Documentation

Upfirst MCP Server

Upfirst's MCP server lets an AI assistant, like Claude, Cursor, or Codex, connect to your Upfirst account through the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Once it's connected you can work by asking instead of clicking. Pull up last week's calls, read a transcript, fix an answer your receptionist got wrong, add a rule for transferring callers, or set up a whole new receptionist from a description of your business.

Connecting

There is nothing to install. Point your client at https://mcp.upfirst.ai and it will walk you through signing in to Upfirst the first time it connects. Authorization is a standard OAuth 2.1 sign-in, so there are no API keys to copy or store.

The server runs over streamable HTTP and gives your assistant 17 tools, which can both read your account and change it. Pick your client below.

Upfirst connects to the Claude desktop app and to claude.ai as a custom connector. Paste the prompt below into Claude and it will walk you through the setup one step at a time.

Paste this into Claude
Help me connect Upfirst to Claude as a custom connector, so I
can review my calls and manage my AI receptionist from this chat.
Walk me through the exact clicks, one step at a time, and wait for
me at each one.

Open claude.ai/customize/connectors, click + Add custom connector,
and paste in these values:

  Name:                   Upfirst
  Remote MCP server URL:  https://mcp.upfirst.ai
  Advanced settings:      leave Client ID and Client Secret empty

Then click Add, click Connect, sign in to Upfirst, and approve
access.

If what I see doesn't match what you described, troubleshoot it
with me. Once it works, run get_account_overview and tell me what
you can see, then suggest three useful things I could ask you
about my calls.
Prefer to click through it yourself
  1. Open Customize, then Connectors.
  2. Click +, then Add custom connector.
  3. Name it Upfirst and paste the URL below as the remote MCP server URL.
  4. Click Add, then Connect, sign in to Upfirst, and approve access.
Remote MCP server URL
https://mcp.upfirst.ai

Leave the advanced Client ID and Client Secret fields empty. On Team and Enterprise plans an owner adds the connector once under Organization settings, and everyone else clicks Connect.

However you connect, the first call opens Upfirst's sign-in page. You approve access once, and the connection stays bound to your organization from then on.

Conventions

A few rules hold across every tool. Each one carries a tag for what it does to your data:

  • Read Fetches data; never changes anything.
  • Write Creates or updates a record.
  • Delete Permanently removes a record. There is no undo.

Ids come from list tools

Agent ids come from list_agents, skill ids from list_agent_skills, knowledge ids from get_agent_knowledge, and call ids from list_calls. Ids are digit strings. Skill tools take the id as skillId; knowledge tools take it as id.

Paging

List tools take offset and limit and return a totalCount, so the page is always drawn from the same filtered set.

Timezones

Bare dates (YYYY-MM-DD) and weekly schedules are interpreted in the business's timezone. Pass a full ISO 8601 datetime when you need an exact instant.

Deletes are permanent

There is no restore over this connection. A deleted skill or knowledge entry is gone, and the agent stops using it within minutes.

Some settings are dashboard-only

Voice, timezone, and language; scheduling and webhook skills; deleting a transfer skill; and importing website knowledge are managed in the Upfirst dashboard, not over MCP. Tools say so where it applies.

Example prompts

The Upfirst MCP server works from any compatible AI client. To get started, copy one of these prompts into your client and adapt it to your business.

Find gaps in your receptionist's knowledge

Use case

Use this workflow to review the past week of calls and find where the receptionist's knowledge fell short, so you know what to add to its training.

Example prompt

You are helping find gaps in an Upfirst receptionist's knowledge.

Review the calls from the last seven days, then read the receptionist's current knowledge. Look for questions callers asked that it could not answer well, information it was missing, and the same topic coming up more than once.

For each gap, point to the calls that show it and suggest a specific knowledge entry that would fill it, written the way the receptionist should answer. Group related gaps together and rank them by how often they came up.

Do not change anything. Present the gaps and the suggested entries for review.

Receptionist: [Name, or leave blank for all]

Set up your receptionist from a description

Use case

Use this workflow to describe how you want your receptionist to handle calls and let your assistant build the setup: the greeting, knowledge, transfer rules, schedules, and texting skills.

Example prompt

You are helping configure an Upfirst AI receptionist from a plain description of how it should handle calls.

Turn the description into a complete setup: a greeting and goodbye, the knowledge it needs to answer common questions, transfer rules for calls that should reach a person, schedules for information or transfers that only apply during certain hours, and any texting skills the description calls for.

Ask about anything important the description leaves unclear, such as hours, who calls should reach, or how to handle common requests, instead of guessing.

Show the full proposed setup for review before creating anything, then apply it once it's approved.

How the receptionist should handle calls: [Describe your business, your hours, what callers usually need, and who calls should reach]

Fix a call that didn't go well

Use case

Use this workflow to point out a call that didn't go the way you wanted, say what you'd have preferred, and have your assistant adjust the receptionist's knowledge so similar calls go better.

Example prompt

You are helping improve an Upfirst receptionist based on a call that didn't go well.

Read the call I point to, including its transcript, and compare what the receptionist did with what I wanted to happen. Work out what led to the outcome: whether something in its knowledge was missing, unclear, or contradicted by another entry.

Suggest the specific changes that would make a call like this go better next time, written as the exact knowledge to add or edit, and explain why each one helps.

Show the changes for review before applying them, then make the approved edits.

Call: [ID or a short description of the call]
What I wanted to happen instead: [Describe the outcome you were hoping for]

01

Account & agents

Orient yourself, then read or update an individual AI receptionist.

get_account_overview

Read

Start here. A compact snapshot of the whole account: the business name, every receptionist with its timezone, greeting, phone numbers, skills and knowledge, and the number of calls handled in the last 30 days.

No parameters.

Returns Business name · agents (id, name, timezone, greeting, phone numbers, skill & knowledge names) · calls in the last 30 days (settled calls only; test and archived calls are not counted).

list_agents

Read

List the organization's AI agents. Use a returned id with the agent-scoped tools below.

No parameters.

Returns agents, each with id and name.

get_agent_by_id

Read

Read one agent's full conversational settings and attached phone numbers.

ParameterTypeDescription
agentId string req Numeric agent id from list_agents.

Returns greeting & goodbye messages, voice tone, speech rate, hold music, language, timezone, spam & toll-free blocking, and attached phone numbers.

update_agent

Write

Change an agent's conversational settings. Partial update: send only what changes; at least one settable field is required.

ParameterTypeDescription
agentIdstring reqAgent to update.
greetingMessagestring optOpening message.
goodbyeMessagestring optClosing message.
voiceToneenum optfriendly · professional
speechRatenumber opt0.7 · 0.85 · 1 · 1.1 · 1.2
holdMusicenum optringTone · gentleGuitar · marimba · softKeys
isSpamCallsBlockedboolean optBlock suspected spam calls.
isTollFreeCallsBlockedboolean optBlock toll-free calls.

Voice, timezone, and language are managed on the dashboard and can't be changed here. The blocking flags apply to this agent; the dashboard sets them for all agents at once.

Returns the updated agent, in the same shape as get_agent_by_id.

02

Skills

A skill is an action a receptionist can take on a call: texting the caller, texting a scheduling link, or transferring the call. Each kind has its own tools, so the fields you pass are always the ones that kind uses. Scheduling and webhook skills are read-only here and managed on the dashboard.

list_agent_skills

Read

List the skills configured for an agent, including inactive ones by default.

ParameterTypeDescription
agentIdstring reqAgent whose skills to list.
llmToolenum optOnly skills of this kind: sendSms · sendScheduleSms · transferCall · scheduleSlot · customWebhook.
includeInactiveboolean optInclude switched-off skills. Default true.

Returns skills: id, name, kind, active flag, stored config, optional weekly schedule, and (for webhook skills) a webhook summary.

A schedule is honored on calls for transfer skills only. Other kinds store one but ignore it.

create_sms_skill

Write

Add a texting skill: an SMS the receptionist can send to a caller during a call. sendSms texts the message as written. sendScheduleSms texts it together with the organization's scheduling link.

ParameterTypeDescription
agentIdstring reqAgent to add the skill to.
llmToolenum reqsendSms · sendScheduleSms
namestring reqShort label, shown on the dashboard.
messagestring reqThe SMS text the agent sends, up to 306 characters.
instructionstring reqWhen the agent should send it during a call.
isActiveboolean optOn from the start. Default true.

The message passes a content filter that rejects promotional or otherwise restricted wording.

Returns the created skill with its new id, in the same shape as a list_agent_skills entry.

update_sms_skill

Write

Change a texting skill. Partial update: only the fields you send change, and at least one settable field is required.

ParameterTypeDescription
agentIdstring reqAgent that owns the skill.
skillIdstring reqSkill id from list_agent_skills.
llmToolenum optSwitch between sendSms and sendScheduleSms.
namestring optNew label.
messagestring optNew SMS text, up to 306 characters.
instructionstring optNew guidance on when to send it.
isActiveboolean optSwitch the skill on or off.

Returns the fields the update wrote.

delete_sms_skill

Delete

Permanently delete a texting skill. The agent stops sending that message immediately.

ParameterTypeDescription
agentIdstring reqAgent that owns the skill.
skillIdstring reqSkill id to delete.

There is no way to restore a deleted skill. Getting it back means creating it again from scratch.

Returns { id, deleted: true }.

create_transfer_call_skill

Write

Add a transfer skill: the rule that hands a live call to a person. condition tells the agent when to transfer, preTransferMessage is what it says to the caller first, and destinations are the numbers it dials in order.

ParameterTypeDescription
agentIdstring reqAgent to add the skill to.
namestring reqShort label, shown on the dashboard.
conditionstring reqWhen to transfer, in plain language.
preTransferMessagestring reqWhat the agent says before transferring.
destinationsarray reqOne or more targets, tried in order, each { phoneNumber, label, phoneExtension }. phoneNumber is required and must be E.164 (e.g. +12025550123).
ringTimeoutSecondsnumber optRing time per destination, 5–60. Default 30.
noAnswerActionenum optendCall (default) · returnToAgent
transferMethodenum optcold (default) hands the caller over directly · warm briefs the destination first.
transferCallerIdenum optNumber the destination sees: upfirstNumber (default) · callerNumber.
recordingModeenum optagentOnly (default) stops recording at the transfer · fullCall keeps recording after it.
isActiveboolean optOn from the start. Default true.
scheduleobject optWeekly hours the skill is offered, in the agent's timezone. Omit for always available. See Schedules.

Every destination must be in the same country as one of the account's Upfirst numbers. Omitted options default to the same values the dashboard uses, so a skill created here behaves identically to one built in the UI.

Returns the created skill with its new id, in the same shape as a list_agent_skills entry.

update_transfer_call_skill

Write

Change a transfer skill. Partial update: only the fields you send change, and at least one settable field is required.

ParameterTypeDescription
agentIdstring reqAgent that owns the skill.
skillIdstring reqSkill id from list_agent_skills.
destinationsarray optReplaces the whole list. Send every number you want to keep.
scheduleobject optReplaces the stored hours. null clears the schedule, making the skill available around the clock.
Other create fieldsoptname, condition, preTransferMessage, ringTimeoutSeconds, noAnswerAction, transferMethod, transferCallerId, recordingMode, isActive. Same values as create.

A skill's kind is fixed at creation. Passing the id of a scheduling or webhook skill reads as not found.

Returns the fields the update wrote.

Deleting a transfer skill

There is no tool for this. Transfer skills are deleted on the Upfirst dashboard. Over MCP you can switch one off instead: set isActive: false with update_transfer_call_skill, and the agent stops offering the transfer while the skill stays configured.

03

Knowledge

A receptionist's knowledge is what it answers callers from. In the Upfirst dashboard these entries live under Training. Each one is text you write, or content imported from a website. An entry can be shared across the organization, in which case editing or deleting it changes what every agent answers. Writes retrain the receptionist automatically within minutes.

get_agent_knowledge

Read

Read an agent's knowledge base. Every entry is returned whole with its full content, never a preview.

ParameterTypeDescription
agentIdstring reqAgent whose knowledge to read.
idstring optReturn just this one entry.
offsetnumber optEntries to skip. Default 0.
limitnumber optMax entries, 1–100. Default 25.

Returns entries: id, name, type (text/website), active flag, full content, source url, and weekly schedule, plus totalCount.

create_agent_knowledge

Write

Add a text entry to a receptionist's training. New entries go to the top of the list.

ParameterTypeDescription
agentIdstring reqAgent to add knowledge to.
namestring reqDisplay name of the entry.
contentstring reqPlain text, up to 250,000 characters.
isActiveboolean optActive from the start. Default true.
scheduleobject optRestrict the entry to business hours. Omit for always-active. See Schedules.

Returns the created entry.

update_agent_knowledge

Write

Change an entry's name, active flag, content, or schedule. Partial update; at least one settable field is required.

ParameterTypeDescription
agentIdstring reqAgent that owns the entry.
idstring reqEntry id from get_agent_knowledge.
name, isActiveoptNew name / active flag.
contentstring optNew text, replacing the stored content entirely. Up to 250,000 characters.
scheduleobject optNew schedule. null clears it, making the entry always available; omit to keep the stored one.

Content is replaced, never appended. Read the entry with get_agent_knowledge first and send back the full text you want it to have, including whatever you are keeping. If the entry is shared across the organization, the edit changes what every agent answering from it says.

Returns the fields the update wrote.

delete_agent_knowledge

Delete

Permanently delete a knowledge entry.

ParameterTypeDescription
agentIdstring reqAgent that owns the entry.
idstring reqEntry id to delete.

There is no way to restore a deleted entry. If the entry is shared across the organization, deleting it removes it for every agent that answers from it.

Returns { id, deleted: true }.

Schedules

A schedule restricts a knowledge entry (or transfer skill) to business hours, honored in the agent's business timezone. It's a per-weekday object; each day is on or off with one or more time windows.

A scheduled entry is only in the receptionist's knowledge during its windows. Outside them, it's as if the entry doesn't exist, so the receptionist never answers from it at the wrong time.

That makes schedules a dependable way to handle time-specific facts. To make open and closed hours foolproof, add one entry restricted to your open hours that reads "We are currently open," and a second restricted to your closed hours that reads "We are currently closed." Only one is ever active, so the receptionist can't mix them up.

{
  "days": {
    "monday": { "enabled": true,  "workingPeriods": [{ "from": "09:00", "to": "17:00" }] },
    "tuesday": { "enabled": true,  "workingPeriods": [{ "from": "09:00", "to": "17:00" }] },
    /* … wednesday–sunday … */
    "sunday":  { "enabled": false, "workingPeriods": [] }
  }
}
04

Calls

Read the business's call history, one call's details, and its transcript. Only calls that have finished appear; a call shows up shortly after it ends.

list_calls

Read

List and filter call history, most recent first. Compact rows with no transcripts or summaries (use the tools below for those).

ParameterTypeDescription
statusesenum[] optFilter by outcome, each call has exactly one: test · blocked · spam · hungUp · completed.
querystring optFree-text search over call summaries and transcripts.
tagsstring[] optMatch calls carrying any of these tags (by name or id).
startDatedate optBare YYYY-MM-DD = calendar day in the business timezone, or a full ISO datetime.
endDatedate optAs above; inclusive.
archivedboolean optReturn archived calls instead of active ones. Default false.
offset, limitnumber optPaging. limit is 1–100, default 25.

Returns call rows (caller, time, duration, outcome, tags, linked contact, transcript-turn count) plus totalCount.

get_call_by_id

Read

Full details of one call, everything except the transcript text and recording.

ParameterTypeDescription
callIdstring reqNumeric call id from list_calls.

Returns timing, outcome, caller & receptionist numbers, the AI-written summary, captured data fields, the skills the agent used (with when each fired), tags, your team's comments, and the transcript-turn count.

get_call_transcript

Read

The conversation text of one call as ordered turns, each stamped with an [mm:ss] offset and its speaker.

ParameterTypeDescription
callIdstring reqNumeric call id from list_calls.
offset, limitnumber optPaging over turns. limit is 1–200, default 100. A typical call fits in one response; page only when the note says more turns remain.

Speakers are Agent (the AI receptionist), Caller (the person who dialed), and Transferee (a human the call was handed to).

Returns turns (offset, speaker, text) plus totalCount.

FAQ

How do I get Upfirst to start answering my calls?

We give you a phone number. You can hand that number out and have people call it directly, but most businesses forward calls to it from the line they already use.

You choose how much to forward: every call, only the ones you miss, or, depending on your phone, carrier, or VoIP system, only during certain hours. The steps differ for every provider, so see Forward all your calls to Upfirst for yours.

Do I need an API key?

No. Authorization is a standard OAuth 2.1 sign-in. The first call opens Upfirst's sign-in page, you approve access once, and there is nothing to copy, paste, or store.

Which AI assistants can I use this with?

Any client that supports remote MCP servers over HTTP. The Connecting section has setup for Claude, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, and Codex. For anything else, point it at https://mcp.upfirst.ai as a streamable HTTP server and it will handle the sign-in on the first call.

What can my assistant reach?

Only the organization you signed in as. Every tool is scoped to that organization, and ids from any other one are never accessible. Within it, the assistant can read calls and transcripts and change receptionist settings, skills, and knowledge, so treat the connection the way you would treat being signed in to the dashboard.

Why doesn't a call I just took show up?

Only finished calls appear, and a call shows up shortly after it ends. Calls in progress are not available until they hang up. If a call is still missing, check whether it was archived, since list_calls returns active calls unless you pass archived: true.

What can't I do over MCP?

Voice, timezone, and language; scheduling and webhook skills; deleting a transfer skill; and importing knowledge from a website are all managed in the Upfirst dashboard. The tools say so where it applies.