README.md•4.95 kB
# Brex MCP Server
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for the Brex API. Optimized for safe, small, read-only responses with projection and batching.
## Installation
### Claude Code
```bash
# Install the package
npm install -g mcp-brex
# Add to Claude Code with your API key
claude mcp add brex --env BREX_API_KEY=your_brex_api_key -- npx mcp-brex
```
### Claude Desktop
Add to your `claude_desktop_config.json`:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"brex": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["mcp-brex"],
"env": {
"BREX_API_KEY": "your_brex_api_key"
}
}
}
}
```
### Manual Setup (Development)
```bash
git clone https://github.com/dennisonbertram/mcp-brex.git
cd mcp-brex
npm install
npm run build
claude mcp add brex --env BREX_API_KEY=your_key -- node build/index.js
```
## Resources
- `brex://expenses` | `brex://expenses/{id}` | `brex://expenses/card` | `brex://expenses/card/{id}`
- `brex://budgets` | `brex://budgets/{id}`
- `brex://spend_limits` | `brex://spend_limits/{id}`
- `brex://budget_programs` | `brex://budget_programs/{id}`
- `brex://transactions/card/primary` | `brex://transactions/cash/{id}`
- `brex://docs/usage` (compact usage guide for agents)
Notes:
- Resources accept `?summary_only=true&fields=id,status,...` to control payload size.
- Expenses resources auto-expand `merchant` and `budget` for readability.
## Tools (read-only unless noted)
- Budgets: `get_budgets`, `get_budget`
- Spend Limits: `get_spend_limits`, `get_spend_limit`
- Budget Programs: `get_budget_programs`, `get_budget_program`
- Expenses (single page): `get_expenses`
- Expenses (paginated): `get_all_expenses`, `get_all_card_expenses`
- Expense by ID: `get_expense`, `get_card_expense`
- Card Statements: `get_card_statements_primary`
- Transactions: `get_card_transactions`, `get_cash_transactions`
- Cash Statements: `get_cash_account_statements`
- Accounts: `get_all_accounts`, `get_account_details`
- Receipts (write): `match_receipt`, `upload_receipt`
- Updates (write): `update_expense`
## How to call tools
Always send parameters under `arguments` (not `input`). Keep payloads small with pagination and filtering.
Common parameters:
- Pagination: `page_size` (<=50), `max_items` (<=200 recommended)
- Date filtering: `start_date`, `end_date`, `window_days`
- Status filtering: `status` array for expenses/transactions
- Amount filtering: `min_amount`, `max_amount` for expenses
- Merchant filtering: `merchant_name` for expenses
- Expand control: `expand` array to include nested objects (e.g., `["merchant", "budget"]`)
Recommended examples:
```json
{
"name": "get_all_card_expenses",
"arguments": {
"page_size": 10,
"max_items": 20,
"start_date": "2025-08-25T00:00:00Z",
"end_date": "2025-08-26T00:00:00Z",
"status": ["APPROVED"],
"min_amount": 100
}
}
```
```json
{
"name": "get_expenses",
"arguments": {
"limit": 5,
"status": "APPROVED"
}
}
```
```json
{
"name": "get_card_transactions",
"arguments": {
"limit": 10,
"posted_at_start": "2025-08-25T00:00:00Z"
}
}
```
```json
{
"name": "get_all_accounts",
"arguments": {
"page_size": 10,
"max_items": 20,
"status": "ACTIVE"
}
}
```
```json
{
"name": "get_transactions",
"arguments": {
"accountId": "acc_123456789",
"limit": 10
}
}
```
```json
{
"name": "get_expenses",
"arguments": {
"limit": 5,
"expand": ["merchant", "user"]
}
}
```
## Pagination and Filtering Best Practices
**IMPORTANT**: Use pagination, filtering, and sorting to control response sizes instead of relying on summaries.
### Key Parameters for Data Control:
- **`page_size: number`** — Items per page (recommended: ≤50)
- **`max_items: number`** — Maximum total items across all pages (recommended: ≤200)
- **`start_date/end_date: string`** — ISO date range filtering
- **`window_days: number`** — Split large date ranges into smaller batches
- **`status: string[]`** — Filter by status (e.g., ["APPROVED", "PENDING"])
- **`min_amount/max_amount: number`** — Amount-based filtering for expenses
### Best Practices:
- **Always use date ranges** for bulk requests to avoid huge responses
- **Use small page sizes** (≤50) and reasonable max_items (≤200)
- **Apply status filters** to get only the data you need
- **Use window_days** (e.g., 7) to batch large date ranges
- **Control nested object expansion** with the `expand` parameter:
- **Default**: `expand: []` returns lean objects (~500-1000 tokens each)
- **With expansion**: `expand: ["merchant", "budget"]` returns full objects (~15K+ tokens each)
- **Available expand options**: `merchant`, `budget`, `user`, `department`, `location`, `receipts`
- **Test with small limits first** before scaling up
- Cash endpoints require additional Brex scopes; handle 403s gracefully
## Publishing
Only `build/`, `README.md`, and `LICENSE` are published.
## License
MIT — see `LICENSE`.