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Tiong Creative assistant

Tiong Creative assistant

by davettt

Tiong Creative assistant (MCP server)

Lets an AI assistant on your Mac, such as Claude Desktop, use your Tiong Creative apps while they are open. Ask "what's on this month" and it reads Due Again, Gift Keeper, Client Manager, Lists & Notes, Budget Planner and DiagramSnap; say "mark the car insurance done" and Due Again records it and works out the next date, the same as if you had clicked.

It only works with the apps, and only while each app has Settings → Assistant → Allow assistant access turned on. With it off, or the app closed, the assistant is told so and nothing else happens.

Apps

App

Reads

Changes

Due Again 1.1.0 or later

items with status and next due date, an item's history

add an item, record that an item was done, change an item's advance reminders

Gift Keeper 1.3.0 or later (start years and changing ideas need 1.4.0; a store on ideas needs 1.5.0)

people with interests, sizes and preferences; upcoming occasions with budget, spend, whether a gift is chosen, and the age or years married (milestones flagged) when a start year is known; ideas and gifts show their store

add a gift idea for a person, mark a gift as given, add a start year (year born or married) to a yearly birthday, anniversary or wedding, change a gift idea's name, who it is for, notes, price, link or priority; turn a gift idea into a tracked gift for an occasion (by name), for the idea's person or another; optionally keep the idea for later; add a store; set the store on ideas and gifts

Client Manager 1.6.0 or later

pending reminders, open tasks, invoices owing with totals and balance, one client with each job's details, renewal periods and invoices

add a client, a job, a reminder or a task, record an invoice made in another system such as Square against a job's renewal period, change a job, task or reminder, log an activity. Existing invoices cannot be changed

Lists & Notes 1.22.0 or later (changes need 1.23.0; adding and renaming categories need 1.24.0)

lists with their items, notes with previews, the full text of a note, categories with their list and note counts

add a list or a note, add items, tick off or reword items, add to, rename or move a note to another category, move a list or note to a category, add or rename a category

Budget Planner 2.2.0 or later (updating balances needs 2.3.0)

the budget for any week, fortnight, month or year, payments coming up, expenses, accounts and net worth, scenario results and comparisons

add an expense, change an expense's amount from a date, rename it or set when it stops, change a scenario's loan, dates or keep-aside, add a scenario or a copy of one, set account balances with the date they were true, and add, change or remove a scenario's costs

DiagramSnap 0.7.0 or later

diagrams and slide decks, shown as pictures in the chat

create a diagram or a deck, add a slide, change a diagram or slide's name, title, notes or drawing. Nothing is deleted

More apps follow, and the assistant can also open an app for you, but only after you agree. Its assistant_info tool reports the server version, each app's version, whether each app can be reached, and which apps need a newer version.

Related MCP server: Automation MCP

Prompts

The server also offers ready-made starters for common routines. Pick one from your AI app's menu (in Claude Desktop: + then "Add from tiongcreative"). A prompt is listed only when the apps it needs are installed.

Prompt

App

What it does

What needs my attention this week

Any app

Lists what is overdue or due in the next 7 days, grouped by app, and offers to deal with each item.

Check a statement against my budget

Budget Planner

Compares a bank or card statement you attach or paste with your recurring expenses, proposes changes, and makes the ones you agree to.

Review this month's budget

Budget Planner

Shows this month's income, expenses and surplus, the biggest categories, and what is due for the rest of the month.

Plan gifts for upcoming occasions

Gift Keeper

Shows the occasions coming up, what is sorted, and which saved ideas could become gifts. Takes an optional number of days (default 60).

Tidy my notes

Lists & Notes

Suggests moves, merges and archiving across your categories, lists and notes, and changes nothing until you agree.

What can you do with my apps?

Any app

Shows which apps are connected, what you can ask for in each, and the routines you can run. Changes nothing.

Add things from an email or message

Any app

Works out what in a pasted or attached email, booking, receipt or message belongs in which app, and adds it once you agree.

Who owes me money

Client Manager

Lists unpaid and overdue invoices, oldest first, with a draft follow-up for each client. Takes an optional client name.

Plan my client week

Client Manager

Reminders and tasks due in the next 7 days, plus overdue invoices, in one plan.

What's coming up this month

Due Again

Renewals, appointments and other items due in the next 31 days, by week, with expected costs.

Turn a note into a diagram

Lists & Notes + DiagramSnap

Draws a note (a process, a plan, a set of ideas) as a diagram, after you agree the layout in words. Takes an optional note title.

Not every client shows MCP prompts: Claude Desktop does, while ChatGPT and Codex do not yet. The same steps are also a routine tool the assistant calls itself, so in any client you can just ask, for example, "check this statement against my budget".

Feedback

If something did not work, or you wish the assistant could do more, tell it (for example, say "send feedback"). It offers to draft a note with the versions of the server and your apps filled in, and gives you an email link that opens the note ready to send, so the assistant never sends anything itself. Or use the contact form at https://tiongcreative.com.au/contact/ and choose "Product support" as the topic.

Setup

You need Node.js and Claude Desktop. If you do not have Node.js, install it from nodejs.org (the LTS download), which also gives you the npx command used below.

Open Terminal and run:

npx @tiongcreative/assistant-mcp install

It adds the assistant to Claude Desktop's settings and keeps a backup of the previous file. Then quit Claude Desktop completely, open it again, and allow the "tiongcreative" server the first time it asks. In each app, turn on Allow assistant access in Settings. With the apps open, ask Claude what's on this week.

The assistant only offers tools for the apps installed on your Mac, checked when Claude Desktop starts it, so after installing another app restart Claude Desktop once.

To remove it: npx @tiongcreative/assistant-mcp uninstall. To check: npx @tiongcreative/assistant-mcp status. If the assistant stops appearing after you upgrade Node.js, status says so, and running the install command again fixes it. Run these commands from any folder except a checkout of this package.

ChatGPT desktop on the same Mac

For ChatGPT desktop, run this one command instead:

npx @tiongcreative/assistant-mcp install chatgpt

It registers the same local server in ChatGPT's MCP settings. Restart ChatGPT, turn on Allow assistant access in each app, and type /mcp in ChatGPT to check the connection. The Tiong Creative apps must be open on this Mac. This setup is for ChatGPT desktop, not ChatGPT in a web browser. To check or remove it, run npx @tiongcreative/assistant-mcp status chatgpt or npx @tiongcreative/assistant-mcp uninstall chatgpt. If it stops appearing after you upgrade Node.js, status chatgpt says so, and running the install chatgpt command again fixes it.

For Claude Code: claude mcp add tiongcreative -- npx -y @tiongcreative/assistant-mcp.

How it stays on your Mac

  • The server opens no network connection of its own. It talks to each app on 127.0.0.1 only.

  • While assistant access is on, the app writes a small file in its own data folder holding its port and a token made fresh for that launch, readable only by your user account. The server reads it and sends the token with each request. The file is removed when you turn the setting off or quit the app, so there is nothing to copy or store.

  • On connect, the server sends the assistant a short set of instructions: which tool does which job for each installed app, and common rules (nothing is deleted, and closed apps are reported and opened only with your agreement). Clients that support server instructions, such as Claude Desktop and Claude Code, add them to the assistant's context.

  • What the assistant reads goes to whichever AI service it uses. Turn access on only for an assistant you trust.

  • The package holds no secrets and never contacts tiongcreative.com.au.

Development

npm install
npm test            # needs ../due-again checked out: runs its server on a temp data folder
npm run validate

Registering a local checkout with Claude Code: claude mcp add tiongcreative -- node /path/to/src/index.js.

Licence

Released under the MIT licence.

Available Tools

10 tools
due_again_add_itemA

Add a new item to Due Again: something that comes due on a date, once or on a schedule (a renewal, a bill, maintenance, an appointment). Give the category by name; if it does not match, the reply lists the categories to choose from. Reminders are days before the due date.

Inputs: title (required), nextDue (required), category (required), notes, +7 more.

due_again_completeA

Record that a Due Again item was done. Due Again then works out the next due date from its schedule. Use the item id from due_again_items. Date defaults to today and cannot be in the future.

Inputs: itemId (required), cost, date, note.

due_again_historyB
Read-only

The completion history of one Due Again item: when it was done, skipped or rescheduled, and what it cost.

Inputs: itemId (required), limit.

due_again_itemsA
Read-only

List items in Due Again (recurring commitments such as renewals, insurance, maintenance and appointments) with their status and next due date. Filter by status or look ahead a number of days.

Inputs: search, status, withinDays.

gift_keeper_add_ideaA

Save a gift idea in Gift Keeper for a person, by name. If the name does not match, the reply lists the people to choose from. Optional link, price, notes and priority.

Inputs: idea (required), person (required), url, notes, +2 more.

gift_keeper_mark_gift_givenB

Mark a gift in Gift Keeper as given. Use a gift id from gift_keeper_upcoming.

Inputs: giftId (required).

gift_keeper_peopleB
Read-only

The people in Gift Keeper with what helps choose a gift: relationship, interests, sizes, preferences and things to avoid. Give a name for one person, or leave it out for everyone.

Inputs: name.

gift_keeper_upcomingA
Read-only

Upcoming occasions in Gift Keeper (birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and custom dates) with who they are for, whether a gift has been chosen, the budget and what has been spent so far.

Inputs: person, withinDays.

open_appOpen an appA

Opens one of the Tiong Creative apps on this Mac so its tools can be used. Only call this after the user has agreed to open it.

Inputs: app (required).

whats_onWhat's onA

Everything coming up across the Tiong Creative apps on this Mac within a number of days: overdue and due items, with the app each one belongs to. Start here for "what needs my attention".

Inputs: days.

Tool Schema Changelog

Recent tool additions, removals, and schema changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Loading tool schema changelog…

    TDQS

    A3.7/5.0

    Scored across 10 tools

    Disambiguation5/5

    Each tool targets a distinct resource+action, cleanly separated by domain prefix (due_again_*, gift_keeper_*) plus the two general tools whats_on and open_app. whats_on is an aggregate dashboard while due_again_items/gift_keeper_upcoming are domain-specific lists, and the descriptions make that boundary clear.

    Naming Consistency4/5

    The app-prefixed snake_case pattern (due_again_items, gift_keeper_add_idea) is used consistently and predicatively throughout. whats_on and open_app deviate by having no app prefix, a minor but noticeable inconsistency in an otherwise uniform scheme.

    Tool Count5/5

    Ten tools across two apps plus a general entry point and an app-opener is well-scoped; each tool earns its place in the read/write flow. No bloat or redundancy in the count.

    Completeness3/5

    Core workflows are covered, but there are notable gaps: no update/edit or delete for Due Again items, and Gift Keeper cannot add people or occasions (only list them and record gift ideas/given status). Agents will hit dead ends for editing or creating people/occasions.

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