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On this page
  • What is MCP?
  • Transport Protocol
  • Key Benefits
  • Prerequisites
  • Quick Start
  • Getting Your ShipBob API Credentials
  • Connecting to the ShipBob MCP Server
  • Server Connection Details
  • Configure Your AI Assistant
  • Available Tools
  • Using ShipBob with Your AI Assistant
  • Example 1: Finding Orders That Need Attention
  • Example 2: Checking Inventory Levels for a SKU
  • Example 3: Identifying Low Stock Products
  • Example 4: Checking Product Details and Variants
  • Example 5: Checking Inventory Across Multiple Locations
  • Example 6: Monitoring Order Shipment Timeline
  • Discovering Available Tools
  • Security & Best Practices
  • Troubleshooting
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Support & Resources
  • Getting Help
  • When Contacting Support
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MCP Server

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Last updated February 24, 2026

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What is MCP?

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open protocol that standardizes how AI assistants connect to external data sources and tools. The ShipBob MCP Server acts as a bridge between your AI assistant and the ShipBob API, enabling natural language interactions with your fulfillment operations.

Transport Protocol

The ShipBob MCP Server uses Streamable HTTP transport, which provides:

  • HTTP-based communication for easy integration
  • Server-Sent Events (SSE) support for real-time streaming responses
  • RESTful architecture compatible with standard HTTP clients
  • Stateful sessions for maintaining connection context
  • HTTP-Based: Uses standard Streamable HTTP transport for broad compatibility

This transport method is ideal for web-based AI assistants and provides reliable, secure communication over HTTPS.

The server exclusively uses Streamable HTTP transport as defined in the MCP specification. Other transport protocols (stdio, sse) are not supported.

Key Benefits

  • Natural Language Interface: Ask your AI assistant to check orders, view inventory, or browse products using plain English
  • AI-Powered Workflows: Let AI assistants help automate routine ShipBob tasks
  • Secure Access: All API calls use your existing ShipBob authentication credentials
  • Real-Time Data: Get live information about orders, inventory, and shipments
  • Developer Friendly: Works with popular AI development tools like Claude Desktop and VS Code

Prerequisites

Before you begin, you’ll need:

  • ShipBob Account:
    • Sandbox (for testing): Sign up for sandbox
    • Production (for live data): Sign up at production
  • ShipBob API Access: API credentials from your ShipBob account
  • AI Assistant: Claude Desktop, VS Code with MCP extension, or another MCP-compatible client
  • Basic Setup Knowledge: Familiarity with API concepts and JSON configuration

Quick Start

The ShipBob MCP Server is hosted and maintained by ShipBob. You don’t need to install or run any server software—simply configure your AI assistant to connect to it.

Getting Your ShipBob API Credentials

Before configuring the MCP Server, you’ll need to generate an API token from your ShipBob account.

📖 ShipBob Authentication Guide

The authentication guide provides step-by-step instructions for generating your API credentials. Once you have your API token, you can configure your AI assistant to connect to the ShipBob MCP Server.

Connecting to the ShipBob MCP Server

Server Connection Details

Use these endpoints to connect your AI assistant to the ShipBob MCP Server:

Sandbox (Development/Testing):

URL: https://sandbox-api.shipbob.com/developer-api/mcp

Environment: Development/Testing

Production:

URL: https://api.shipbob.com/developer-api/mcp

Environment: Live Orders and Data

Configure Your AI Assistant

Claude Desktop

To use the ShipBob MCP server with Claude Desktop:

  1. Open Claude Desktop’s configuration file:
    • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
    • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
  2. Add the ShipBob MCP server configuration:

Configuration:

1{

2  "mcpServers": {

3    "shipbob-developer-api": {

4      "url": "https://api.shipbob.com/developer-api/mcp",

5      "transportType": "http",

6      "headers": {

7        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN"

8      }

9    }

10  }

11}
  1. Replace YOUR_API_TOKEN with your actual ShipBob API token
  2. Restart Claude Desktop
  3. Verify the connection by asking Claude: “What ShipBob tools are available?”
VS Code

To integrate with VS Code, you’ll need to configure an MCP server in your mcp.json file:

Prerequisites:

  • Install the latest version of Visual Studio Code
  • Have access to GitHub Copilot
  1. Create Configuration File:
    • Workspace: Create .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace folder
    • User Profile: Use the command MCP: Open User Configuration from the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
  2. Add ShipBob MCP Server Configuration:

Configuration:

1{

2  "servers": {

3    "shipbob-developer-api": {

4      "type": "http",

5      "url": "https://api.shipbob.com/developer-api/mcp",

6      "headers": {

7        "Authorization": "Bearer ${input:shipbob-api-token}"

8      }

9    }

10  },

11  "inputs": [

12    {

13      "type": "promptString",

14      "id": "shipbob-api-token",

15      "description": "ShipBob API Token",

16      "password": true

17    }

18  ]

19}

Alternative: Using Environment Variables:

1{

2  "servers": {

3    "shipbob-developer-api": {

4      "type": "http",

5      "url": "https://api.shipbob.com/developer-api/mcp",

6      "headers": {

7        "Authorization": "Bearer ${env:SHIPBOB_API_TOKEN}"

8      }

9    }

10  }

11}
  1. When you start using the MCP server, VS Code will prompt you for your API token (if using ${input:}), or ensure the SHIPBOB_API_TOKEN environment variable is set (if using ${env:})
  2. Trust the Server: When VS Code prompts you to trust the MCP server configuration, review the details and confirm
  3. Start the Server: Run MCP: List Servers from the Command Palette and start the ShipBob Developer API server
  4. Verify the connection by opening Copilot Chat and asking: “What ShipBob tools are available?”
For more details on VS Code MCP configuration, see the VS Code MCP Documentation.
Other MCP-Compatible Clients

For other MCP-compatible AI assistants:

  1. Use the appropriate ShipBob MCP endpoint:

    • Sandbox: https://sandbox-api.shipbob.com/developer-api/mcp
    • Production: https://api.shipbob.com/developer-api/mcp

  2. Configure authentication using your ShipBob API token in the Authorization header:

    Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN

  3. Follow your client’s specific MCP configuration instructions

  4. Verify the connection by listing available tools

Available Tools

The ShipBob MCP Server currently provides 27 tools to interact with your ShipBob data across the following categories:

Currently, all tools provide read-only access to view and query your data. Tools for creating or modifying data are not yet available.
Orders (11 tools)
  • Get Orders
  • Get Order by Order ID
  • Get Order Store JSON
  • Get All Merchants Shipping Methods
  • Get All Shipments for Order
  • Get One Shipment by Shipment ID
  • Get Logs for One Shipment by Shipment ID
  • Get One Shipment by Order ID and Shipment ID
  • Get Logs for One Shipment by Order ID and Shipment ID
  • Get One Shipment’s Status Timeline by Shipment ID
  • Get One Shipment’s Status Timeline by Order ID and Shipment ID
Products (7 tools)
  • Gets Taxonomy
  • Gets Product by ID
  • Gets Taxonomy by ID
  • Gets Taxonomy Parent
  • Gets Packaging Requirement
  • Gets Multiple Product Variants
  • Retrieves List of Products Based on Filters Provided
Inventory (8 tools)
  • Get Inventory
  • Get All Inventories
  • Get Inventory Levels
  • Get All Inventory Levels
  • Get Inventory Levels Grouped by Lot
  • Get All Inventory Levels Grouped by Lot
  • Get Inventory Levels Grouped by Fulfillment Center
  • Get All Inventory Levels Grouped by Fulfillment Center
Channels (1 tool)
  • Get Channels

Using ShipBob with Your AI Assistant

Once configured, you can interact with ShipBob using natural language through your AI assistant.

Example 1: Finding Orders That Need Attention

You ask:

"Show me orders that haven't been delivered yet"

AI Response: The assistant will filter orders by shipment status and display orders that are in processing, awaiting fulfillment, or in transit—helping you identify orders that need monitoring.

Example 2: Checking Inventory Levels for a SKU

You ask:

"What's the current inventory level for SKU COFFEE-001?"

AI Response: The assistant will query inventory levels across all fulfillment centers and provide real-time stock information for that specific SKU.

Example 3: Identifying Low Stock Products

You ask:

"Which products are low in stock?"

AI Response: The assistant will retrieve inventory levels for all products and highlight items with low on-hand quantities, helping you plan reorders and prevent stockouts.

Example 4: Checking Product Details and Variants

You ask:

"What are all the variants for product SKU TSHIRT-BASIC?"

AI Response: The assistant will retrieve product details including all available variants (sizes, colors, etc.) along with their individual SKUs and inventory levels.

Example 5: Checking Inventory Across Multiple Locations

You ask:

"Where is SKU WIDGET-001 stocked and how much inventory is at each location?"

AI Response: The assistant will show inventory distribution across all fulfillment centers, helping you understand stock allocation and plan transfers if needed.

Example 6: Monitoring Order Shipment Timeline

You ask:

"Show me the shipment timeline for order 789456"

AI Response: The assistant will summarize the shipment’s timeline as a list of time-stamped events (for example: shipment created, inventory allocated, fulfilled/shipped, in transit, delivered).

Discovering Available Tools

To see all available ShipBob tools with detailed descriptions, ask your AI assistant:

"What ShipBob tools are available?"

Security & Best Practices

When using the ShipBob MCP Server, follow these best practices to ensure security:

  1. Protect Your API Token: Never share your API token or commit it to version control
  2. Use Environment-Specific Tokens: Use sandbox tokens for testing, production tokens for live operations
  3. Rotate Credentials Regularly: Regenerate API tokens periodically
  4. Use HTTPS: All connections to the MCP server use secure HTTPS
  5. Understand Token Scopes: Ensure your API token has the required scopes for the operations you need. Insufficient permissions will result in 403 Forbidden errors

Troubleshooting

Connection Issues

Problem: AI assistant cannot connect to ShipBob MCP Server

Solutions:

  1. Verify you’re using the correct endpoint URL:
    • Sandbox: https://sandbox-api.shipbob.com/developer-api/mcp
    • Production: https://api.shipbob.com/developer-api/mcp
  2. Check your internet connection
  3. Ensure your AI assistant supports MCP protocol
  4. Verify your configuration file syntax is correct
Authentication Errors

Problem: Requests fail with “401 Unauthorized” or “403 Forbidden”

Solutions:

  1. Verify your ShipBob API token is valid
  2. Check token hasn’t expired (regenerate if needed)
  3. Ensure the Authorization header is properly formatted: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN
  4. Confirm you’re using the right token for the environment (sandbox vs production)
No Tools Available

Problem: AI assistant reports no ShipBob tools are available

Solutions:

  1. Verify the MCP server configuration in your AI assistant
  2. Restart your AI assistant after configuration changes
  3. Check that your API token has the necessary permissions
  4. Try asking: “What ShipBob tools are available?”
Tool Execution Failures

Problem: Tools execute but return errors

Solutions:

  1. Check that required parameters are provided
  2. Verify parameter formats match API requirements (e.g., dates, IDs)
  3. Review error message for specific guidance
  4. Consult ShipBob API documentation for parameter details
  5. Ensure you have permissions for the operation
Rate Limiting

Problem: Requests are being throttled

Solutions:

  1. Check ShipBob API rate limits
  2. Reduce the frequency of requests
  3. Use batch operations when available
Data Accuracy Issues

Problem: Data returned doesn’t match expectations

Solutions:

  1. Verify you’re using the correct environment (sandbox vs production)
  2. Check that data exists in your ShipBob account
  3. Ensure you have the right permissions to view the data
  4. Try the same query directly in the ShipBob dashboard

Frequently Asked Questions

What AI assistants are compatible?

Any MCP-compatible AI assistant that supports Streamable HTTP transport.

Is there a cost to use the MCP Server?

The MCP Server is free to use for ShipBob customers.

Can I use this in production?

Yes! Use the production endpoint (https://api.shipbob.com/developer-api/mcp) with your production API credentials.

How do I switch between sandbox and production?

Simply update your AI assistant’s configuration to use the appropriate endpoint URL and API token:

  • Sandbox: https://sandbox-api.shipbob.com/developer-api/mcp + sandbox token
  • Production: https://api.shipbob.com/developer-api/mcp + production token
Is my data secure?

Yes. All communication is encrypted via HTTPS, your API token is securely validated, and no data is stored or shared by the MCP server.

What if I don't have API access yet?

Follow the ShipBob Authentication Guide to set up API access for your ShipBob account. The guide covers both sandbox and production environment setup.

Can I limit which tools my AI assistant can access?

The AI assistant will only perform actions you explicitly request. Your ShipBob API token’s permissions also control what actions are possible.

Support & Resources

Getting Help

If you need assistance with the ShipBob MCP Server:

  • Email: techspecialists@shipbob.com
  • Documentation: https://developer.shipbob.com
  • API Reference: ShipBob API Docs

When Contacting Support

Please include:

  1. Environment: Development/Sandbox or Production
  2. AI Assistant: Which client you’re using (Claude Desktop, VS Code, etc.)
  3. Error Messages: Full error text if available
  4. Steps to Reproduce: What you asked your AI assistant to do
  5. Expected Behavior: What you expected to happen
  6. Actual Behavior: What actually happened