Connect Your AI Assistant to LabelGrid (MCP)

Updated July 2026.

LabelGrid publishes an official MCP (Model Context Protocol) server so you can connect your own AI assistant to your LabelGrid account and work in plain language. Instead of writing REST calls, you can ask your AI to draft a release, validate it, check its review status, or pull your analytics, and it uses the LabelGrid API under the hood.

The server is the npm package @labelgrid/mcp and is open source under the MIT license at github.com/labelgrid/labelgrid-mcp. It works with Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client.

What you can do

Once connected, you can ask your AI assistant to:

• Create and update draft releases and tracks — build out metadata conversationally
• Upload audio, artwork, and license documents to your releases and tracks
• Validate releases before submission so problems surface early
• Check review issues, quality reports, and delivery status
• Pull streaming analytics, royalty statements, and breakdowns
• Manage webhooks for asynchronous notifications
• Submit releases for distribution or take them down — available only when you explicitly enable these actions (see Safety and permissions)

Under the hood, the server exposes a compact set of consolidated tools across eight toolsets: account, reference, catalog, releases, insights, finance, webhooks, and distribution. Many tools choose what they act on from an argument you provide — for example, one catalog search tool covers labels, artists, writers, publishers, releases, and tracks. Reference data such as genres, languages, and territories is also exposed as MCP resources. File uploads are part of the catalog and distribution toolsets. Your AI client lists the exact tools it has been offered, so you can always see the current surface from inside the client.

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What you need

1. A LabelGrid account with API access. API access is part of LabelGrid’s API plans — see the API Overview for how to get it.
2. An API token. Generate one in your LabelGrid dashboard under Profile → API Tokens.
3. Node.js 20 or newer on the computer running your AI client.

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Install

Add LabelGrid to your AI client’s MCP configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "labelgrid": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@labelgrid/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "LABELGRID_API_TOKEN": "your-api-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace your-api-token with the token from your dashboard, then restart your client.

For Claude Code, it is a single command:

claude mcp add labelgrid -e LABELGRID_API_TOKEN=your-api-token -- npx -y @labelgrid/mcp

Caution

That command puts the token on your command line, where your shell records it in history and other users on the machine can read it from the process list. Clear it from your history afterwards, or add the token to the JSON configuration above instead.

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Guided setup

If you start the server without a token, it does not fail — it launches a guided setup mode instead. Add LabelGrid to your client without the LABELGRID_API_TOKEN value, then ask your AI to “set up LabelGrid” and it walks you through creating a token and where to put it. The setup flow tells the assistant to send you to your client’s configuration file and never to ask for the token in the chat — so keep it there, and do not paste the token into the conversation even if asked.

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Safety and permissions

The server uses three permission tiers so you decide how much your AI can do:

• Reads are always available. Your AI can look up releases, tracks, reviews, analytics, statements, and delivery status at any time.
• Safe writes are on by default. Creating and editing drafts, updating metadata, and managing webhooks are enabled out of the box. You can turn them off with LABELGRID_ENABLE_WRITES=false, or force everything to read-only with LABELGRID_READ_ONLY=true.
• Consequential actions are off by default. Submitting a release for distribution, taking a release down, and immutable file uploads require LABELGRID_ENABLE_FULL_WRITES=true plus an explicit acknowledgment sentence, which is documented in the project README.

All of your account protections — validation, plan limits, and rate limits — are enforced by LabelGrid’s servers. The AI cannot bypass them, whatever permissions you grant it.

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What your AI client sees

The server runs on your own machine and talks to the LabelGrid API with your token. It has no connection to LabelGrid other than the API calls your AI asks it to make, and LabelGrid does not receive your conversations.

The data flow runs the other way, and it is worth being deliberate about: whatever your AI reads through the server — release metadata, review issues, analytics, royalty statements — is passed to the AI client you configured, and from there to whatever model that client uses. Choosing a client you trust with your catalogue and account data, and disclosing that flow wherever your own agreements require it, is your responsibility.

Two practical consequences:

• If some of your data should never reach an AI provider, use LABELGRID_TOOLSETS to withhold that area entirely rather than relying on the AI not to ask. A tool that is not offered cannot be called.
• Financial data is in scope. The finance toolset reads statements and royalty breakdowns, so leave it out unless you want that in the conversation.

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Limit which tools are available

If you only want to expose part of your account, set LABELGRID_TOOLSETS to limit which tool areas the server offers. This keeps the AI focused on the areas you choose. The webhooks toolset is off by default — add it to LABELGRID_TOOLSETS to turn it on.

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Troubleshooting

• Token invalid or rejected — recreate the token in your dashboard under Profile → API Tokens and update it in your MCP configuration.
• You do not see an “API Tokens” page — your account does not have API access yet. See the API Overview for how to enable it.
• Not sure the server connected — the server prints its status when it starts, so check your client’s MCP logs.
• You want to disconnect — revoke the token from your dashboard at any time. That immediately stops everything using that token, including this server. Other tokens on your account are unaffected, so revoke each one you want to retire, and remove the value from your MCP configuration too.

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FAQ

”Does LabelGrid have an MCP server?”

Yes. LabelGrid publishes an official MCP server as the npm package @labelgrid/mcp, open source under the MIT license at github.com/labelgrid/labelgrid-mcp. It connects Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible AI client to your LabelGrid account so you can work in natural language.

”What can I do with it?”

Create and update draft releases and tracks; upload audio, artwork, and license documents; validate releases before submission; check review issues, quality reports, and delivery status; pull streaming analytics, royalty statements, and breakdowns; and manage webhooks. Submitting releases for distribution and taking them down are available only when you explicitly enable them.

”Is it safe to let an AI manage my account?”

The server has three permission tiers. Reads are always available; safe writes (drafts, metadata, webhooks) are on by default and can be turned off; and consequential actions (distribution submission, takedowns, immutable file uploads) are off by default and require you to enable full writes plus an explicit acknowledgment. All account protections — validation, plan limits, rate limits — are enforced by LabelGrid’s servers and cannot be bypassed by the AI.

Permissions govern what the AI can do. Consider separately what it can see: whatever it reads through the server reaches your AI client and the model behind it. See What your AI client sees.

”Do I need an API plan?”

Yes. The MCP server connects through the LabelGrid public API, so your account needs API access, which is part of LabelGrid’s API plans. See the API Overview for how to get access.

”Which AI apps are supported?”

Any MCP-compatible client, including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, and Cursor.

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Related

• API Overview and Quickstart — how to get API access and authenticate
• LabelGrid Command-Line Tool (CLI) — the same actions from your terminal or a script
• Webhooks — asynchronous event notifications
• @labelgrid/mcp on npm
• labelgrid-mcp on GitHub

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Need help?

If you have questions about the MCP server, contact our support team.