MCP & AI Tools

What Is MCP?

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that lets AI agents — like Claude, ChatGPT, and others — connect directly to your Marula Landlord OS account. Once connected, you can ask your AI agent questions about your properties, tenants, leases, and finances, and it can pull the answers from your live data.

Think of it as giving your AI agent a direct line to your property management system, instead of you having to look things up and paste them into a chat window.

What You Can Do

Once connected, you can ask your AI agent things like:

• R “How much does Alice Smith owe on her lease?”
• R “Show me all maintenance requests that are still open”
• R “What’s my total rental income this year?”
• W “Create a new tenant named Bob Jones for unit 2A at 456 Oak Street”
• W “Send a message to the tenant in Unit 3B about the upcoming inspection”

The agent translates your question into a tool call, retrieves the answer from your account, and presents it in plain language.

What It Does NOT Do

• The AI cannot log into your portal or change your password
• The AI cannot access other landlords’ data
• The AI cannot make financial transactions (it can record payments that already happened, but cannot initiate ACH transfers)
• Each API token can be revoked instantly from Settings

Getting Started

Step 1: Create an API Token

API tokens are how your AI agent authenticates with your Marula Landlord OS account.

1. Go to Settings → API Tokens
2. Click Create Token
3. Give it a descriptive name (e.g., “Claude Desktop” or “ChatGPT”)
4. Copy the token value — it is shown only once

You can create multiple tokens for different agents or devices. Each token tracks its own last-used timestamp so you can see which ones are active.

Step 2: Connect Your AI Agent

Claude Desktop

1. Open Claude Desktop settings
2. Navigate to the Developer section
3. Click Edit Config to open your claude_desktop_config.json
4. Add the Marula Landlord OS MCP server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "landlord-automation": {
      "url": "https://api.marulaos.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN"
      }
    }
  }
}

5. Replace YOUR_API_TOKEN with the token you copied in Step 1
6. Restart Claude Desktop

Claude will discover the available tools automatically and show them when relevant.

Other MCP-Compatible Agents

Any agent that supports the MCP standard (Streamable HTTP transport) can connect. Look for an “MCP Servers” or “Integrations” section in your agent’s settings and add:

• Server URL: https://api.marulaos.com/mcp
• Authentication: Bearer token (your API token from Step 1)

Available Tools

Once connected, your AI agent can use these tools on your behalf:

Properties & Units

Tenants

Leases

Financial

Maintenance

Messages

Calendar

Workflows

Managing API Tokens

Creating Tokens

You can create multiple API tokens for different purposes — one for Claude, one for ChatGPT, one for a script, etc. Each token has a name and a creation date so you can tell them apart.

Revoking Tokens

If a token is compromised or you no longer need it, revoke it immediately:

1. Go to Settings → API Tokens
2. Find the token in the list
3. Click Revoke

The token stops working instantly. Your AI agent will not be able to reconnect until you create a new token and update its configuration.

Monitoring Usage

Each token shows a Last Used timestamp. If you see a token that hasn’t been used in a while, consider revoking it to reduce your attack surface.

Security

How Authentication Works

Every request from your AI agent includes your API token as a Bearer token in the Authorization header. The server validates the token, confirms it belongs to your account, and only then processes the request.

What Keeps Your Data Safe

• Your data is isolated — a token can only access data for the landlord account that created it. There is no way to access another landlord’s properties, tenants, or financial records.
• Tokens can be revoked instantly — if you suspect a token has been leaked, revoke it from Settings and the attacker loses access immediately.
• All requests go through the edge gateway — the same authentication and security middleware that protects the web portal also protects MCP requests.
• Write operations require Starter tier — on the Free plan, your AI agent can only read data. To create, update, or delete records, you need the Starter plan or above.

Best Practices

• Give each AI agent or device its own token so you can revoke one without affecting others
• Name your tokens descriptively (“Claude Desktop - Work Laptop”) so you know what each one is for
• Revoke tokens you no longer use
• Never share your API token in a public channel, commit it to a repository, or paste it in a support ticket

Plan Availability

MCP is available on all plans, including Free. On the Free plan, your AI agent can read your data (view properties, check balances, list leases, etc.). On Starter and above, it can also create and modify records (add tenants, update leases, send messages, etc.). Advanced tools for workflows, financial reporting, and automation are available on Pro and Business plans.

Examples & Prompt Guide

For ready-to-use prompts, multi-step workflows, and tips on getting the best results from your AI agent, see the MCP Examples & Prompt Guide.