MCP Server - absentify®

You can connect with Microsoft sign-in on Free, Mini, Essentials, and Plus. The workspace API key requires Plus. Administrators can allow administrator access on every plan. See the plan feature matrix.

What is the MCP server?

The absentify MCP server connects AI assistants directly to your absentify workspace. Using the Model Context Protocol, an open standard supported by Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and more, you can ask in plain language how many vacation days you have left, who is out this week, or to book a day off.

MCP server URL: https://api.absentify.com/api/mcpThis is the workspace MCP server. Every active user in that workspace can connect with Microsoft sign-in. Sign in with Microsoft, or send the workspace API key from Settings > Integrations > API in the X-API-KEY header. The API key requires Plus. After Microsoft sign-in, the assistant only sees and changes what that user may see and change. An API key always has administrator access and acts with the permissions of the administrator who generated it.

What can the AI do?

Once connected, your AI assistant can:

Check your leave

See your absences and how many days or hours you have left. Request time off, change your own request, or cancel it.

See who is out

See who is absent this week, optionally in one department. Look up a user by name or email.

Approve requests

If you approve requests in absentify, list the ones waiting for you, then approve or decline them, including a change to an approved request.

Search documentation

Search the full absentify documentation and retrieve detailed guides. Built into the same server.

Files on a request

Attach a file to a request you can open in absentify, or download one that is already there. A workspace administrator with administrator access can delete a file after you confirm.

On every plan, administrators can also select Also allow administrator access while they connect. The assistant can then use administrator operations, but only in these areas: it can read and change workspace settings, leave types, departments, public holidays, and work schedules, and read billing details and the AI change log. It can also delete files on requests after you confirm. Without it, an administrator works through the assistant like a manager or approver: your manager and approver rights stay, but administrator-only views and changes are not available. Other administrator tasks, for example managing users, allowances, integrations, and exports, work in the app or the REST API. Your own absences and allowance stay available through the personal tools. An administrator with administrator access on the Plus plan can also replace the workspace logo, dark logo, or favicon from the chat. Start exports with the REST API.

Example prompts

Here are some things you can ask your AI assistant once connected: Your leave:

“How many vacation days do I have left?”
“Create a vacation request for next Monday to Friday”
“Change my request for next Monday to sick leave”
“Cancel my request for next Monday”
“Who is out this week in Marketing?”

Approvals:

“Show me the requests waiting for me”
“Approve the absence request from Sarah”
“Approve the change to Sarah’s request”

Documentation and help:

“How do I configure approval workflows with multiple approvers?”
“What are the API rate limits?”
“How does calendar synchronization work?”

Files:

“Attach this file to my sick leave request”
“What files are on my request for next Monday?”
“Download the file on Sarah’s request”
“Delete the file on Sarah’s request”

Available tools

By default, Microsoft sign-in gives the assistant a set of personal tools that act as you. These tools are available on every plan:

What you can ask	What happens
Your absences	Lists your absences for a period, with leave type, dates, and status
Remaining allowance	Shows how many days or hours you have left, used, and in total
Who is out	Lists users who are absent, optionally in one department
Find a user	Finds users by name or email and returns their email and departments
Leave types	Lists the leave types in the workspace
Request, change, or cancel	Creates an absence request for you, changes one of yours, or cancels one of yours. The request follows the normal approval process
Approvals	If you approve requests in absentify, lists, approves, or declines the ones waiting for you, including a change to an approved request
Documentation	Searches the absentify help
Files on a request	Lists the files on a request you can open, attaches one, or gives you a download link that works for 10 minutes
Delete a file	If you are a workspace administrator and allowed administrator access, deletes a file after you confirm, including on someone else’s request
More actions	Looks up what else absentify can do, reads what an action needs, and runs it. Anyone can look up the workspace settings (including privacy and sign-in settings, the number of members, and a plan summary), departments, the number of members per department (you only get your own departments unless the workspace shows others), leave types, public holidays, and the workspace schedule. Everything else is for administrators with administrator access

If you are an administrator, the consent screen includes Also allow administrator access, on every plan. It is never ticked for you. With it, the assistant can use the administrator operations described above. Without it, the assistant treats you like a manager or approver, and administrator-only tools stay hidden or refuse. If you stop being an administrator, administrator access ends with your next call. A workspace API key always has administrator access. There is no consent screen for an API key.

Upload a file from the chat

If you attach a file in the chat, the assistant can add it to the request. When it does not have the file, it shows a form in the chat so you can pick one from your device. The form takes one file and works for 10 minutes. If no form appears, the assistant sends a link. Open it, sign in to absentify, and upload on the Upload a file page. You can then close the page and go back to the chat. The file must be a PDF, Word, text, RTF, JPG, or PNG file. The leave type must allow attachments. How many files you can attach, and how large they may be, follow your plan, the same as in absentify.

Setup guide

Requirements

An active user in that workspace
An MCP-compatible AI client
A way to authenticate. Sign in with Microsoft when your client can open a browser. Use the workspace API key from Settings > Integrations > API when it cannot. The API key requires Plus.

On Free, Mini, and Essentials, Microsoft sign-in allows each user 100 tool calls per day (the day resets at 00:00 UTC) and 20 tool calls per minute. Plus has no daily or per-minute tool-call limit. Every tool call counts, including documentation searches. Looking up what the assistant can do, checking who you are, and the first step of a change (where the assistant only shows what would happen) count toward the per-minute limit only. For Microsoft sign-in, use a Microsoft account that already belongs to that absentify user. Sign in to absentify once before you connect the assistant. Add the server URL. Your client opens a browser so you can sign in with Microsoft. After you pick the account, absentify shows a consent screen titled “Connect to absentify”. It names the app, your account, your workspace, and the permissions it asks for. Allow the connection to finish. Cancel sends you back without connecting. The assistant then acts with your permissions in that workspace. If you are an administrator, you can also select Also allow administrator access on that screen, on every plan. Leave it off unless you want the assistant to change workspace settings and use the other administrator areas. Without it, the assistant can still look up what every user can, including general workspace settings. If your client cannot complete this flow, use an API key. The API key requires Plus.

Claude Desktop
Claude Code (CLI)
Cursor
Windsurf
VS Code + Copilot

Open connectors

Open Settings, then select Connectors.

Add a custom connector

Select Add custom connector and enter:

Name: absentify
Remote MCP server URL: https://api.absentify.com/api/mcp

Select Add.

Connect and sign in

Select Connect next to absentify. A browser window opens. Sign in with Microsoft, then allow access. You’re connected.

Claude Desktop connects remote servers through Connectors, not through the claude_desktop_config.json file. That file only supports local servers.

Add the MCP server with a single command:

claude mcp add absentify --transport http https://api.absentify.com/api/mcp

On first use, a browser window opens. Sign in with Microsoft, then allow access.Verify the connection:

claude mcp list

Open MCP settings

Go to Cursor Settings, then MCP Servers.

Add new server

Select Add new MCP server and configure:

Name: absentify
Type: http
Server URL: https://api.absentify.com/api/mcp

A browser window opens. Sign in with Microsoft, then allow access.

Open MCP configuration

Open the command palette and search for MCP: Configure Servers.

Add absentify server

Add the server configuration:

{
  "absentify": {
    "serverUrl": "https://api.absentify.com/api/mcp"
  }
}

A browser window opens. Sign in with Microsoft, then allow access.

Open MCP settings

Open Settings (Ctrl+,) and search for MCP.

Add server

Add the server URL: https://api.absentify.com/api/mcp

A browser window opens. Sign in with Microsoft, then allow access.

You can also open the in-app Setup Guide from Settings > Integrations > MCP Server.

Connect with an API key

When the client cannot complete Microsoft sign-in, send the workspace API key from Settings > Integrations > API in the X-API-KEY header.

Open Settings > Integrations > API.
On the API integration page, select Get API key.
Select Generate new key, and copy the key while it is shown. Generating a new key invalidates the old one.
Add the server URL https://api.absentify.com/api/mcp and send the key in the X-API-KEY header.

Claude Code:

claude mcp add absentify --transport http https://api.absentify.com/api/mcp --header "X-API-KEY: your-api-key"

Clients that use a JSON config add a headers object:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "absentify": {
      "url": "https://api.absentify.com/api/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-API-KEY": "your-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Some clients show X-API-KEY as an optional header. Fill it in and skip Microsoft sign-in. The assistant then acts with the permissions of the administrator who generated the key and always has administrator access, so it can use the administrator operations as well. There is no consent screen. Send the key only in X-API-KEY. Do not put it in the URL. Do not send it as Authorization: Bearer. That header is for Microsoft sign-in. If your client sends both, absentify uses the Microsoft sign-in and ignores the API key. If you generate a new key, update every client that still uses the old one. See API access for how to create and replace the key.

Review changes by AI assistants

Workspace administrators open Settings > Integrations > MCP Server to see Changes by AI assistants. Open Filter and choose Person or Area. The list covers the last 90 days, newest first.

Example: real conversation

Here’s a real example of what a conversation with an MCP-connected AI looks like:

You: "Who is out of office this week in the Marketing department?"

AI: Let me check who is absent in Marketing this week.

    Here are the Marketing users currently out:
    - Anna Mueller: Vacation (Mon-Fri)
    - Tom Schmidt: Sick leave (Mon-Wed)
    - Lisa Weber: Working from home (Thu-Fri)

You: "How many vacation days do I have left this year?"

AI: You have 12 of 30 vacation days remaining.

You: "Approve the pending request from Julia for next week"

AI: I found Julia's pending vacation request for May 19-23.

    Done! Julia's vacation request has been approved.

The last step only works if that request is waiting for you. Otherwise, ask the assistant to create or cancel your own requests instead.

You can still search the documentation without connecting your workspace. Use the read-only documentation MCP server at https://absentify.com/docs/mcp. It lets your AI assistant search our docs and answer setup questions, but it cannot interact with your workspace.

Troubleshooting

Browser doesn't open for authorization

Make sure you’re using the correct URL: https://api.absentify.com/api/mcp
Check your default browser settings
Start the connection again from the application

The page says Connection not possible

absentify shows one of these messages:

No absentify account is linked to this Microsoft user. Please sign in to absentify once before connecting the app. If your workspace signs in with an email code instead of Microsoft 365, AI assistants cannot be connected.
Your workspace only allows signing in with an email code, not with Microsoft 365, so you cannot connect an AI assistant here.
Your workspace is locked because of an inactive subscription or an open invoice. Open absentify for details.
Your absentify account is not active. Please ask an administrator to reactivate it.

The API key is rejected

absentify shows one of these messages:

Authentication required.: the client sent neither a Microsoft sign-in nor an X-API-KEY header.
The API key is not valid.: Open Settings > Integrations > API, select Get API key, then select Generate new key and copy the key while it is shown.
The absentify API needs the Plus plan. Please upgrade your subscription to use this API key. To connect an AI assistant without Plus, sign in with your Microsoft account instead of using an API key.
The user associated with this API key is no longer an active admin
User associated with API key not found
The access token is not valid.: the key was sent as Authorization: Bearer. Send it in X-API-KEY instead.

Tools return errors after connecting

You may have reached a tool-call limit. See the limits under Requirements.
You have reached the limit of 100 absentify tool calls for today. It resets at 00:00 UTC. The Plus plan has no daily limit.
You have reached the limit of 20 absentify tool calls a minute. Wait a minute and try again. The Plus plan has no limit.
The assistant can only do what the connected user can do in absentify.
needs administrator access, which this connection was not granted. Connect absentify again and allow administrator access.: reconnect as an administrator and select Also allow administrator access on the consent screen.
<operation> is only for absentify admins. (for example workspace.editGeneral is only for absentify admins.): the signed-in user is not an absentify administrator. An administrator has to do this, or do it in the app.
If that user is not active, the connection stops. Connect again after an administrator reactivates the account. The API key requires Plus. For an API key, the administrator who generated the key must be an active administrator on Plus.
This connection was authorized for a different workspace. Please connect absentify again.

AI is not using the MCP tools

Mention “absentify” in your prompt to help the AI use the right tools
Check if the MCP tools icon appears in your client’s interface
Try explicitly asking: “Use the absentify tools to…”
Restart your AI client after adding the MCP server

Next steps

Integrations

Open MCP Server in Settings and follow the Setup Guide

API Reference

Browse all available API endpoints

​What is the MCP server?

​What can the AI do?

Check your leave

See who is out

Approve requests

Search documentation

Files on a request

​Example prompts

​Available tools

​Upload a file from the chat

​Setup guide

​Requirements

​Add the server and sign in with Microsoft

​Connect with an API key

​Review changes by AI assistants

​Example: real conversation

​Troubleshooting

​Next steps

Integrations

API Reference

What is the MCP server?

What can the AI do?

Example prompts

Available tools

Upload a file from the chat

Setup guide

Requirements

Add the server and sign in with Microsoft

Connect with an API key

Review changes by AI assistants

Example: real conversation

Troubleshooting

Next steps