🇸🇦 ZATCA MCP

AI-native Saudi e-invoicing — generate ZATCA-compliant invoices from natural language.

Why ZATCA MCP?

Saudi Arabia's ZATCA mandate requires all businesses to issue structured electronic invoices — Phase 1 (generation) since December 2021, Phase 2 (integration) rolling out across taxpayer waves through 2025. This is a cornerstone of Vision 2030 digital transformation.

The problem: no open-source, AI-native tooling exists for ZATCA e-invoicing. Businesses either pay for proprietary ERP plugins or build compliance from scratch.

This project: the first open-source MCP server for Saudi e-invoicing — letting AI agents like Claude generate, validate, and manage ZATCA-compliant invoices through natural conversation.

Related MCP server: einvoice-mcp

Features

• 9 MCP Tools — generate, sign, validate, submit invoices + QR codes, CSR, compliance checks, HTML render

• 3 MCP Resources — validation rules, invoice types, sample invoice for AI reference

• 3 MCP Prompts — guided workflows for creating invoices, validating, and credit/debit notes

• UBL 2.1 XML — full namespace-compliant invoice generation per OASIS standard

• 16-Rule Validation Engine — BR-01 through BR-16 business rule checks

• XAdES-BES Digital Signing — ECDSA secp256k1 signatures with certificate embedding

• ZATCA API Integration — async client for compliance, reporting, and clearance endpoints

• Credit/Debit Notes — type codes 381/383 with BillingReference and InstructionNote

• TLV QR Encoding — Phase 1 + Phase 2 tag support (tags 1-8, cryptographic data)

• Fikra CLI — Claude Code-style conversational agent with HTML invoice output

• 127 Tests — unit, integration, signing, API client, resources/prompts, and edge-case coverage

• CI/CD Pipeline — ruff + mypy + pytest across Python 3.10/3.11/3.12 + Phase 2 job

• Arabic Support — full UTF-8 handling for seller/buyer names and addresses

• Decimal Precision — Decimal with ROUND_HALF_UP for all financial math

• Multi-Rate VAT — per-line-item VAT rates (default 15%)

Architecture

graph TD
    subgraph Clients
        A[Claude Desktop]
        B[Claude Code]
        C[Fikra CLI]
    end

    subgraph MCP Server
        D[generate_invoice]
        E[generate_qr_code]
        F[validate_invoice]
        G[decode_qr]
        D2[generate_csr]
        D3[sign_invoice]
        D4[submit_invoice]
        D5[check_compliance]
    end

    subgraph Processing Engine
        H[XML Builder<br/>UBL 2.1]
        I[Validation Engine<br/>16 Business Rules]
        J[TLV Encoder<br/>QR Phase 1 + 2]
        S[Signing Engine<br/>XAdES-BES]
        API[ZATCA API Client<br/>httpx async]
    end

    A -- MCP Protocol --> D
    B -- MCP Protocol --> E
    A -- MCP Protocol --> F
    B -- MCP Protocol --> G

    C -- Direct Call --> H
    C -- Direct Call --> I
    C -- Direct Call --> J
    C -. HTML Pipeline .-> K[Browser Invoice<br/>with QR Image]

    D --> H
    D --> J
    E --> J
    F --> I
    G --> J
    D2 --> S
    D3 --> S
    D4 --> API
    D5 --> API

Quick Start

Install

pip install zatca-mcp              # Phase 1 (generation + validation)
pip install zatca-mcp[phase2]      # Phase 2 (signing + ZATCA API)

Use with Claude Desktop

Add to ~/.claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zatca": {
      "command": "zatca-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. You can now ask Claude to generate ZATCA-compliant invoices.

Fikra CLI

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."
pip install zatca-mcp[phase2]
fikra                              # works from any directory

Fikra CLI

A Claude Code-style conversational agent that turns natural language into compliant invoices with professional HTML output.

Features:

• Gradient ASCII banner with #c8e64a brand theming

• ❯ prompt with streaming responses

• ⏺ tool-use indicators (mirrors Claude Code UX)

• Auto-generates HTML invoices with embedded QR code images

• Opens invoices in your browser automatically

• Token usage display (↳ input · output tokens)

• /help /clear /quit commands

     ◇
    ◇◆◇
     ◇       ███████╗██╗██╗  ██╗██████╗  █████╗ ██╗  ██╗
    ╱ ╲      ██╔════╝██║██║ ██╔╝██╔══██╗██╔══██╗██║  ██║
   ╱   ╲     █████╗  ██║█████╔╝ ██████╔╝███████║███████║
   ╰───╯     ██╔══╝  ██║██╔═██╗ ██╔══██╗██╔══██║██╔══██║
              ██║     ██║██║  ██╗██║  ██║██║  ██║██║  ██║
              ╚═╝     ╚═╝╚═╝  ╚═╝╚═╝  ╚═╝╚═╝  ╚═╝╚═╝  ╚═╝

  Model: claude-sonnet-4-20250514  |  Tools: 8 ZATCA tools  |  Phase 2 ✓  |  cwd: ~/zatca-mcp

  Tips: "I sold 10 laptops at 3000 SAR each to TechCo" to get started
        /help for commands, /quit to exit

❯ I just closed a deal with Al-Rajhi Corp for consulting — 10 hours at 500 SAR

  ⏺ generate_invoice

  ✓ Invoice saved & opened in browser
  ~/zatca-mcp/examples/invoices/INV-2026-001_20260217.html

  Great news on closing the deal! I've generated a ZATCA-compliant invoice
  for Al-Rajhi Corp — 10 hours of consulting at 500 SAR each.

  **Invoice Summary:**
  - Subtotal: 5,000.00 SAR
  - VAT (15%): 750.00 SAR
  - **Total: 5,750.00 SAR**

  The HTML invoice with embedded QR code is open in your browser.

  ↳ 1,847 input · 312 output tokens

Tools API Reference

Creates a complete XML invoice following Saudi Arabia's ZATCA e-invoicing standard. Supports Standard (B2B), Simplified (B2C), Credit Note, and Debit Note types. Automatically calculates VAT, line totals, and embeds QR code data.

Returns: Complete UBL 2.1 XML invoice string with embedded QR code.

Creates a Base64-encoded QR code payload following ZATCA's Tag-Length-Value (TLV) format for Phase 1 and Phase 2 compliance.

Returns: JSON with qr_base64 and decoded_verification data.

Runs 16 business rule checks including required fields, VAT number format, mathematical accuracy of line totals and VAT calculations, credit/debit note references, and structural integrity of UBL 2.1 XML.

Returns: JSON with is_valid (boolean), errors (list), warnings (list), and checks_run (16).

Generates an ECDSA secp256k1 key pair and a CSR with ZATCA-required subject fields. Requires cryptography (install with pip install zatca-mcp[phase2]).

Returns: JSON with csr_pem, private_key_pem, warning, and next_step.

Injects an XAdES-BES digital signature into a UBL 2.1 invoice XML. Rebuilds the QR code with Phase 2 cryptographic tags (6-8). Requires cryptography.

Returns: JSON with signed_xml, invoice_hash, qr_base64, and is_phase2_compliant.

Submits a signed invoice to the ZATCA Fatoora API for reporting (simplified) or clearance (standard). Requires httpx and pydantic.

Returns: ZATCA API response with status, validationResults, warnings, and errors.

Submits an invoice to the ZATCA compliance endpoint for server-side validation. Requires httpx and pydantic.

Returns: ZATCA compliance validation results.

Extracts all encoded tag values from an existing ZATCA QR code for verification or inspection.

Returns: JSON with decoded tag names and their values.

Programmatic Usage

from zatca_mcp.utils.xml_builder import build_invoice_xml
from zatca_mcp.utils.tlv import encode_tlv
from zatca_mcp.utils.validation import validate_invoice_xml

# Generate invoice
xml = build_invoice_xml(
    invoice_type="simplified",
    invoice_number="INV-2024-001",
    issue_date="2024-01-15",
    seller_name="Fikrah Tech",
    seller_vat="300000000000003",
    seller_address="123 King Fahd Road",
    seller_city="Riyadh",
    buyer_name="Walk-in Customer",
    line_items=[
        {"name": "AI Consulting", "quantity": 10, "unit_price": 500.00},
        {"name": "Setup Fee", "quantity": 1, "unit_price": 1000.00},
    ],
)

# Validate
result = validate_invoice_xml(xml)
print(f"Valid: {result['is_valid']}")  # True
print(f"Checks: {result['checks_run']}")  # 16

# Generate QR code
qr = encode_tlv(
    seller_name="Fikrah Tech",
    vat_number="300000000000003",
    timestamp="2024-01-15T10:00:00Z",
    total_amount="6900.00",
    vat_amount="900.00",
)
print(f"QR: {qr}")

Phase 2: Digital Signing

from zatca_mcp.utils.signing import (
    generate_private_key,
    generate_csr,
    inject_signature,
    hash_invoice,
)

# Generate key pair and CSR
key = generate_private_key()
csr_pem = generate_csr(
    key,
    common_name="My Company",
    organization="My Org",
    organizational_unit="IT",
)
# Submit CSR to ZATCA to get a certificate, then sign:
# signed_xml = inject_signature(xml, cert_pem, key)
# invoice_hash = hash_invoice(xml)

ZATCA Compliance

Validation Rules (16 Business Rules)

Invoice Types

QR Code TLV Tags

Tags 6-8 are populated by the sign_invoice tool with real cryptographic data (SHA-256 hash, ECDSA signature, public key).

Engineering Quality

• 127 tests across 7 test modules (TLV, validation, invoice, signing, credit/debit, API client, resources/prompts)

• CI/CD — GitHub Actions: ruff lint + format check, mypy type checking, pytest with coverage across Python 3.10 / 3.11 / 3.12, plus a dedicated Phase 2 job

• Decimal precision — all financial calculations use Decimal with ROUND_HALF_UP, never floating point

• UBL 2.1 compliance — full OASIS namespace declarations (ubl, cac, cbc, ext, ds, xades)

• Arabic/UTF-8 — ensure_ascii=False throughout; Arabic seller/buyer names work correctly

• Graceful degradation — Phase 2 tools return helpful errors if cryptography/httpx not installed

Project Structure

zatca-mcp/
├── src/zatca_mcp/
│   ├── server.py              # MCP server — 9 tools, 3 resources, 3 prompts
│   ├── cli.py                 # Fikra CLI — global `fikra` command
│   ├── utils/
│   │   ├── xml_builder.py     # UBL 2.1 XML invoice generator
│   │   ├── validation.py      # 16-rule validation engine
│   │   ├── tlv.py             # TLV QR encoder/decoder
│   │   └── signing.py         # XAdES-BES digital signing (Phase 2)
│   └── api/
│       ├── __init__.py
│       ├── client.py          # ZATCA Fatoora API client (Phase 2)
│       └── models.py          # Pydantic v2 API models (Phase 2)
├── examples/
│   └── fikrah_agent.py        # Legacy entry point (redirects to fikra command)
├── tests/
│   ├── test_invoice.py        # Invoice generation tests
│   ├── test_tlv.py            # TLV encoding/decoding tests
│   ├── test_validation.py     # Validation engine tests
│   ├── test_resources_prompts.py # MCP resources & prompts tests
│   ├── test_signing.py        # Digital signing tests (Phase 2)
│   ├── test_credit_debit.py   # Credit/debit note tests (Phase 2)
│   └── test_api_client.py     # API client tests (Phase 2)
├── .github/workflows/
│   └── test.yml               # CI pipeline (Phase 1 + Phase 2 jobs)
├── pyproject.toml
└── LICENSE

Development

git clone https://github.com/DoubleH10/zatca-mcp.git
cd zatca-mcp

# Phase 1 only
pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Phase 1 + Phase 2 (signing, API)
pip install -e ".[dev,phase2]"

# Tests
pytest tests/ -v                                    # All tests
pytest tests/ -v -m "not sandbox"                   # Skip live sandbox tests

# Linting & types
ruff check src/ tests/
mypy src/zatca_mcp/ --ignore-missing-imports

# MCP Inspector (interactive testing)
mcp dev src/zatca_mcp/server.py

Roadmap

• TLV QR code generation (Phase 1 + Phase 2 tags)

• UBL 2.1 XML invoice generation

• 16-rule validation engine (BR-01 through BR-16)

• MCP server with 8 tools

• Fikra CLI (streaming, HTML invoices, QR images)

• CI/CD pipeline (ruff + mypy + pytest matrix + Phase 2 job)

• XAdES-BES digital signing (ECDSA secp256k1)

• ZATCA API integration (sandbox + production)

• Certificate management (CSR generation)

• Credit/debit note support (381/383)

• PyPI package publishing

• MCP Resources & Prompts

• HTTP/SSE transport

• Arabic RTL invoice template

Built with zatca-mcp

Using zatca-mcp in your project? Open a PR to add it here.

Contributing

Contributions welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for setup instructions. Check the good first issues for a place to start.

License

Apache 2.0 — see LICENSE