Claude
Claude.ai and Claude Desktop
Open Customize → Connectors, choose + and Add custom connector, then paste the URL. Claude sends you to Alterable to sign in and pick what it may do.
https://next.alterable.com/mcpThe Alterable MCP server
Build your email content from a conversation. Connect Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any assistant that speaks MCP, ask for a countdown timer that ends Friday at midnight in Paris, and get back the embed code.
On the Pro and Scale plans · Sign in with OAuth or an API token
Example conversation
Make a countdown for the Black Friday sale. Ends Friday Nov 27 at midnight, Paris time. Dark, our green, square digits. Link to /sale.
- create-countdown-timer
- get-embed-code
Done. Black Friday 2026 counts down to 2026-11-27 23:59:59 Europe/Paris. Paste this into your template:
<a href="https://next.alterable.com/countdown-timers/click/9f3e2b1c-4c2a-4e7b-9d1f-2a6b8c0d4e5f">
<img src="https://next.alterable.com/countdown-timers/9f3e2b1c-4c2a-4e7b-9d1f-2a6b8c0d4e5f.png?d=%TODAY%&uid=%SUBSCRIBERID%" />
</a>What you can ask it to do
The assistant creates, edits and measures the same elements you would make in the dashboard, then hands back the embed code. It reads Alterable’s reference material first, so a request becomes an element with the right targeting rules, not a guess.
Show umbrellas when it’s raining in the reader’s city, sunglasses otherwise.
- create-dynamic-image
- get-embed-code
Build any element
Countdown timers, dynamic images and products, local maps, scratchers, surveys and slideshows, plus the images, products and merge tags they use.
How did the Black Friday timer do last week?
- get-impressions
Read the results
Impressions, survey votes and scratcher plays come back as data the assistant can summarise or chart.
Make a loyalty-points banner in our colours.
- create-dynamic-image
Start from what works
Before it builds, the assistant reads the targeting-rules grammar and the ready-made templates, so it doesn’t have to guess what a weather rule looks like.
You decide what it can touch
Handing an assistant your campaign assets should feel as safe as handing them to a colleague with limited access. It works the same way.
- You choose what it can do
- API tokens are scoped per resource and action, and an OAuth connection shows the same grid on the consent screen: let it read timers but not touch surveys. Revoke either at any time from Settings → API.
- Same rules as the dashboard
- Every tool call goes through the REST API. Validation, plan limits and team scoping apply exactly as if you clicked the button yourself.
- Nothing new reaches subscribers until you paste it
- A new element only shows up in an email once you put its snippet in a template. Edits to an element that is already in a sent email show at the next open, just as they would from the dashboard.
- Deletes are confirmed, and most can be undone
- The server tells the assistant to confirm with you before deleting. A deleted timer, dynamic image, dynamic product, map, scratcher or survey keeps rendering in emails already sent and can be restored. Library images, products and merge tags are removed for good.
Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor
Available on the Pro and Scale plans. Claude and ChatGPT only need the URL. Coding tools also take an API token.
ChatGPT
ChatGPT on a paid plan
Turn on developer mode under Settings → Apps → Advanced settings, then create an app with the URL. You sign in to Alterable the same way.
https://next.alterable.com/mcpClaude Code, Cursor and VS Code
Create a token in Settings → API with only the scopes the assistant needs, and put it where the snippet says<your-token>.
Terminal
claude mcp add --transport http alterable https://next.alterable.com/mcp \
--header "Authorization: Bearer <your-token>".cursor/mcp.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"alterable": {
"url": "https://next.alterable.com/mcp",
"headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer <your-token>" }
}
}
}.vscode/mcp.json
{
"servers": {
"alterable": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://next.alterable.com/mcp",
"headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer <your-token>" }
}
}
}Any other client that speaks Streamable HTTP works with the same URL and header, or signs in with OAuth if it supports it.
What the assistant can call
31 typed tools, so the assistant fills in a deadline or a prize pool rather than composing raw JSON. Three prompts package the most common jobs into a single request.
- build-countdown-campaign
- Give it a deadline, a timezone and a few brand hints. It creates the timer and hands back the embed snippet.
- personalize-with-dynamic-image
- Describe the goal ("umbrellas when it rains, sunglasses otherwise"). It reads the targeting rules, proposes variants, and builds the dynamic image with a default.
- review-campaign-performance
- Point it at a service and a look-back window. It pulls the numbers and writes them up.
Plus five resources the assistant reads for context: the services overview, targeting rules, ready-made templates, allowed values, and the OpenAPI spec behind the API reference.
- Find and inspect
- list-teams
- list-services
- get-service
- get-embed-code
- Countdown timers
- create-countdown-timer
- update-countdown-timer
- Dynamic images
- create-dynamic-image
- update-dynamic-image
- Dynamic products
- create-dynamic-product
- update-dynamic-product
- Local maps
- create-local-map
- update-local-map
- list-map-locations
- add-map-locations
- update-map-location
- delete-map-location
- Scratchers
- create-scratcher
- update-scratcher
- list-scratcher-plays
- Surveys
- create-survey
- update-survey
- get-survey-results
- list-survey-votes
- Library
- upload-image
- create-product
- update-product
- create-merge-tag
- update-merge-tag
- Analytics and housekeeping
- get-impressions
- delete-service
- restore-service
Frequently asked questions
What is an MCP server?
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that lets AI assistants call tools on external services. A server describes what it can do, the assistant decides when to call it, and the results flow back into the conversation. Alterable’s server lives at https://next.alterable.com/mcp and uses the Streamable HTTP transport.
Which plans include it?
Pro and Scale. The MCP server uses the same access as the REST API, which comes with those plans. See pricing for what each includes.
Do I need an API token?
Only for coding tools. Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code take an API token from Settings → API as a Bearer header. Claude and ChatGPT use OAuth instead: add the URL with no token, and you will be asked to sign in to Alterable and approve the connection.
The connection fails. What should I check?
A 401 means the token is missing, mistyped or revoked: make sure you replaced <your-token> with the whole token. A 403 means the token or OAuth grant does not cover that resource, so widen its scopes in Settings → API. If a call breaks a validation rule or a plan limit, the server passes the API’s exact message to the assistant, which should read it back to you.
Does it count against my API rate limit?
Yes. Tool calls are dispatched to the REST API internally, so the usual 60 requests per minute apply. A single tool call can cost two or three requests (a write followed by a re-read), which the server tells assistants so they pace bulk work.
Still have questions? Contact us →
Give your assistant an Alterable account
MCP access comes with the Pro and Scale plans. Create an account, choose Pro, and add the server to the assistant you already use.
API and MCP access on Pro and Scale · Works with every major ESP