Expense Tracker MCP Server

A lightweight local MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that lets you log, list, summarize, and remove personal expenses directly through Claude — no app, no manual spreadsheet entry, just natural conversation.

Built with FastMCP and backed by a local SQLite database.

Why

Most expense-tracking apps are clunky: too many taps, rigid categories, or subscription paywalls just to log a coffee. This server turns Claude into your expense tracker — you just tell it what you spent, and it's saved. Ask for a summary anytime and get an instant breakdown by category.

Related MCP server: Expense Tracker MCP Server

Features

• Add expenses with date, category, amount, subcategory, and notes

• List expenses within a date range

• Summarize spending by category (optionally filtered to one category)

• Remove expenses by ID

• Data stored locally in a single SQLite file — fully private, no cloud sync

Requirements

• Python 3.10+

• fastmcp

Install dependencies:

pip install fastmcp

Setup

1. Save the server script (e.g. expense_server.py) somewhere permanent on your machine.

2. On first run, it automatically creates expenses.db in the same directory — no manual DB setup needed.

3. Add it to your Claude Desktop config file:

   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "expense-tracker": {
         "command": "python",
         "args": ["/full/absolute/path/to/expense_server.py"]
       }
     }
   }

   Use the absolute path to the script. If you're using a virtual environment, point command to that environment's Python binary instead of system python.

4. Restart Claude Desktop. The four tools below should appear as available.

Tools

Dates should be in YYYY-MM-DD format.

Example usage

Just talk to Claude naturally once the server is connected:

• "Log 450 for groceries today, subcategory vegetables"

• "I spent 1200 on rent yesterday, note: August rent"

• "Show me everything I spent this month"

• "What's my breakdown by category for August 2026?"

• "How much did I spend on food between Aug 1 and Aug 15?"

• "Delete expense #12, I entered that twice"

Data storage

All data lives in expenses.db, a SQLite file created next to the script. Nothing is sent anywhere else — this is entirely local and private.

Schema:

expenses
├── id            INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT
├── date          TEXT NOT NULL
├── category      TEXT NOT NULL
├── amount        REAL NOT NULL
├── subcategory   TEXT DEFAULT ''
└── note          TEXT DEFAULT ''

Backing up your data

Since everything lives in one file, back it up periodically:

cp expenses.db "expenses_backup_$(date +%Y%m%d).db"

Consider automating this with a weekly cron job (macOS/Linux) or Task Scheduler (Windows).

Notes & tips

• Category names aren't constrained, so try to keep casing/spelling consistent (e.g. always "Groceries", not a mix of "groceries" / "Grocery") to keep summaries clean.

• Ask Claude to list your existing categories before adding a new one if you want to avoid duplicates.

• This server has no authentication or network exposure — it only runs locally via stdio, which is why it's safe to use without extra security setup.

License

Personal use — adapt freely for your own workflow.