Clay MCP

What does the Clay MCP server do?

The Clay MCP server lets an AI assistant find people and companies, enrich them and draft outreach using Clay's data. It can also run Functions, which are workflows an admin builds in Clay and turns on for MCP. It can't browse tables or view raw workspace data.

• Functions: an admin enables each one under MCP for reps. It needs a routine name, a description and an enrichment or output column.
• Data providers: the built-in tools use a subset of Clay's 200+ providers. To use others, add a Function and enable it for MCP.
• The Clay Agent Plugin and CLI are a separate route for coding agents. Installing the plugin doesn't give your agent the MCP tools.

Is there an official Clay MCP server?

Yes. Clay runs it, and its Claude listing shows Made by Clay. Clay documents the server and offers connectors for Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Glean. You can't self-host it, because every client connects to Clay's hosted server. Clay calls the admin-managed setup for sellers MCP for Reps.

• Clay also lists Codex and Claude Code. In Claude Code, results appear as text in the conversation.

What is the Clay MCP server URL, and how do you sign in?

The URL is https://api.clay.com/v3/mcp, and you sign in with OAuth as a member of the Clay workspace you pick. The Claude and ChatGPT connectors handle this for you. Viewer-role users can't finish the connection, so give them Sales Rep or Editor access first.

• Other clients register themselves over OAuth. Clay shows them as Unverified application on the consent screen, and that doesn't block the connection.
• Admins pick which clients can connect under Allowed MCP clients. The Unknown toggle governs self-registered clients, and Clay rechecks the policy each time it issues a token.
• The Sales Rep permission type gives MCP-only access. Those reps can't see the Clay UI, edit tables or view API keys.

What can the Clay MCP server read and change?

It reads people and company data, and it spends credits when it enriches. Clay's Claude listing names seven tools. The assistant can only call tools and Functions an admin has enabled. One-off results stay out of your tables unless someone clicks Open in Clay.

What it can read

• Listed tools for search and lookup: find-and-enrich-contacts-at-company, find-and-enrich-list-of-contacts, find-and-enrich-company, get-existing-search and get-credits-available.
• People and company search runs against Clay's database and uses no credits.
• Audiences queries use actions and don't write back to records.

What it can change

• Spends credits: finding an email, phone number, tech stack or similar. The listing also names add-contact-data-points and add-company-data-points.
• Functions: you run them by name, and the credit cost matches a run in Clay. What they change depends on how your team built them.
• Sequencers and CRM: sending to a sequencer needs a Function with the sequencer column. Clay says admins control CRM write-backs centrally.
• Email: you can direct Claude to send through Gmail or another connected provider. By default it has no access to your Sequencer.
• Tables: Open in Clay creates a table in your workspace.

How do you set up the Clay MCP server in Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor?

Clay documents Claude and ChatGPT, and a free account on either is enough. Clay accepts Cursor as a self-registering client but gives no Cursor steps, so use the generic route. Set a default credit limit first, because reps showing No limit have no cap.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "clay": {
      "url": "https://api.clay.com/v3/mcp"
    }
  }
}

What can you ask the Clay MCP server?

Name a company domain and a role, because Clay advises against broad queries. These examples fit Clay's listed tools and its Functions. Search alone is free. Emails, phone numbers and company data points spend credits, so the paid prompts name one company and check before they run.

• Reads

  Find VP-level finance leaders at okta.com who joined in the last 6 months. Show name, title and location. Don't add any data points yet.

  Copy

• Spends credits

  How many credits do I have left? Then find the head of growth at example.com and get their work email.

  Copy

• Spends credits

  Research example.com: tech stack, funding, hiring and headcount. Tell me before you run anything that uses credits.

  Copy

• Spends credits

  What Functions do you have? Tell me which one fits an account brief, and wait for my go-ahead before you run it on example.com.

  Copy

• Reads

  Draft a short first email to the person you just enriched, using the research above. Show it to me and don't send it.

  Copy

What are the limits of the Clay MCP server?

Results come in pages of 20, up to 100 total. Beyond that, or for thousands of rows, Clay says to work in Clay directly. Clay's guide sizes the connector for 1 to 20 contacts. There's no direct CSV upload, and in Claude a shared CSV calls a Function once per row.

• A rep's limit resets on the 1st of each month at midnight UTC. At the limit, further actions are blocked until the reset or until an admin raises it.
• Reps showing No limit have no cap, so set a default before you invite them.
• Setting a limit to 0 hard-blocks further actions. Admins can't revoke OAuth tokens from the MCP page, so use 0 or remove the rep.
• Credit controls and usage monitoring need a modern paid plan: Launch, Growth, Enterprise or Legacy Enterprise.
• Track spend by user on the MCP tab under Settings > Usage.
• Credit budgets aren't available on Clay's developer platform yet, so an MCP limit won't cover CLI or API runs.
• Clay's MCP page says People Search can return up to 1,000 results, while its docs say 100.

How much does the Clay MCP server cost?

Clay adds no MCP surcharge. Tools use your workspace's credits at the same rate as in Clay, and new connections get 500 free credits. Paid plans start at $167 a month for Launch and $446 for Growth on annual billing. Clay says a ChatGPT interaction typically uses 20 to 100 credits.

• On monthly billing, Launch starts at $185 and Growth at $495. Enterprise is custom, and the Free plan includes 500 actions and 100 data credits a month.
• Clay meters Actions and Data Credits separately. Each record enriched counts as 1 Action, and a fully enriched record typically costs 6 to 20 Data Credits.
• Clay's example: 100 contacts with LinkedIn profiles and emails costs 95 Data Credits.
• Data Credit top-ups cost a 30% premium, and Actions can't be topped up.
• After the free credits, you can keep searching without enrichments, use a Clay trial with 2,000 more credits, or upgrade.
• Clay pricing models a full workflow, and Clay implementation covers tables, waterfall enrichment and credit budgets.

What are the alternatives to the Clay MCP server?

Clay's own Agent Plugin and CLI build workflows from a coding agent on the same credits, with no credit budgets yet. For prospect data, Apollo and ZoomInfo run official servers of their own. For sending after a list is approved, Instantly has its own server for campaigns and sending accounts.

• Apollo MCP: Official server with search, enrichment, sequences and email in one place.
• ZoomInfo MCP: Official server with free search and per-record data credits.
• Instantly MCP: Official server for campaigns and sending accounts.
• Clay Agent Plugin and CLI: Clay's developer route for coding agents, on the same credits.

Which skill goes with the Clay MCP server?

Use the free Agent write safety skill before you connect reps, because every enrichment and Function run spends workspace credits. Use the Marketing context kit to write down your ideal customer profile, exclusions and field names once, so prompts and Functions start from the same rules and the assistant has less to guess.

• Agent write safety: Sets approvals before an agent can spend credits or run a Function that sends.
• Marketing context kit: Holds your naming rules and field definitions in one folder for every prompt.