monarch-mcp2

Unofficial MCP server for Monarch Money.

This project is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or supported by Monarch Money.

monarch-mcp2 gives agents like Codex and Claude access to Monarch Money through Model Context Protocol tools. It exposes the public function surface from monarch-api2, organized by Monarch feature area, with tool names that map 1-to-1 to backend API functions:

{group}_{function_name}

Features

• MCP tools backed directly by monarch-api2, not the CLI

• 1-to-1 tool names matching the API function surface

• Typed input schemas for filters, enums, nested objects, and mutations

• Tool annotations for read-only, write, and destructive operations

• Compact summary output by default, similar to the CLI's table/detail views

• full output when agents need the complete structured API data

• raw output when agents explicitly need retained raw response payloads

• Dotted-path field projection for targeted output

• Tools for auth, accounts, transactions, receipts, cashflow, reports, merchants, tags, household, categories, recurring items, investments, goals, and budgets

Installation

This package depends on monarch-api2 version 0.1.0, installed directly from GitHub:

monarch-api2 @ git+https://github.com/erikrubstein/monarch-api2.git@v0.1.0

Install the MCP server from GitHub:

pipx install git+https://github.com/erikrubstein/monarch-mcp2.git

After installation, confirm the monarch-mcp command is available:

which monarch-mcp

Codex

Add the server to Codex:

codex mcp add monarch -- monarch-mcp

If your session file is somewhere other than the default path, include MONARCH_SESSION_PATH:

codex mcp add \
  --env MONARCH_SESSION_PATH="/absolute/path/to/session.json" \
  monarch \
  -- monarch-mcp

Verify the server was added:

codex mcp list

Restart Codex after adding the server. Once loaded, Codex should see tools such as accounts_list_accounts, transactions_list_transactions, and budget_get_budget.

Claude Code

Add the server to Claude Code:

claude mcp add --scope user monarch -- monarch-mcp

If your session file is somewhere other than the default path, include MONARCH_SESSION_PATH:

claude mcp add \
  --scope user \
  -e MONARCH_SESSION_PATH="/absolute/path/to/session.json" \
  monarch \
  -- monarch-mcp

Verify the server was added:

claude mcp list

Restart Claude Code after adding the server.

Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop uses a JSON config file rather than the Claude Code claude mcp command.

On macOS, the config file is usually:

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Example:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "monarch": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/monarch-mcp",
      "args": [],
      "env": {
        "MONARCH_SESSION_PATH": "/absolute/path/to/session.json"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop after editing the config.

Sessions

The default session file is:

~/.config/monarch/session.json

You can override it with MONARCH_SESSION_PATH, or set MONARCH_CONFIG_DIR to change the config directory.

Use auth_create_session to create a Monarch session. Auth tools redact the session token by default. Set include_token=true only when a trusted caller explicitly needs the bearer token, such as when saving a session.

You can also provide a session file created by monarch-api2, monarch-cli2, or another trusted tool. The MCP server loads the configured session file for authenticated tools.

MCP Inspector

You can inspect the server with MCP Inspector:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector /absolute/path/to/monarch-mcp

If Inspector asks for transport details, use stdio with:

{
  "command": "/absolute/path/to/monarch-mcp",
  "args": [],
  "env": {
    "MONARCH_SESSION_PATH": "/absolute/path/to/session.json"
  }
}

Tools

Tool names mirror monarch-api2 function names:

auth_create_session
accounts_list_accounts
transactions_list_transactions
transactions_get_transaction
receipts_list_receipts
cashflow_get_cashflow_summary
reports_get_report_data
merchants_list_merchants
tags_list_tags
household_get_current_user
categories_list_categories
recurring_list_recurring_streams
investments_get_portfolio
goals_list_goals
budget_get_budget

The full server currently exposes 125 tools across all implemented API groups. Use an MCP client or MCP Inspector to browse the complete tool list and schemas.

Output

By default, tools return compact summary output. This is intended for agent workflows where the caller usually needs the same fundamental fields a person would scan in the CLI.

All tools accept common output controls:

• output_mode="summary" returns compact CLI-style output.

• output_mode="full" returns complete structured API output without raw.

• output_mode="raw" returns complete structured API output including raw.

• fields=[...] returns only selected dotted-path fields.

Examples:

{
  "limit": 10
}

{
  "limit": 10,
  "output_mode": "full"
}

{
  "transaction_id": "TRANSACTION_ID",
  "output_mode": "raw"
}

{
  "limit": 10,
  "output_mode": "raw",
  "fields": ["id", "date", "merchant.name", "category.name", "raw"]
}

When fields is provided, it is applied to the selected full/raw data and the tool returns the projected object directly.

Development

Run the test suite:

.venv/bin/python -m pytest

The MCP source lives in src/monarch_mcp. Group-specific tools live in src/monarch_mcp/groups.

Security

This is an unofficial tool that can access sensitive personal finance data. Treat saved session files like passwords.

• Do not commit session files, tokens, downloaded receipts, or personal finance exports.

• Use output_mode="raw" carefully, since raw payloads may include large or sensitive response data.

• Only connect this server to trusted MCP clients.

• Report security-sensitive issues privately instead of opening a public issue with credentials or personal financial data.

License

MIT License. See LICENSE.