Connecting clients
The Deel MCP server is compatible with any client that implements the Model Context Protocol over HTTP transport. This page provides setup instructions for common AI clients.
The server URL for all clients is:
Client setup
Cursor
VS Code
Claude Desktop
ChatGPT
Other
Add the following to your ~/.cursor/mcp.json file. To learn more, see the Cursor documentation.
Cursor supports OAuth2 natively. When you first use a Deel tool, Cursor redirects you to the Deel authorization screen to grant access.
Verifying your connection
After configuring your client, verify the connection by asking the AI agent to list available tools or perform a simple operation.
Example prompts to test the connection:
- “List my Deel contracts”
- “What time-off policies are available?”
- “Show my organization details”
If the connection is successful, the agent invokes the appropriate Deel MCP tool and returns results from the Deel platform.
Troubleshooting
401 Unauthorized on connection
Cause: The MCP client has not completed the OAuth2 authorization flow, or the token has expired.
Solutions:
- Restart the MCP connection in your client to trigger the OAuth2 flow
- If using a personal access token, verify the token is valid and correctly formatted in the
Authorizationheader - Check that the token has not expired (access tokens are valid for 1 hour)
Tools not appearing
Cause: The client is not discovering tools from the server.
Solutions:
- Verify the server URL is exactly
https://api.letsdeel.com/mcp(no trailing slash) - Confirm the client supports HTTP transport for MCP (not just stdio)
- Restart the client and reconnect to the MCP server
- Check client logs for connection errors
Connection timeout
Cause: Network connectivity issues or firewall restrictions.
Solutions:
- Verify you can reach
https://api.letsdeel.comfrom your network - Check that your firewall or proxy allows outbound HTTPS connections to
api.letsdeel.com - If you are behind a corporate proxy, configure your client to use the proxy settings
OAuth consent screen does not appear
Cause: The client is not handling the OAuth2 redirect correctly.
Solutions:
- Ensure your client supports OAuth2 for MCP connections
- Check that pop-ups or redirects are not blocked in your environment
- Try using a personal access token as an alternative authentication method