Connect Claude Code to Xero, Shopify and Gmail

Commands and settings on this page follow Anthropic’s MCP documentation and each vendor’s own documentation, checked on 03/10/2026. Connectors change often, so check the vendor’s page before you set one up.

What is an MCP connector, in plain English?

An MCP connector is a small adapter that lets Claude Code use another piece of software through a fixed menu of actions, such as “list unpaid invoices” or “find orders from last week”. Claude can only do what the connector offers and what its key allows, which makes connectors safer and more reliable than letting an AI click around a website.

Three ways to add one:

• claude.ai connectors. Add them in your claude.ai settings; they appear in Claude Code automatically when you sign in with a Claude plan.
• Remote connectors. Some vendors host one online. You add it with a single command, for example claude mcp add --transport http notion https://mcp.notion.com/mcp, then sign in when asked.
• Local connectors. A small program that runs on your computer with a key you supply. Xero’s official server works this way.

Type /mcp in a session to see what’s connected and to sign in or out.

How do I connect Claude Code to Xero?

Use Xero’s official MCP server, published by Xero on GitHub as XeroAPI/xero-mcp-server. It can read contacts, invoices, payments, bank transactions and reports, and can create or update records if you grant those permissions.

1. In the Xero developer portal, create a custom connection for your organisation. Xero charges a monthly subscription per custom connection (A$10 a month including GST at the time of writing; see Xero’s custom connections guide). Connecting to Xero’s demo company is free, which is the place to practise.
2. Give it read-only scopes to start, such as reading reports and transactions.
3. Add the server to Claude Code with your connection’s client ID and secret. Claude Code can do this for you if you ask; the server runs with npx -y @xeroapi/xero-mcp-server@latest and reads XERO_CLIENT_ID and XERO_CLIENT_SECRET.
4. Type /mcp to check it connected, then ask something simple: “Show me invoices more than 30 days overdue, as a table.”

Australian gotchas: tax rates in Australian Xero files use GST codes that differ from New Zealand and UK files, so have Claude show you the tax code on anything it drafts. Claude can prepare figures for your bookkeeper; BAS lodgement stays with your bookkeeper or registered BAS agent.

How do I connect Claude Code to Shopify?

For your own store’s products, orders and stock, create a custom app in your Shopify admin with read-only Admin API access, then let Claude Code use its access token. Shopify’s own MCP servers are aimed at developers building on Shopify (Shopify Dev MCP) and at shopping assistants, not at reading your store’s admin data.

1. In Shopify admin, go to Settings, then Apps, then Develop apps, and choose Build apps in Dev Dashboard. Since 01/01/2026, new custom apps are created there; older ones still appear in admin under legacy custom apps.
2. Grant read scopes only: read_products, read_orders and read_inventory cover most reporting.
3. Install the app on your store and keep the access credentials it gives you in a .env file in your working folder, never in a document or the chat.
4. Ask Claude Code to use those credentials to answer a question, for example: “Which products have less than ten units in stock across all locations?”

Shopify rate-limits its API, so ask for specific subsets (“products in the Skincare collection”) rather than “everything”. This is the pattern behind our own Shopify inventory agent.

How do I connect Gmail, Google Drive and Calendar?

Add the Google connectors in your claude.ai account settings, approve access with your Google login, and they appear in Claude Code automatically when you’re signed in with a Claude plan. They don’t load when Claude Code is signed in with an API key instead of a plan.

Useful first requests: “Find enquiries in my inbox from the last fortnight that haven’t had a reply, and list them.” or “Draft replies to the three oldest; don’t send anything.” Keep sending in your own hands until you trust the drafts.

Australian gotcha: tell Claude your time zone in CLAUDE.md (“We’re in Melbourne, AEST/AEDT”) so date questions such as “yesterday” and “this week” line up with your day.

Which other connections are worth it?

• Notion. Notion hosts an official remote connector: claude mcp add --transport http notion https://mcp.notion.com/mcp, then sign in. Claude only sees pages you share with it.
• Slack. Useful for posting summaries from a scheduled agent to a channel. Use the vendor’s connector or a webhook that can only post.
• Your own systems. If you run a booking system, CRM or database with an API, a small custom connector can expose just the read actions you want. This is a job for a developer or for us.

Before adding any connector, check who publishes it. Anthropic’s documentation warns that servers which fetch outside content can expose you to prompt injection, where hidden text tries to give Claude instructions.

How do I keep connected tools safe?

Treat every connection like a new staff login.

1. Read-only first. Run each workflow read-only for a week or two before adding write access.
2. One key per connection. Separate keys can be revoked without breaking anything else.
3. Keys out of sight. Keep tokens in .env files with a deny rule so Claude can’t read them back out; never paste them into chat.
4. Write access one workflow at a time. “Can update stock levels” for one agent, not “full admin” for everything.
5. Remove what you don’t use. Disconnect old connectors with /mcp.

Our Claude Code safety guide covers deny rules, permission modes and privacy in detail.

How On Autopilot can help

On a Claude Code Setup Day ($1,500 fixed, ex GST) we connect the tools your business runs on, read-only first, and build one real workflow on top of them. If you’d rather have a finished system, AI Inventory Watch watches your Shopify stock for $497 setup plus $99 a month, and AI Bookkeeping Assist helps your existing bookkeeper with Xero categorisation and month-end prep for $1,500 setup plus $399 a month. See the pricing page or book a free 30-minute AI audit.