Front MCP

Use Front from any MCP-compatible client. Search conversations, manage contacts, send messages, tag, assign, and automate inbox workflows — 26 tools, 172 actions.

Quick Start

1. Get a Front API token from Settings > Developers > API tokens.

2. Add to your Claude Code settings (~/.claude/settings.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "front": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@houst-com/front-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "FRONT_API_TOKEN": "your-front-api-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

1. Start Claude Code. The Front tools are now available.

Example Workflows

Search for a conversation:

"Search Front conversations about billing issues"

Inspect a thread:

"Get the messages in conversation cnv_abc123"

Manage contacts:

"List contacts and find the one with email alice@example.com"

Tag and assign:

"Tag conversation cnv_abc123 with 'urgent' and assign it to teammate tea_xyz"

Draft a reply:

"Create a draft reply to conversation cnv_abc123 saying we'll follow up tomorrow"

OAuth Setup (Recommended)

OAuth provides automatic token refresh and better security than API tokens.

1. Create a Front app at Settings > Developers > OAuth apps.
2. Set the redirect URI to https://localhost:9876/callback.
3. Enable the resource permissions your MCP server needs (Read, Write, Delete, Send).
4. Save the app — copy the Client ID from the OAuth feature (not the App secret from Settings).
5. Create ~/.front-mcp/config.json:

{
  "auth": {
    "method": "oauth",
    "oauth": {
      "client_id": "your-client-id",
      "client_secret_env": "FRONT_MCP_OAUTH_SECRET",
      "redirect_port": 9876,
      "scopes": []
    }
  }
}

1. Configure Claude Code:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "front": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@houst-com/front-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "FRONT_MCP_AUTH_METHOD": "oauth",
        "FRONT_MCP_OAUTH_SECRET": "your-oauth-client-secret"
      }
    }
  }
}

1. Run npx @houst-com/front-mcp auth to authenticate (opens browser).
2. Tokens are encrypted and stored locally (AES-256-GCM, 0600 permissions).

Auth CLI

front-mcp auth            # Start OAuth flow
front-mcp auth --status   # Check auth state (no token values shown)
front-mcp auth --clear    # Remove stored tokens
front-mcp --version       # Show version
front-mcp --help          # Show usage

Front Permissions

The MCP server needs Front API permissions matching the actions you want to use:

For OAuth, configure these in your Front app under Features > OAuth > Resource permissions. For API tokens, permissions are set when creating the token.

Tools Reference

See docs/TOOL_REFERENCE.md for the complete reference with policy tiers per action.

Policy Engine

Every action is classified into a tier with a default decision:

Write actions require a two-step confirmation: the first call returns a prompt, the second call with confirm: true executes. Destructive actions are denied by default.

Custom Policy

Create ~/.front-mcp/policy.json:

{
  "defaults": {
    "read": "allow",
    "write": "allow",
    "destructive": "confirm"
  },
  "overrides": [
    { "tool": "conversations", "action": "delete", "decision": "deny" },
    { "tool": "tags", "action": "*", "decision": "allow" }
  ]
}

Override precedence: specific action > tool wildcard > tier default.

Security Model

• HTTPS enforced — no HTTP fallback, ever
• Token encryption — AES-256-GCM with PBKDF2 key derivation
• File permissions — token file is 0600 (owner read/write only)
• Output sanitization — configurable field redaction before LLM sees data
• Log redaction — sensitive fields redacted from all log output
• Policy engine — destructive actions denied by default, write actions require confirmation
• No secrets in stdout — stdout is reserved for MCP protocol only
• Minimal dependencies — native fetch, Node.js crypto, pinned exact versions

Environment Variables

Limitations

• stdio transport only — no HTTP/SSE transport in v1 (planned for future)
• Single Front account — one account per server instance
• No webhook support — outbound API calls only, no inbound event processing
• No caching — every request hits the Front API (relies on Front's freshness)
• Attachments — file upload/download not supported in v1
• Application channels — channel-specific message sync endpoints not supported

Development

git clone https://github.com/wearehoust/front-mcp.git
cd front-mcp
npm install
npm test          # 519 tests
npm run lint      # ESLint strict
npm run type-check # TypeScript strict
npm run build     # Compile to dist/

Testing

npm test              # Unit + integration tests
npm run test:watch    # Watch mode
npm run test:coverage # Coverage report
npm run smoke         # Smoke test (builds, starts, verifies 26 tools)

The project includes 519 unit/integration tests and a 172-action live API test script (scripts/live-test-full.js).

Release Process

1. Update version in package.json and server.json
2. Update CHANGELOG.md
3. Commit: git commit -m "chore: release vX.Y.Z"
4. Tag: git tag vX.Y.Z
5. Push: git push origin main --tags
6. GitHub Actions publishes to npm (requires NPM_TOKEN secret)
7. Publish to MCP Registry: mcp-publisher publish

Security

See SECURITY.md for vulnerability reporting.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for setup, code standards, and PR process.

License

MIT