usefulapiWhen I Work MCP server
Check shifts, time clock entries, time-off requests, swaps and availability, and manage shifts. Hosted by usefulapi: connect it to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any MCP client.
What can I ask?
Turn on the When I Work connector, then ask in plain words. The AI picks the tools.
- Who works tomorrow, and which shifts are still open?
- List the pending time-off requests for next week.
- Approve Alex's time-off request for Friday.
- Show the clocked hours for each employee last week.
- Create an open 9 am–5 pm cashier shift on Saturday as an unpublished draft.
What you can do with When I Work in Claude and ChatGPT
For managers of hourly teams who schedule shifts and track time in When I Work.
See who works on a day and which shifts are open
The AI lists shifts in a time window with who works when, where and in which position, including open shifts and unpublished drafts.
Find who can take an open shift
The AI lists the users eligible for an open shift, for an existing shift or a planned time, position and schedule. It can also check availability events.
Check clocked hours and who is clocked in now
The AI lists time clock entries with clock-in and clock-out times, length and approval state, or only the open ones. You can sum up hours per employee.
Review time-off requests, swaps and drops
The AI lists time-off requests by date range and status, and shift swaps and drops with the shifts and users involved. You see what waits for a decision.
Create, move or publish shifts
The AI creates a draft or open shift, reassigns or moves a shift after reading it, and publishes drafts so employees can see them.
Changes dataRequest, approve or deny time off
The AI creates a time-off request for a user, or approves or denies a request by changing its status or dates. A new request starts pending.
Changes dataHow do I connect When I Work?
Before you connect
The login page asks for your Developer key (W-Key), When I Work email and When I Work password.
Optional: Workplace user id (W-UserId).
When I Work issues the developer key (W-Key). If you do not have one, ask When I Work support for an API developer key. Then use the email and password that you use at app.wheniwork.com.
Your developer key, email and password are stored encrypted in this connection's authorization grant and used only to log in to When I Work and call the When I Work API on your behalf. They are never shown to anyone; the key and email are also hashed into a private account id for usage metering.
Claude claude.ai · Desktop
- Open Customize → Connectors, then click + Add → Add custom connector.
- Enter the name When I Work and this URL, then click Add:https://
when-i-work. usefulapi. io/ mcp - Claude opens the login page: enter your Developer key (W-Key), When I Work email and When I Work password.
- In a chat, click + → Connectors and turn on When I Work.
Team and Enterprise: an Owner adds the connector for the organization first.
ChatGPT chatgpt.com
- Open Plugins, click +, then Add custom MCP server.
- Enter the name When I Work and this URL, choose OAuth as the authentication, confirm the warning and create it:https://
when-i-work. usefulapi. io/ mcp - ChatGPT opens the login page: enter your Developer key (W-Key), When I Work email and When I Work password.
- In Plugins, install When I Work, then choose it in a chat.
No Add custom MCP server option? It depends on your account or workspace settings: see OpenAI's guide.
Claude Code
Run this command, then run /mcp in Claude Code to log in:
Cursor
Add to Cursor or add this to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"when-i-work": {
"url": "https://when-i-work.usefulapi.io/mcp"
}
}
} VS Code
Add to VS Code or add this to .vscode/mcp.json:
{
"servers": {
"when-i-work": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://when-i-work.usefulapi.io/mcp"
}
}
} Codex
Run these commands. The second one opens the login page:
Other clients
Windsurf, Cline, Zed and other MCP clients: add this URL as a remote MCP server (Streamable HTTP). The client then opens the login page in your browser.
Add only the URL. Do not add an Authorization header or an API key to the client config. The server signs you in with OAuth: the login page asks for your Developer key (W-Key), When I Work email and When I Work password. If the config has such a header, remove it: some clients then send that header instead of the login token, and every call fails with 401.
Guides
- Fill open shifts in When I Work from Claude
Claude or ChatGPT can list who works this week in When I Work, find open shifts, see who is eligible to take them, and assign them.
7 October 2026
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 50 tool calls / month |
| Proper user | $9/mo · $90/yr | 10,000 tool calls / month |
| Pro+per user | $39/mo · $390/yr | 100,000 tool calls / month |
Each paid plan covers this When I Work server only. Ask your AI to run wheniwork_upgrade and choose Pro or Pro+, billed monthly or yearly (it returns a Stripe Checkout link). If you already have Pro, ask to change it to Pro+. The change requires your confirmation, keeps your billing interval and charges the price difference for the rest of the period immediately. Cancel any time with wheniwork_cancel_subscription: your paid plan continues to the end of the paid period, with no refund for the current period, and asking to resume the same plan with wheniwork_upgrade before then undoes the cancel. Or write to support@usefulapi.io.
Tools 25
Show all 25 tools (the AI picks them for you)
Read only · 15
- Get the account
wheniwork_get_accountFetch the When I Work account (workplace) the token acts on — company name, plan and settings; for a parent account also its child accounts. A cheap way to confirm the credentials work. - List users
wheniwork_list_usersList the employees, supervisors, managers and admins in the account, optionally limited to some schedules or searched by name/email. Role codes: 1 admin, 2 manager, 3 employee, 5 supervisor. - Get one user
wheniwork_get_userFetch one user by id — name, email, role, positions, schedules, wage. - List schedules (locations)
wheniwork_list_locationsList the schedules in the account. The API calls a schedule a "location"; its id is the location_id every shift belongs to. - List positions
wheniwork_list_positionsList the positions (job roles such as Cashier or Dishwasher) in the account. - List shifts
wheniwork_list_shiftsList scheduled shifts in a time window — who works when, where and in which position — optionally including open shifts and unpublished drafts. Answers "who is on on Friday?" and "what open shifts are left?". - Get one shift
wheniwork_get_shiftFetch one shift by id, including its breaks and publish state. - List users eligible for an open shift
wheniwork_list_eligible_users_for_shiftFind who could take an open shift — either an existing shift (shift_id) or a hypothetical one (start, end, position_id and location_id all required). - List clocked times (timesheets)
wheniwork_list_timesList clocked time entries — actual hours worked, clock-in/out times, length and approval state. Use only_open to see who is clocked in right now. - List time-off requests
wheniwork_list_time_off_requestsList time-off requests in a date range, with the requesting users. Status: 0 pending, 1 canceled, 2 accepted, 3 expired, 4 denied. - Get one time-off request
wheniwork_get_time_off_requestFetch one time-off request by id, with its message thread and users. - List time-off types
wheniwork_list_time_off_typesList the time-off types (e.g. Personal, Sick, Holiday) and whether each allows paid time. Their ids are the type_id for a new request. - List shift swaps and drops
wheniwork_list_shift_swapsList shift requests: swaps, drops and alerts, with the shifts and users involved. Status: 0 pending, 1 approved, 2 declined, 3 completed, 4 canceled, 5 expired. Type: 1 swap, 2 drop, 3 alert. start and end must be given together. - List availability
wheniwork_list_availabilityList availability events — when people said they can or cannot work, including recurring patterns that fall in the window. Defaults to the caller, from now to two weeks out. - List schedule annotations
wheniwork_list_annotationsList schedule annotations — announcements, business-closed days and blackout dates when time off is not allowed. Defaults to today through one year out.
Changes data · 6
- Create a shift
wheniwork_create_shiftCreate one shift on a schedule — assigned to a user, or open (user_id 0). Created as a draft unless published is true. Undo by editing it or unpublishing. - Update a shift
wheniwork_update_shiftChange a shift — reassign it, move it, change position or notes. When I Work requires start_time, end_time and location_id on every update, so fetch the shift first and pass them back. This tool never sends a breaks array; When I Work documents that breaks omitted from an update's breaks list are removed, so re-check the shift's breaks afterwards. - Publish shifts
wheniwork_publish_shiftsPublish draft shifts so employees can see them. Publishing does not itself send notifications. Undo with wheniwork_unpublish_shifts. - Unpublish shifts
wheniwork_unpublish_shiftsReturn published shifts to draft, hiding them from employees. Undo with wheniwork_publish_shifts. - Create a time-off request
wheniwork_create_time_off_requestCreate a time-off request for a user (default the calling user). It starts pending; cancel it with wheniwork_update_time_off_request (status 1). Get type ids from wheniwork_list_time_off_types. - Approve, deny or change a time-off request
wheniwork_update_time_off_requestChange a time-off request: set its status (0 pending, 1 canceled, 2 accepted/approved, 3 expired, 4 denied) and/or its dates or hours. Reversible — set the status back. start_time and end_time must be given together.
Your usefulapi plan · 4
- Usage status (free-tier meter)
wheniwork_usage_statusReport the caller's current usage: the plan, calls used this month, the limit of the plan (the free monthly cap or the Pro fair use limit), remaining, and whether the limit is reached. Read-only; does not count against the meter. - Request a missing feature
wheniwork_request_featureTell usefulapi that the user needs something the When I Work tools cannot do yet (a missing tool, field or filter). Call it only when the user asks for something none of the tools can do, and tell the user that you send the request. Do not call it for errors or for normal requests. Do not include personal data, credentials or customer records. Stored with the product name and the client type (for example Claude or Cursor), without the user's account. At most 5 requests per day. Does not count against the meter. - Upgrade to Pro or Pro+
wheniwork_upgradeGet a paid plan for When I Work (the free tier caps monthly usage). Pro: 10,000 tool calls a month, for normal use — plan "monthly" ($9/month) or "yearly" ($90/year, 2 months free). Pro+: 100,000 tool calls a month, for automations and heavy use — plan "plus" ($39/month) or "plus_yearly" ($390/year). Without a plan it returns both Pro and Pro+, each with a payment link, for the user to choose; with a plan, one link. An existing Pro subscription changes to Pro+ in place: call without confirm first, as the reply states the exact charge for this account (the price difference for the rest of the period, or in a free Pro trial the full Pro+ price, as the trial ends); then call with confirm: true. Cancel any time: the plan then runs to the end of the paid period, so it also suits a one-time job. A link opens Stripe Checkout in the browser; after payment the account upgrades automatically. Does not count against the meter. - Cancel the Pro subscription
wheniwork_cancel_subscriptionCancel the caller's When I Work Pro subscription at the end of the paid period (no refund for the current period; Pro continues until then, then the free tier applies). Requires confirm: true. Run wheniwork_upgrade later to undo the cancel before the period ends. Does not count against the meter.
FAQ
What can I do with When I Work in Claude or ChatGPT?
See who works on a day and which shifts are open. Find who can take an open shift. Check clocked hours and who is clocked in now. Review time-off requests, swaps and drops. Create, move or publish shifts. Request, approve or deny time off. See what you can do for the details.
Is this an official When I Work product?
No. usefulapi is an independent service. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by When I Work. The server calls the When I Work API with your own When I Work access, so it sees only the data that your account can see.
Can I connect When I Work to Claude or ChatGPT?
Yes. In Claude, add this server's URL as a custom connector. In ChatGPT, add it as a custom MCP server in Plugins. Then log in once. Cursor, VS Code, Claude Code and Codex work too. See the setup steps.
What do I need to connect?
The login page asks for your Developer key (W-Key), When I Work email and When I Work password. See Before you connect for where to find them.
Do I put my When I Work key or an Authorization header in the client config?
No. Add only the URL. Do not add an Authorization header or an API key to the client config. The server signs you in with OAuth: the login page asks for your Developer key (W-Key), When I Work email and When I Work password. If the config has such a header, remove it: some clients then send that header instead of the login token, and every call fails with 401.
How do you keep my When I Work credentials?
The login stores them encrypted in the authorization grant of your connection. The server uses them to call the When I Work API for you and to derive a private account id for usage metering. usefulapi does not show them on any page or in any reply. To stop all access, remove the connector and change or delete these credentials in When I Work.
Can the AI change my When I Work data?
Yes, if you approve it. 6 of the 21 When I Work tools can create or change data. The other 15 are marked read-only. Most MCP clients ask you to approve a tool call before it runs.
What does it cost?
The Free plan gives 50 tool calls / month. Pro costs $9/mo or $90/yr, with 10,000 tool calls / month. Pro+ costs $39/mo or $390/yr, with 100,000 tool calls / month. Each subscription covers this When I Work server only. Cancel any time: your paid plan then runs to the end of the paid period. Run wheniwork_usage_status to see how many calls you used.
How do I subscribe or cancel?
Ask the AI to run wheniwork_upgrade and choose Pro or Pro+, billed monthly or yearly: it returns a Stripe Checkout link. If you already have Pro, ask to change it to Pro+. After you confirm, your existing subscription changes in place, keeps its billing interval and charges the price difference for the rest of the period immediately. To cancel, run wheniwork_cancel_subscription. Your paid plan continues to the end of the paid period.
What if a When I Work tool that I need is missing?
Tell the AI what you wanted to do. It can send the request with wheniwork_request_feature. We store the text with the server name, the type of AI client and the tool you tried, not with your account, and read every request when we plan new tools. You can send up to 5 requests per day.
Which AI clients can I use?
Any client that supports remote MCP servers (Streamable HTTP) with OAuth login: Claude (web and desktop), Claude Code, ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf and others.
This is a Model Context Protocol endpoint — meant to be connected from an AI client, not opened in a browser. An invalid_token response at the URL is the auth gate working as designed; clients authenticate automatically.
Need a tool this server does not have, or a connection to another system? We build custom integrations and MCP servers.