… Not checked yet
Has a licence
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
– Not applicable
Endpoint responds
This one runs on your computer; there is no internet endpoint
– Not applicable
Sign-in with OAuth
Runs on your computer and uses local settings instead
… Not checked yet
No hidden instructions in tool descriptions
Runs on your computer; we can only read tool lists from internet endpoints

Compared with others in Accounting, finance & taxi

More stars than 0% of the other 2936 servers in this category
Published to the registry more recently than 65% of the other 2936 servers in this category
Basic checks equal to or better than 100% of the other 2936 servers in this category

Compared with every active server in this category in the registry. Stars count only when the publisher owns the repo.

Common questions

Is Crunch Accounting (crunch-mcp) safe?

It passed 1 of 1 applicable basic checks. We have not read the code. Before adding a key or token, see what access the server asks for and use a key with only the permissions you need.

What keys or codes does it need?

You need to fill in: CRUNCH_CLIENT_ID, CRUNCH_CLIENT_SECRET, CRUNCH_REFRESH_TOKEN

Does it run on my computer or in the cloud?

It runs on your computer. Your AI app starts it when needed, and data does not pass through the maker’s servers (unless it calls an online service itself).

Is it still maintained?

The GitHub repo last changed –, and the latest version (0.4.1) reached the registry 17 days ago.

Which apps can use it?

Apps that support MCP, such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code. You also need Docker, MCPB on your computer.

What can I use instead?

In the same category: Finance Toolkit, SolidInvoice, Korea Tax Calculator

Alternatives

Servers in the same category from other makers, sorted by stars.

Reading a card:↓ Downloads per weeki★ GitHub starsiThree pillars: reviews · checks · usageiUpdated = latest version published to the registryi

Finance Toolkit

500+ transparent financial methods calculated from raw statements, not third-party endpoints.

by JerBoumaWidely used↓ 15.5K/wk★ 5.5KUpdated 2 days ago

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SolidInvoice

Create and send invoices and quotes, manage clients, and track payments in SolidInvoice.

by SolidInvoiceGrowing★ 981Updated 9 days ago

Runs in the cloud✓ solidinvoice.co

Install

Korea Tax Calculator

Korean tax calculation and tax-audit judgment MCP: 96 tools with statutory citations.

by UpstageAIGrowing↓ 3.2K/wk★ 97Updated today

Runs on your computer

Install

README from the maker

Open the README

Copied from the maker’s repo as written. PopNx MCP has not reviewed or endorsed it. HTML, images and scripts are removed. Links lead off this site.

crunch-mcp

Talk to your books.

An open-source Model Context Protocol server for Crunch Accounting, the UK online accounting service. It lets Claude and other AI assistants read and, if you allow it, update your expenses, receipts, invoices, clients, suppliers and bank accounts, all from one small Docker container.

[crunch-mcp.mattoddie.dev](https://crunch-mcp.mattoddie.dev)

Quick start · Documentation · Tool reference · Contributing

"How's the business looking this month?"

*You have £18,240 across your two bank accounts and £312 on the company credit card. Three sales invoices are unpaid, £7,800 in total. INV-0042 to Example Client Ltd (£2,400) is 12 days overdue; the other two aren't due yet. On the spending side, four September expenses have no receipt attached and one bill from Example Hosting Ltd (£96) is still unpaid. Want me to draft a polite chaser for INV-0042, or list the expenses that are missing receipts?*

Ask about your business in plain English. The assistant picks from 70 tools to look things up and, if you allow it, make changes. Some examples:

🩺 *"Give me a health check of the business."*
🧾 *"Here's a receipt for a train ticket to Leeds. Record it as an expense paid from the business account."*
📬 *"Which invoices are overdue? Draft a chasing email for each customer."*
📊 *"Summarise income and spending for the last quarter, with an estimate of the VAT."*
🔍 *"Which expenses this year have no receipt attached?"*
📝 *"Invoice Example Client Ltd for 5 days of consulting at £450 a day, on 30-day terms."*

Highlights

🐳 Docker-first and tiny. One image (ghcr.io/mattoddie/crunch-mcp) for linux/amd64 and linux/arm64, about 21 MB. It's a single static Go binary on a distroless base, with no shell or package manager, running as a non-root user. It serves Streamable HTTP for a long-running service, or stdio for docker run -i. You can also run the binary on its own.
🛡️ Safe by default. The server is read-only unless you turn on writes. Deleting needs a second switch, and emailing invoices or payment reminders to customers needs a third. The switches also hold inside request bodies and the raw API tool, and the HTTP server requires a bearer token. Tools that aren't allowed aren't registered at all, and destructive tools, such as deletes and issuing an invoice, are labelled so your MCP client asks before running them.
🔑 Least-privilege login. It logs in with Crunch's own OAuth 2.0 flow (with PKCE) and asks only for the scopes your settings need. Tokens never appear in tool output.
🔄 Stays logged in. Crunch rotates refresh tokens, and reusing an old one revokes your login. crunch-mcp saves each new token before using it and never refreshes twice at once, so it keeps working across restarts.
✏️ Careful updates. Changing an expense or invoice fetches the current record and changes only what you asked, so payments and attachments are never dropped by accident.
🔍 Preview and audit. Every tool that changes something takes dry_run: true to show the request it would send, with a field-by-field diff for updates, without changing anything. CRUNCH_AUDIT_LOG records each change in a JSON Lines audit log.
🖥️ One-click Claude Desktop install. Each release has an extension bundle (.mcpb) for macOS, Windows and Linux, with a settings form and no Docker needed.
📎 Receipts and PDFs. Attach receipts and timesheets, download receipts as images the assistant can read, and fetch invoice PDFs.
🎛️ Tunable. Expose only the toolsets you need, which keeps the model's context small and focused. List tools take search, fields and limit to fetch only what's needed.
🧪 Tested. The test suite runs against a mock Crunch API and OAuth server on every build.

Quick start

Using Claude Desktop? Download the extension bundle for your computer from the latest release, open it, enter your Crunch client ID and ask Claude to *"log in to Crunch"*. See Claude Desktop. The steps below set up the Docker server for every other client.

You need Docker, a Crunch account, Crunch API access and an MCP client such as Claude Code.

1. Get API access. Apply for access to Crunch's public API through the application form linked from Crunch's developer documentation. Crunch sends you a client ID, and a client secret if you're set up as a confidential client. There's no sandbox, so a free Crunch account is a good place to try things. Getting started has the details.

2. Set up the server.

mkdir crunch-mcp && cd crunch-mcp

curl -fsSLO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mattoddie/crunch-mcp/main/compose.yaml curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mattoddie/crunch-mcp/main/example.env -o .env

Edit .env: set CRUNCH_CLIENT_ID (and CRUNCH_CLIENT_SECRET if you have one)

and a random MCP_AUTH_TOKEN, which the HTTP server requires (e.g. `openssl rand -hex 32`)

3. Log in to Crunch and start the server.

docker compose run --rm -p 127.0.0.1:8976:8976 crunch-mcp login   # open the URL it prints and click Allow

docker compose up -d

If your browser isn't on the Docker host, the page after Allow won't load. That's fine: copy the URL from the address bar and paste it into the terminal.

4. Connect your assistant.

claude mcp add --transport http crunch http://<docker-host>:8080/mcp \

--header "Authorization: Bearer "

Now ask *"How's my business doing?"* in Claude Code.

Using Claude Desktop, VS Code, Cursor or Codex? See Connecting MCP clients. Prefer not to run a service? Use stdio mode with docker run -i or the local binary.

crunch-mcp is listed in the official MCP Registry as io.github.mattoddie/crunch-mcp, so clients that install servers from the registry can set it up for you, with the Docker image in stdio mode or an extension bundle.

Turning on changes

Out of the box the assistant can look but not touch. To let it make changes, add these to .env:

CRUNCH_ALLOW_WRITES=true    # create and update expenses, invoices, clients, suppliers, payments, attachments…

CRUNCH_ALLOW_DELETES=true # also allow deleting records and removing payments (needs writes) CRUNCH_ALLOW_EMAIL=true # also allow emailing invoices and payment reminders to customers (needs writes) CRUNCH_TOOLSETS=account,reference,expenses,invoices,clients,suppliers # optional: expose fewer tools CRUNCH_AUDIT_LOG=stderr # optional: log every change (or an absolute file path; see docs/configuration.md)

The login needs matching scopes, so log in again after turning on writes or deletes:

docker compose stop

docker compose run --rm -p 127.0.0.1:8976:8976 crunch-mcp login docker compose up -d

Ask for a dry run first when it matters: *"Record that receipt, but show me a dry run first."*

Read Security before turning on writes for your real books.

What it can do

Toolset	What's covered
`account`	Login status and the OAuth login flow, the logged-in user, company details (VAT number and scheme, addresses) and a one-call business overview
`reference`	The values Crunch expects: expense types, VAT types, payment methods, countries, open accounting periods, directors and employees
`banking`	Bank accounts and credit cards: balances, details, payments recorded against them, opening balances, default accounts, archiving
`clients`	Clients (the customers you invoice): list, look up, create, update and delete
`suppliers`	Suppliers: list, look up, create, update, archive and delete
`expenses`	Expenses: list and filter, totals, create with lines, payments and receipts, update, record and remove payments, attach and download receipts, delete
`recurring`	Recurring expenses that Crunch creates on a schedule: list, create, pause or change, delete
`invoices`	Sales invoices: list and filter, totals, create drafts, update, issue, email to the customer, record and remove payments, attachments, PDF download, delete
`raw`	An escape hatch that calls any Crunch public API endpoint

See the [tool reference](docs/tools.md) for every tool and argument. Ready-made prompts like business_health_check, record_receipt and chase_overdue_invoices chain the tools together for common jobs.

Documentation

The docs are also published at [crunch-mcp.mattoddie.dev/docs](https://crunch-mcp.mattoddie.dev/docs/), with search.


🚀 Getting started	Step-by-step setup, from API access to first question
🔌 Connecting MCP clients	Claude Code, Claude Desktop, VS Code, Cursor, Codex, stdio mode
⚙️ Configuration	Every environment variable, how login and tokens work, Docker secrets, toolsets
🐳 Deployment	Compose, image tags, upgrades, TLS reverse proxy, hardening, running without Docker
💬 Using crunch-mcp	Example conversations, prompts, how changes, receipts and PDFs work
🧰 Tool reference	Every tool and prompt, generated from the code
🛡️ Security	Threat model, least privilege, token storage, safe write setups
📡 Compatibility	The Crunch API, its limits, and known gaps
🩹 Troubleshooting	Common errors and how to fix them
🛠️ Development	Architecture, adding a tool, testing

Contributing

Contributions are very welcome, whether that's bug reports, docs or new tools. Read the contributing guide to get started, and please follow the code of conduct. To report a vulnerability, see the security policy. Please don't open a public issue for one.

License

*crunch-mcp is an independent community project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Crunch (E-Crunch Ltd). "Crunch" is a trademark of E-Crunch Ltd.*

Crunch Accounting (crunch-mcp)

Overview

PopNx MCP’s three pillars

What you can do with it

Install

Before you install

Values you fill in

What it can do

Basic checksi

Maker matches the repo

Still maintained

Has a licence

Endpoint responds

Sign-in with OAuth

No hidden instructions in tool descriptions

Compared with others in Accounting, finance & taxi

Common questions

Alternatives

Finance Toolkit

SolidInvoice

Korea Tax Calculator

README from the maker

crunch-mcp

Highlights

Quick start

Edit .env: set CRUNCH_CLIENT_ID (and CRUNCH_CLIENT_SECRET if you have one)

and a random MCP_AUTH_TOKEN, which the HTTP server requires (e.g. openssl rand -hex 32)

Turning on changes

What it can do

Documentation

Contributing

License

and a random MCP_AUTH_TOKEN, which the HTTP server requires (e.g. `openssl rand -hex 32`)