MCP

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that lets AI apps call tools and read external data during a conversation. Pike hosts an MCP server at mcp.usepike.com so Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Cursor, and similar clients can work with your PSA workspace: projects, tasks, customers, members, and the operational context behind them. MCP server URL: https://mcp.usepike.com Use Open API when you need direct HTTPS/JSON access from your own scripts, ETL, or gateways. Use MCP when you want that same workspace context inside an AI chat or IDE.

What you can do

Path	What it gives you	When to use it
Pike MCP (`https://mcp.usepike.com`)	Workspace-aware tools inside Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Cursor, and other MCP clients	Ask questions, pull live facts, and get insights without leaving the AI client
Open API	JSON reads of projects, tasks, customers, and members	Automation, internal tooling, and integrations you own
Both	Chat insights plus programmable exports	Operators use MCP in conversation; engineering wires Open API into systems

Prefer concrete prompts tied to a customer, project, or date range. Specific questions produce clearer tool calls and more useful insights.

Prerequisites

A Pike workspace you can sign into at app.usepike.com
Access to an MCP client such as Claude, ChatGPT (paid plan with custom connectors), Gemini CLI, Cursor, or Claude Code
A Pike workspace on the Growth, Scale, or Enterprise plan, where MCP access is included
Permission in that workspace to see the projects, tasks, customers, or members you will ask about

Connect Pike MCP end to end

Connect Pike from the Claude connector library

The fastest path. No URL to copy.

Open Claude connectors (or Customize → Connectors).
Click Browse connectors and search for Pike.
Click Connect.
Complete sign-in when Claude prompts you to authenticate with Pike.

On Team or Enterprise plans, an Owner may need to enable Pike under Organization settings → Connectors before members can connect.

Enable Pike in a conversation

Start a new chat in Claude. 2. Click the attachments / + control near the composer. 3. Open Connectors and enable Pike. 4. Ask a concrete question, for example: “List active projects for Acme” or “Which tasks are in review this week?”

Confirm the tools respond

A healthy connection calls Pike tools and returns workspace-backed answers. Good first prompts:

“Show my open projects and their statuses.”
“Summarise overdue tasks by project.”
“Who is on the Acme Phase 2 team?”
“What should I check before I worry about margin on this project?”

If Claude does not call Pike tools, toggle the connector off and on, re-authenticate, or start a fresh chat with Pike enabled.

Optional: use Open API for scripts and systems

Keep MCP for conversations. Use Open API when engineering needs stable HTTPS endpoints.

As an admin, go to Workspace settings → Integrations → Open API.
Create a secret with least-privilege scopes such as projects:read, tasks:read, customers:read, and members:read.
Store the secret in your secrets manager.
Call https://api.usepike.com from your tooling.

Example list call:

curl -sS \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PIKE_API_SECRET" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  "https://api.usepike.com/projects?limit=20"

Connect other MCP clients

ChatGPT

Pike is listed in the ChatGPT connector library, so no developer mode is needed.

In ChatGPT, open Settings → Apps & Connectors and browse the library.
Search for Pike and click Connect.
Complete authentication when prompted.
Enable Pike in a new chat and ask a workspace question.

Workspace admins on Business, Enterprise, or Edu plans may need to allow Pike first.

Fallback: connect manually with the server URL

Use this if the library listing is not available on your plan, or for clients without a connector library. MCP server URL: https://mcp.usepike.com

Claude: Settings → Connectors → + → Add custom connector, name it Pike, paste the URL, click Add, then sign in.
ChatGPT: enable Developer mode, add a custom connector named Pike with the URL, then sign in.

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http pike https://mcp.usepike.com

Authenticate when the client prompts you, then ask a workspace-backed question.

Gemini CLI

Add Pike as a remote MCP server with one command:

gemini mcp add --transport http pike https://mcp.usepike.com

Or add it to ~/.gemini/settings.json (or .gemini/settings.json in a project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pike": {
      "httpUrl": "https://mcp.usepike.com"
    }
  }
}

Start gemini, run /mcp to confirm Pike is listed, and complete sign-in when prompted. If the sign-in does not open on its own, run /mcp auth pike.

Cursor

Open the command palette (Command + Shift + P on macOS, Ctrl + Shift + P on Windows/Linux).
Search for Open MCP settings.
Click Add custom MCP.
Add:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pike": {
      "url": "https://mcp.usepike.com"
    }
  }
}

Use cases: pull data and see insights

Use these patterns when you want PSA answers from live Pike context.

Delivery status

Enable Pike MCP in Claude or ChatGPT.
Ask: “List in-progress projects and flag anything with tasks stuck in review.”
Follow up with: “Drill into [project name] and summarise blockers.”
Cross-check in the app under Projects and Task properties when you need to act.

Margin and profitability

Ask: “What does Pike show for profitability on [project name], and which cost or earnings inputs matter most?”
Follow up on cost profiles, recognition method, and cost of delivery using Project finance, Profitability, and Cost profile.
Use the answer to decide whether the issue is staffing, rates, unlogged time, or scope.

Capacity and allocation

Ask: “Who has capacity for discovery work next week?” or “Where is [person] allocated over the next two weeks?”
Compare the answer with Workspace capacity and How to allocate before you commit someone.

Customer and pipeline handoffs

Ask: “Summarise the Acme customer record and related open work.”
Ask: “What should delivery lock before we convert a won deal into a project?”
Keep CRM vs PSA roles clear with Deals and HubSpot when those apply.

Weekly operating review

Ask for a short briefing: active projects, overdue tasks, customers with risk, and people who look over-allocated.
Paste or refine the briefing for your leadership sync.
Open the linked records in Pike to assign owners and dates.

Scheduled routines

In an AI client that supports scheduled tasks or routines, such as Claude or ChatGPT, create a routine with Pike enabled.
Write the prompt as you would in chat, for example: “Every Monday at 8, pull delivery risks, capacity, and margin from Pike and post a briefing to #leadership.”
Enable the Slack or email connector in that client if the routine should deliver the result there.
Each run signs in as you, so it uses the same Pike permissions you have in the app.

Pilot and onboarding

Enable Pike MCP for a new teammate.
Ask it to walk them through Run a pilot project while looking at the real pilot project in the workspace.
Keep time, tasks, and finance on one client engagement so the insights stay connected.

Prompts by topic

Pike connects delivery, time, and finance, so one prompt can draw on all three. These are good starting points for operators, finance leads, and delivery managers.

Topic	Prompt
Margin	“Which clients dropped below 30% margin this quarter?”
Margin	“Which fixed-fee projects are trending over budget?”
Utilization	“What was billable utilization per team in September?”
Utilization	“Which consultants were under 60% billable last month?”
Timesheets	“Who hasn’t submitted their timesheet for last week?”
Timesheets	“Compare planned vs. logged hours for the design team this month.”
Capacity	“Who has room for a three-week discovery sprint starting Monday?”
Capacity	“Who is over-allocated in the next two weeks?”
Billing	“Show unbilled hours by project, oldest first.”
Billing	“How does our average billing rate compare to cost per hour sold?”
Customers	“Which won deals still need a project set up?”
Reports	“Every Monday at 8, post my briefing to #leadership in Slack.”
Time	“Log 2 hours on Acme Phase 2 for today’s client workshop.”

For the definitions behind these numbers, see Profitability, Workspace capacity, and the Metric catalogue.

Example prompts

List active projects and group them by status. Call out anything that looks stalled.

For project Acme Phase 2, summarise open tasks, assignees, and anything past due.

Explain the profitability picture for Acme Phase 2 using Pike’s earnings and cost model.

Who on the delivery team looks over-allocated in the next two weeks, and on which projects?

Draft a Monday briefing: delivery risks, capacity pressure, and customers that need attention.

Security and access

Pike MCP uses your Pike authentication and workspace permissions. You only see data you can already access in the app.
Disconnect the connector in Claude or ChatGPT when someone should no longer use Pike from that client.
Open API secrets are separate workspace credentials. Issue least-privilege scopes, store them outside git, rotate by creating a new secret then revoking the old one, and never paste secrets into chat logs.
Only connect custom MCP connectors you trust. Review tool approval prompts before allowing unsupervised actions in any client.

Pike MCP overview

Supported AI clients, use cases, and a prompt library

Open API

Authenticate and list projects, tasks, customers, and members

For AI agents

Canonical sources and guardrails for assistants describing Pike

Project finance

Earnings, costs, and profit on a project

Run a pilot project

Connect tasks, time, and money on one live engagement

Resources

Getting started

Help

What you can do

Prerequisites

Connect Pike MCP end to end

Connect other MCP clients

ChatGPT

Fallback: connect manually with the server URL

Claude Code

Gemini CLI

Cursor

Use cases: pull data and see insights

Delivery status

Margin and profitability

Capacity and allocation

Customer and pipeline handoffs

Weekly operating review

Scheduled routines

Pilot and onboarding

Prompts by topic

Example prompts

Security and access

Pike MCP overview

Open API

For AI agents

Project finance

Run a pilot project

​What you can do

​Prerequisites

​Connect Pike MCP end to end

​Connect other MCP clients

​ChatGPT

​Fallback: connect manually with the server URL

​Claude Code

​Gemini CLI

​Cursor

​Use cases: pull data and see insights

​Delivery status

​Margin and profitability

​Capacity and allocation

​Customer and pipeline handoffs

​Weekly operating review

​Scheduled routines

​Pilot and onboarding

​Prompts by topic

​Example prompts

​Security and access

​Related pages

Pike MCP overview

Open API

For AI agents

Project finance

Run a pilot project

What you can do

Prerequisites

Connect Pike MCP end to end

Connect other MCP clients

ChatGPT

Fallback: connect manually with the server URL

Claude Code

Gemini CLI

Cursor

Use cases: pull data and see insights

Delivery status

Margin and profitability

Capacity and allocation

Customer and pipeline handoffs

Weekly operating review

Scheduled routines

Pilot and onboarding

Prompts by topic

Example prompts

Security and access

Related pages