Workato Dev MCP

A local MCP server that lets you author and debug Workato recipes from Claude (Code, Desktop, or any MCP client).

The official Workato Developer API MCP (app.workato.com/mcp) is management/read-only — it can't create or update recipe code or start/stop recipes. This server does, by wrapping the Workato Developer REST API operations a recipe developer actually needs.

Zero dependencies — standard library only, any Python 3.8+. No pip install.

Quick install (Claude Code)

From the repo, one command registers the server with Claude Code:

WORKATO_TOKEN=your-developer-api-token bash bin/install.sh

Or bootstrap from scratch (clone + register) with one line:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/krishnagutta/workato-dev-mcp/main/bin/quickstart.sh | bash

Then start a new Claude session and try: "list my Workato recipes".

Even simpler — project-scoped auto-detection

This repo ships a .mcp.json. If a teammate opens the repo folder in Claude Code with WORKATO_TOKEN exported in their shell, Claude Code detects the server automatically — no claude mcp add needed. Approve it once when prompted.

export WORKATO_TOKEN=your-developer-api-token   # add to ~/.zshrc to persist
cd workato-dev-mcp
claude                                           # Claude Code picks up .mcp.json

Related MCP server: n8n MCP Server

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+ (python3 --version) — already on macOS/Linux.

• A Workato Developer API token — Workato → Workspace admin → API clients. The Recipe operator role is enough for recipe CRUD. Copy the token (starts with wrkaus-).

• For Claude Code: the claude CLI installed (only needed for bin/install.sh).

Manual setup (any MCP client)

If you'd rather wire it by hand (Claude Desktop, or pinning an absolute path):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "workato-dev": {
      "command": "python3",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/workato-dev-mcp/server.py"],
      "env": {
        "WORKATO_TOKEN": "your-developer-api-token",
        "WORKATO_API_BASE": "https://www.workato.com/api"
      }
    }
  }
}

• Claude Desktop config: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS).

• Claude Code user scope: ~/.claude.json.

Restart the client, start a new chat, and you should see the workato-dev tools.

What it gives you (33 tools)

Recipes

Workspace & config

API Platform — Workato MCP servers

A Workato MCP server built on API Platform is an API collection exposed as MCP; its tools are API endpoints, each backed by a recipe. These tools let the dev MCP introspect that surface. (The AI-Hub-native MCP / Genie layer has no Developer API — manage it in the UI.)

Not yet covered — AI-Hub-native MCP servers. Workato documents a server-management API at /api/mcp/mcp_servers (create/list servers, assign_tools, edit tool descriptions), but with the current Developer API token that path returns the HTML login page on both www/app hosts — i.e. the API client lacks MCP scope (or the feature isn't enabled on the plan). Grant the API client API-platform/MCP scope in the Workato UI and those tools become a quick follow-up. Endpoint enable/disable above works today because it lives on the standard /api_endpoints router.

Lookup & data tables

Knowledge base (two-tier, like the Studio MCP)

Auth & data residency

• WORKATO_TOKEN (required) — your personal Developer API token. Each dev uses their own; nothing is shared or hosted.

• WORKATO_API_BASE (optional) — defaults to https://www.workato.com/api (US). Set per your data center, e.g. https://app.eu.workato.com/api.

The recipe edit loop

get_recipe(id, include_code=true)   # pull the code tree
  → edit the JSON in conversation
  → stop_recipe(id)                 # running recipes can't be updated
  → update_recipe(id, code=<json>)
  → start_recipe(id)                # start = the compiler; read validation errors
  → list_jobs / get_job             # after a test run, inspect real step I/O

Run workato_recipe_tips and get_learnings once before building — they capture the datapill format, the trigger extended_output_schema requirement, the HTTP string-body trick, custom-code schema gotchas, valid condition operands, and the job-log debugging pattern. These are the things that otherwise cost hours.

Capturing learnings (two-tier, like the Studio MCP)

The knowledge base grows as you use it:

• learnings.md (repo root) is the intake queue — append-only, low-friction. When Claude discovers a gotcha that isn't already in workato_recipe_tips, it calls log_learning to append a dated, categorized entry. Then commit the file so teammates inherit it.

• workato_recipe_tips (the _TIPS block in server.py) is the curated tier. During periodic review, raw learnings are promoted into it and marked **Status**: promoted in learnings.md.

log_learning / get_learnings are pure local file operations — no Workato API call, no token needed. The file is anchored to the repo via __file__; override the location with WORKATO_LEARNINGS_PATH if needed.

Notes / limits

• This is a dev tool — it can create, edit, start/stop, and delete recipes. Use a token scoped to a dev/impl workspace; be careful with delete_recipe.

• It does not touch the AI Hub layer (adding tools to an MCP server, server instructions, MCP Apps, or a tool's param-schema refresh) — those remain manual in the Workato UI. After a recipe param-set change, the MCP client that consumes that tool needs an app restart to see the new schema.

• Sharing: commit this folder to an internal git repo; teammates clone and either run bin/install.sh or export WORKATO_TOKEN and let .mcp.json auto-detect it.