Harvest Natural Language Time Entry MCP Server

This MCP service enables logging of time transactions within the Harvest time tracking system via natural language commands. It includes dedicated functionality for processing various types of leave submissions, enhancing the user experience by intelligently interpreting spoken/written input and automating standard procedures like leave accounting.

Core Capabilities

• 🗣️ Conversational input interpretation for time logging
• 🏖️ Dedicated processing pipelines for recording absence/leave (e.g., "Calling in sick today")
• ⏰ Definition of standard daily work duration
• 🌍 Comprehensive timezone handling
• 🎯 Automated mapping to relevant projects and activities
• 📅 Context-aware temporal parsing (e.g., relative date resolution)

Prerequisites for Deployment

• A functional Node.js runtime environment
• An active subscription with Harvest
• A valid Personal Access Token obtained from Harvest Developer Portal
• The organization's unique Account Identifier

Deployment Procedure

Initial Setup

1. Install the Claude desktop client

2. Obtain a copy of the source code repository: bash git clone https://github.com/adrian-dotco/harvest-mcp-server.git cd harvest-mcp-server

3. Install necessary package dependencies and execute the build process: bash npm install npm run build

4. Execute the configuration utility: bash node build/setup.js

5. Input the required operational parameters when prompted:

6. Harvest Personal Access Token (Source: https://id.getharvest.com/developers)
7. Harvest Account ID
8. Standard daily billable/working hours (Default: 7.5)

9. Local Timezone identifier (Default: Australia/Perth)

10. Re-launch the Claude desktop application.

Configuration complete. You can now utilize conversational time entry methods within Claude.

Maintaining Currency

To synchronize with the latest source code: bash git pull npm install npm run build

The initial setup configures Claude to point to your local build path, ensuring updates are immediately reflected after rebuilding.

Operational Commands

The service exposes several utility functions for Harvest interaction:

log_time

Records time entries based on descriptive, natural language phrasing. Examples:

Standard activity logging:

"Log 2 hours against Project X under the development task today" "Submit 45 minutes for Project Y, focusing on quality assurance procedures yesterday" "Record 3.5 hours for Project Z concerning status meetings last Friday"

Absence recording (automatically utilizes configured full-day duration):

"I require sick leave time off for today" "Report inability to work today due to illness" "Schedule annual vacation time for the duration of next week"

get_time_report

Retrieves summarized time data using descriptive queries. Examples:

Temporal Range Specifications:

"Summarize time logged across the prior month" "Provide a time aggregate for the current seven-day period" "Display working hours spanning from January 1st through January 31st" "Generate a Q1 performance summary" "What were my hours recorded yesterday?"

Aggregation Dimensions: - By Project (Default):

"Display my time breakdown by project for the previous month" "Summarize hours billed per project for this week"

• By Client Account:

"Generate a time report segmented by client for the current month" "Show accumulated hours categorized by client for the first quarter"

• By Defined Activity/Task:

"Provide a task-level summary for January's activity" "Detail time expenditure by specific task across the last week"

• By Team Member (Requires appropriate permissions):

"Show team capacity utilization figures for the past week" "Generate a performance overview segmented by user for the current month"

Report Contents: Each generated summary provides: - Total cumulative hours registered - A breakdown of billable versus non-billable allocations - Monetary value calculations (contingent on user privileges) - Granular details pertaining to the selected report dimension (Project/Client/Task/User)

list_projects

Retrieves and displays the catalogue of active Harvest projects:

"Enumerate all my active projects"

list_tasks

Fetches the specific set of permissible activities associated with a designated project:

"What activities are available for Project X?"

list_entries

Shows a condensed log of recently recorded time allocations:

"Display my most recent time entries"

Configuration Variables

The service respects the following environment parameters for customization:

• HARVEST_ACCESS_TOKEN: The security credential for API interaction
• HARVEST_ACCOUNT_ID: The unique organizational identifier
• STANDARD_WORK_DAY_HOURS: The assumed total duration of a standard workday (Default: 7.5)
• TIMEZONE: The operational timezone setting (Default: Australia/Perth)

Development Guidelines

The underlying architecture relies on: - TypeScript for backend logic - The MCP SDK for service hosting - chrono-node library for sophisticated date interpretation - Integration against Harvest API version 2

To contribute new functionality: 1. Fork the official repository 2. Establish a dedicated feature branch 3. Submit a Merge Request for review

Licensing

Distributed under the terms of the MIT License (Refer to the LICENSE file for specifics)

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