Everything you need to use the Follow Up Boss MCP server

Quick start

1. Go to the signup section on the home page and enter your email. You'll get a trial API key for this server (7 days or 100 requests, whichever comes first — no credit card).
2. Copy the MCP config block shown after signup — it already has your key filled in.
3. Paste it into your AI app's MCP settings (Claude, ChatGPT, or any MCP-compatible client).
4. Replace YOUR_FOLLOWUPBOSS_API_KEY_HERE in the config with your own Follow Up Boss API key (Follow Up Boss → Admin → API).
5. Restart or reconnect your AI app, then just ask it something — e.g. "show me my leads from this week."

Connecting your AI app

Clients that support remote MCP servers natively — Claude Code, ChatGPT, Cursor, and most others — take this config directly. Two headers do the work: x-api-key identifies you as a customer of this hosted server, and x-fub-api-key is your own Follow Up Boss credential, used only for your requests.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "followupboss": {
      "url": "https://YOUR-SERVER-URL/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "x-api-key": "YOUR_TRIAL_API_KEY",
        "x-fub-api-key": "YOUR_FOLLOWUPBOSS_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Older SSE-only clients should point at /sse instead of /mcp, with the same two headers.

Using Claude Desktop? Its config file only accepts locally-run servers, not a raw URL — see the Claude Desktop section below instead of the block above.

Claude Desktop specifically

Claude Desktop's claude_desktop_config.json only validates locally-run (stdio) servers — command / args / env. A raw url + headers entry gets silently skipped with an error like "not a valid MCP server configuration." Use mcp-remote instead — a small bridge that runs locally via npx and forwards to this server over HTTP with your headers attached:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "followupboss": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote@latest",
        "https://YOUR-SERVER-URL/mcp",
        "--header",
        "x-api-key:${FUB_MCP_API_KEY}",
        "--header",
        "x-fub-api-key:${FUB_MCP_FUB_KEY}"
      ],
      "env": {
        "FUB_MCP_API_KEY": "YOUR_TRIAL_API_KEY",
        "FUB_MCP_FUB_KEY": "YOUR_FOLLOWUPBOSS_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Edit the file at ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows) — merge this into any existing mcpServers key rather than replacing the whole file, since it likely has other settings in it already. Requires Node.js on your machine (npx ships with it). Fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop afterward — closing the window isn't enough.

Access modes

The underlying server can run in Safe Mode or Full Access. Safe Mode is the default and is recommended unless you specifically need to delete records through the AI.

A handful of tools (webhooks, SMS logging, inbox apps) additionally require Follow Up Boss "registered system" credentials, regardless of mode — that's a Follow Up Boss platform restriction, not something this server controls.

Plans and usage limits

Every account — trial or active — has a request cap, separate from the per-minute rate limit below:

Once an active account's monthly cap is reached, requests return 402 until the next reset — or until the limit is raised. If your usage regularly exceeds the default, contact us to increase your account's limit.

Rate limits

Two layers of limits apply:

• This server limits each account to a default of 60 requests/minute with a burst allowance of 10 in a 5-second window, to keep the service stable for everyone.
• Follow Up Boss's own API enforces its own limits underneath: 250 requests/10s globally, 25/10s for person updates, 10/10s for notes. The underlying tool server automatically retries on HTTP 429 with backoff, up to 3 attempts.

If you're doing a bulk operation, prefer the bulkUpdatePeople convenience tool — it paces itself automatically to stay under FUB's per-endpoint limits.

Troubleshooting

"Invalid api key" (403)

The x-api-key header doesn't match a known account, or has a typo. Re-copy it from your signup confirmation — it's shown only once.

"Your trial has expired" (402)

Your 7-day trial window has ended. Contact us to move to an active account.

"Your trial has reached its 100-request limit" (402)

You've used all the requests included in your trial, even if the 7 days haven't passed yet. Contact us to move to an active account.

"You've reached your plan's monthly limit of N requests" (402)

Active accounts get 2,000 requests/month by default, resetting 30 days after activation. Contact us to raise your limit if you're hitting it regularly.

"Missing FUB API key" (401)

The request didn't include x-fub-api-key. Check your client's config — this is separate from your trial x-api-key.

"Rate limit exceeded" (429)

You've hit the per-account request limit. Wait for the number of seconds in the Retry-After header and try again.

My AI app doesn't see any tools

Restart or fully reconnect the MCP client after adding the config. Double-check the config JSON is valid (no missing commas or brackets).

"The following entries in claude_desktop_config.json are not valid MCP server configurations and were skipped"

You used the url + headers config in Claude Desktop, which it doesn't accept directly. See the Claude Desktop section for the mcp-remote bridge config instead.

A tool call returns a Follow Up Boss error

That's coming straight from the Follow Up Boss API — check that your FUB API key is valid and has the right permissions in Follow Up Boss → Admin → API.

FAQ

Is my Follow Up Boss data safe?

Your FUB API key is sent per-request to spin up a session scoped only to you; it isn't persisted in a database. Standard precautions still apply — treat your key like a password, and don't share your trial API key with anyone you don't want accessing your FUB account through it.

Can the AI delete or change my data?

Yes, in Full Access mode it can create, update, and delete records. Safe Mode (the default) blocks deletes. Most AI clients will confirm with you before a destructive action, but review suggested changes before approving them.

Does this cost anything?

Trials are free for 7 days or 100 requests, whichever comes first — no credit card required. Reach out to keep using it after your trial ends.

Where are call recording URLs?

Follow Up Boss masks recordingUrl at the API level for every integration, not just this one — the API always returns a placeholder instead of the real link, and writing to it is a no-op. If you need call audio, capture it on the dialer side; call transcripts can still be stored via updateCall's note field.

What's MCP?

Model Context Protocol — an open standard for connecting AI apps to external tools and data. modelcontextprotocol.io has the full spec.

Full tool reference

All 160 tools, grouped the way they're grouped in the underlying server. Full Access unlocks the delete tools; Safe Mode (default) skips them.