Clio Manage Firm Assistant

An open-source, hosted MCP connector between Clio Manage and ChatGPT/Codex. It helps authorized firm users:

• confirm which Clio user is connected;

• list active Clio users and visible calendars;

• review calendar availability, hiding event names as Busy by default; and

• review tasks by status, due date, or assignee.

Every lawyer connects with their own Clio account. Access is governed by the connector's available tools, the permissions selected in the firm's Clio developer app, and each user's Clio role.

Permissions and capabilities

The firm administrator chooses the Clio app permissions. Each user's Clio role can restrict access further. This release currently exposes read actions for calendars, calendar entries, users, and tasks. Granting write permission in Clio does not by itself add write actions to the connector; write tools must also be implemented and reviewed here.

Related MCP server: clio-mcp

The simple setup

You do this once as the administrator. Lawyers do not run a script and do not receive the Client Secret.

1. Use the public source repository

Connect Render directly to gigialc/clio-manage-firm-assistant. The included render.yaml creates the test server and database.

Do not commit a .env file or paste the Clio Client Secret into any document, email, issue, or chat.

2. Copy the two Clio app values

Open Clio app 37994 while signed into the firm's Clio developer account.

Copy these values somewhere temporarily and securely:

• Client ID

• Client Secret

For this release, select Read access for:

• users;

• calendars and calendar entries; and

• tasks.

Grant additional permissions only after matching connector tools have been implemented and reviewed. Changes to a Clio app's permissions may require users to reconnect it.

3. Deploy it on Render

1. Sign in to Render.

2. Choose New → Blueprint.

3. Connect the public GitHub repository from step 1.

4. Render will find render.yaml and create the web service and private database.

5. When prompted, paste the Clio Client ID and Client Secret into Render's secret fields.

6. Choose Apply and wait for the deployment to finish.

The included Blueprint uses Render's free web service and free PostgreSQL database so you can test without paying. The web service sleeps after 15 minutes without traffic and can take about a minute to wake up. The free database expires after 30 days, so this configuration is for testing only—not ongoing law-firm use.

4. Add the exact Clio redirect address

Render gives the service a URL similar to:

https://clio-manage-mcp.onrender.com

Open the deployed service's Setup Status page by adding /setup-status:

https://YOUR-SERVICE.onrender.com/setup-status

Copy the value beside clio_redirect_uri. It will look like:

https://YOUR-SERVICE.onrender.com/oauth/clio/callback

Return to Clio app 37994, paste that full value into the app's Redirect URI field, and save it. It must match exactly, including https:// and /oauth/clio/callback.

Refresh /setup-status. It should say:

{"ready":true}

5. Connect the hosted app to ChatGPT

1. In ChatGPT, open Settings → Apps → Advanced settings.

2. Turn on Developer mode.

3. Choose Create app.

4. Enter a name such as Clio Manage Firm Assistant.

5. For the MCP server URL, enter:

   https://YOUR-SERVICE.onrender.com/mcp

6. Save it and choose Connect.

7. A Clio sign-in page will open. Sign in and approve access.

After ChatGPT creates the app, copy its technical ID. It begins with plugin_asdk_app. That ID is used to finish the installable Codex plugin package.

What each lawyer does

1. Install the firm's Clio Manage plugin using the link supplied by the administrator.

2. Select Connect when ChatGPT asks for Clio access.

3. Sign into their own Clio account and approve access.

No terminal, script, Client ID, Client Secret, or app restart is required. The hosted connection works in a supported browser and in the ChatGPT desktop app.

Safe test questions

• “Which Clio user am I connected as?”

• “Show the firm's visible calendars.”

• “Who appears free tomorrow between 2:00 and 4:00 PM? Keep event names private.”

• “Show my pending Clio tasks due this week.”

Administrator notes

• The app encrypts stored Clio credentials and stores them in PostgreSQL.

• The TOKEN_ENCRYPTION_KEY is created automatically by the Render Blueprint.

• Never change or delete that key while people are connected; doing so makes their saved connections unreadable.

• To disconnect access, remove the app in ChatGPT and revoke it in Clio.

• This release does not create, edit, or delete Clio records.

Local developer checks

These steps are only for the person maintaining the app:

npm install
npm run typecheck
npm test
npm run build

For local development, copy .env.example to .env, use test credentials, and run npm run dev. Never use production legal-client data in a developer environment.