Read products, orders and catalogs; update products and rebuild catalog PDFs in Catalog Machine. For wholesalers and brands that publish product catalogs with Catalog Machine. Hosted by usefulapi — connect from Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or any MCP client.
Team and Enterprise: an Owner adds the connector for the organization first.
Run this command, then run /mcp in Claude Code to log in:
Add to Cursor or add this to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"catalog-machine": {
"url": "https://catalog-machine.usefulapi.io/mcp"
}
}
}Add to VS Code or add this to .vscode/mcp.json:
{
"servers": {
"catalog-machine": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://catalog-machine.usefulapi.io/mcp"
}
}
}No Add custom MCP server option? It depends on your account or workspace settings: see OpenAI's guide.
Run these commands. The second one opens the login page:
Other MCP clients (Windsurf, Cline, Zed and more): add the URL as a remote MCP server (Streamable HTTP). The client then opens the login page in your browser. Do not add an Authorization header: see Before you connect.
List the products and read one product with its details.
catalogmachine_list_products catalogmachine_get_product catalogmachine_list_categories
List the orders that came in through your catalogs.
catalogmachine_list_orders
Update a product, for example its description or price, before you publish.
Changes data · catalogmachine_get_product catalogmachine_update_product
Rebuild a catalog after product changes and check the status of the job.
Changes data · catalogmachine_list_catalogs catalogmachine_rebuild_catalog catalogmachine_get_catalog_job
Read the status of an import job.
catalogmachine_get_import_job
The login page asks for your Catalog Machine API key.
Find the key in Catalog Machine on the Automation page, in the API section. Your key is used only to call the Catalog Machine API on your behalf and to derive a private account id.
Add only the URL. Do not add an Authorization header or an API key to the client config. The server signs you in with OAuth: the login page asks for your Catalog Machine API key. If the config has such a header, remove it: some clients then send that header instead of the login token, and every call fails with 401.
Turn on the Catalog Machine connector, then ask in plain words. The AI picks the tools.
| Tool | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
catalogmachine_list_products | read | List products List products with all fields, variants and collections. Filter by category or collection. Catalog Machine API: GET /products. |
catalogmachine_get_product | read | Get a product Get one product by its Code, with all fields and variants. Catalog Machine API: GET /products/{code}. |
catalogmachine_update_product | write | Update a product WRITE. Change fields of one product. The tool reads the product, merges your `fields` over it, and sends the full record back (the API needs the whole structure). Top-level keys only, for example Name, Price, Description. Variants and Collections replace the old list if you pass them. Catalog Machine API: GET then POST /products/{code}. |
catalogmachine_list_categories | read | List categories List product categories with their field definitions. Catalog Machine API: GET /categories. |
catalogmachine_list_orders | read | List orders List orders (open orders by default), with customer and line items. Filter by status. Catalog Machine API: GET /orders. |
catalogmachine_list_catalogs | read | List catalogs List catalogs with permalink, status, privacy and the HTML and PDF links. Catalog Machine API: GET /catalogs. |
catalogmachine_rebuild_catalog | write | Rebuild a catalog PDF WRITE. Start a rebuild of the catalog PDF by permalink. Returns a JobId: check it with catalogmachine_get_catalog_job. Catalog Machine API: GET /catalogs/{permalink}/rebuild. |
catalogmachine_get_catalog_job | read | Get a catalog rebuild job Get the status, errors and warnings of a catalog rebuild job. Catalog Machine API: GET /jobs/catalogs/{jobId}. |
catalogmachine_get_import_job | read | Get an import job Get the status of the last Shopify import job (`shopify`) or CSV import job (`csv`). Catalog Machine API: GET /jobs/import/shopify-import or /jobs/import/csv-import. |
catalogmachine_usage_status | Usage status (free-tier meter) Report the caller's current usage: the plan, calls used this month, the limit of the plan (the free monthly cap or the Pro fair use limit), remaining, and whether the limit is reached. Read-only; does not count against the meter. | |
catalogmachine_request_feature | Request a missing feature Tell usefulapi that the user needs something the Catalog Machine tools cannot do yet (a missing tool, field or filter). Call it only when the user asks for something none of the tools can do, and tell the user that you send the request. Do not call it for errors or for normal requests. Do not include personal data, credentials or customer records. Stored with the product name and the client type (for example Claude or Cursor), without the user's account. At most 5 requests per day. Does not count against the meter. | |
catalogmachine_upgrade | Upgrade to Pro (unlimited*) Get Pro: unlimited tool calls (fair use limit: 10,000 a month) on Catalog Machine (the free tier caps monthly usage). Plans: "monthly" — $9/month; "yearly" — $90/year (2 months free). Cancel any time: Pro then runs to the end of the paid period, so it also suits a one-time job. *A fair use limit applies. For heavy use (near Pro's limit): "plus" or "plus_yearly" — Pro+, $39/month or $390/year, unlimited tool calls (fair use limit: 100,000 a month); an existing Pro subscription changes to Pro+ in place (needs confirm: true; the price difference for the rest of the period is charged at once). Otherwise returns a short link to open in your browser (it opens Stripe Checkout); after payment the account upgrades automatically. Does not count against the meter. | |
catalogmachine_cancel_subscription | Cancel the Pro subscription Cancel the caller's Catalog Machine Pro subscription at the end of the paid period (no refund for the current period; Pro continues until then, then the free tier applies). Requires confirm: true. Run catalogmachine_upgrade later to undo the cancel before the period ends. Does not count against the meter. |
| Plan | Price | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 50 tool calls / month |
| Proper user | $9/mo · $90/yr | Unlimited* |
*Pro fair use limit: 10,000 tool calls a month on this server. For more, write to [email protected].
Pro covers this Catalog Machine server only. Subscribe with catalogmachine_upgrade (it returns a Stripe Checkout link). Cancel any time with catalogmachine_cancel_subscription: Pro continues to the end of the paid period, with no refund for the current period, and running catalogmachine_upgrade before then undoes the cancel. Or write to [email protected].
Look up products. Review the orders. Fix product details. Rebuild a catalog PDF. Check an import. See what you can do for the details.
No. usefulapi is an independent service. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Catalog Machine. The server calls the Catalog Machine API with your own Catalog Machine access, so it sees only the data that your account can see.
Yes. In Claude, add this server's URL as a custom connector. In ChatGPT, add it as a custom MCP server in Plugins. Then log in once. Cursor, VS Code, Claude Code and Codex work too. See the setup steps.
The login page asks for your Catalog Machine API key. See Before you connect for where to find it.
No. Add only the URL. Do not add an Authorization header or an API key to the client config. The server signs you in with OAuth: the login page asks for your Catalog Machine API key. If the config has such a header, remove it: some clients then send that header instead of the login token, and every call fails with 401.
The login stores them encrypted in the authorization grant of your connection. The server uses them to call the Catalog Machine API for you and to derive a private account id for usage metering. usefulapi does not show them on any page or in any reply. To stop all access, remove the connector and change or delete these credentials in Catalog Machine.
Yes, if you approve it. 2 of the 9 Catalog Machine tools can create or change data. The other 7 are marked read-only. Most MCP clients ask you to approve a tool call before it runs.
The Free plan gives 50 tool calls / month. Pro costs $9/mo or $90/yr, with unlimited tool calls (fair use limit: 10,000 tool calls a month), for this Catalog Machine server only. Cancel any time: Pro then runs to the end of the paid period. Run catalogmachine_usage_status to see how many calls you used.
Ask the AI to run catalogmachine_upgrade: it returns a Stripe Checkout link. To cancel, run catalogmachine_cancel_subscription. Pro continues to the end of the paid period.
Tell the AI what you wanted to do. It can send the request with catalogmachine_request_feature. We store the text with the server name, the type of AI client and the tool you tried, not with your account, and read every request when we plan new tools. You can send up to 5 requests per day.
Any client that supports remote MCP servers (Streamable HTTP) with OAuth login: Claude (web and desktop), Claude Code, ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf and others.
This is a Model Context Protocol endpoint — meant to be connected from an AI client, not opened in a browser. An invalid_token response at the URL is the auth gate working as designed; clients authenticate automatically.
Need a tool this server does not have, or a connection to another system? We build custom integrations and MCP servers.