MCP Server

Step 1: Open your Connectors settings

Open claude.ai in your browser. From the sidebar, go to Customize → Connectors.

Step 2: Add a custom connector

Click the + icon → Add custom connector. Enter the name ShipBob and paste the server URL for your environment. Click Add.

Or use a direct deep-link:

• Production: Add ShipBob (Production)
• Sandbox: Add ShipBob (Sandbox)

Step 3: Sign in and grant access

Claude opens a browser tab for ShipBob sign-in. Sign in with your ShipBob account and approve the permissions on the consent screen.

Step 4: Verify the connector is connected

Back in your claude.ai settings, the connector shows as Connected.

ChatGPT supports remote MCP servers as custom connectors (“Apps”). The flow mirrors claude.ai — paste the ShipBob URL, then sign in through the browser tab ChatGPT opens.

Prerequisites

• A ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, or Edu account (custom connectors are not available on Free).
• Developer Mode enabled on your account (see Step 1).

Step 1: Enable Developer Mode

Sign in to chatgpt.com, then open Settings → Connectors (labeled Apps & Connectors on newer accounts) → Advanced settings and toggle Developer mode on.

Step 2: Add a custom connector

Back on the Connectors page, click Add (or Create) to add a custom connector. Fill in:

• Name: ShipBob
• MCP Server URL: the URL for your environment
• Authentication: OAuth (leave the default — ShipBob’s server drives the OAuth flow itself, no client ID/secret needed)

Click Create.

Step 3: Sign in and grant access

ChatGPT opens a browser tab for ShipBob sign-in. Sign in with your ShipBob account and approve the permissions on the consent screen. The connector then appears as Connected in your ChatGPT settings.

Step 4: Use ShipBob in a chat

In a chat, open the + (attach) menu, pick ShipBob under connectors, and start asking about your data.

Gemini connects to remote MCP servers through Gemini Spark, Google’s custom-app builder at gemini.google.com/spark. The flow mirrors claude.ai and ChatGPT — add a custom app pointing at the ShipBob URL, sign in through the browser tab Gemini opens, and grant access.

Prerequisites

• A Google account with access to Gemini Spark.

Step 1: Open Connected Apps

Sign in to gemini.google.com/spark. In the sidebar, under Customize, click Connected Apps.

Step 2: Open the custom-app input

Scroll to the Custom apps for Spark section:

• First time (no custom apps yet): a URL input labeled Add a custom app link to get started is visible.
• You already have custom apps: click Add a custom app at the bottom of the list to reveal the same URL input.

Step 3: Enter the MCP Server URL

Paste the URL for your environment into the input field and click Next.

Step 4: Provide the Client ID

Gemini reads the server’s OAuth metadata and prompts for a Client ID. Paste the ShipBob-issued OAuth client ID for Gemini Spark that matches the environment you chose in Step 3:

Then continue.

Step 5: Sign in and grant access

Gemini opens a browser tab for ShipBob sign-in. Sign in with your ShipBob account and approve the permissions on the consent screen. The app then appears as Connected in Spark.

Step 6: Ask questions using ShipBob tools in Tasks

In the Gemini Spark sidebar, click Tasks. Create a task that references a ShipBob MCP tool by name — Spark routes the call through the connected ShipBob app and returns the result inline. For example:

Use the Get Channels tool to list my channels.

You can reference any tool exposed by the ShipBob MCP server this way, and chain multiple tools in a single task. If Spark can’t find the tool, see Troubleshooting.

The Gemini CLI

Step 1: Add the ShipBob server

$
gemini mcp add -s user --transport http ShipBob <MCP_SERVER_URL>

Replace <MCP_SERVER_URL> with the URL for your environment.

• --transport http matches the Streamable HTTP transport the ShipBob server uses.
• -s user registers the server for your user across every Gemini CLI project. Drop the flag (or use -s project) to scope it to the current directory only.

Step 2: Start the CLI

$
gemini

Step 3: Authenticate with ShipBob

Inside the Gemini CLI, run:

/mcp auth ShipBob

The CLI opens a browser tab for ShipBob sign-in — sign in with your ShipBob account and approve the permissions on the consent screen.

Step 4: Verify the connection

Ask:

What ShipBob tools are available?

You should see the list of ShipBob MCP tools. If nothing appears, see Troubleshooting.

Remove the server:

$
gemini mcp remove ShipBob

Run gemini mcp list at any time to see which servers are registered.

Step 1: Open Connectors settings

Open Claude Desktop. From the sidebar, go to Customize → Connectors.

Step 2: Add a custom connector

Click the + icon → Add custom connector. Enter the name ShipBob and paste the server URL for your environment. Click Add.

Step 3: Sign in and grant access

Claude opens a browser window for ShipBob sign-in. Sign in with your ShipBob account and approve the permissions on the consent screen.

Step 4: Verify the connector is connected

Back in Claude Desktop, the connector shows as Connected.

If you don’t see the option to add a custom connector

Register the ShipBob MCP Server by editing Claude Desktop’s config file directly. This uses the mcp-remote helper to bridge Claude Desktop to the hosted server while still keeping the browser-based OAuth sign-in.

Prerequisite — Node.js

The mcp-remote helper runs on Node.js. If you don’t already have it, download and install Node.js (LTS). After installing, open a terminal and run node --version to confirm — you should see a version like v24.15.0.

Steps

1. Open the config file:

   • Windows: File → Settings → Developer → Edit Config
   • Mac: Claude (menu bar) → Settings → Developer → Edit Config

   A file called claude_desktop_config.json opens in your text editor (Notepad on Windows, the default editor on Mac).

2. Add the ShipBob server:

   Empty config file

   File already has other servers

   If the file is empty or contains only {}, replace its contents with:

   1
   {
   2
     "mcpServers": {
   3
       "shipbob-mcp": {
   4
         "command": "npx",
   5
         "args": [
   6
           "-y",
   7
           "mcp-remote",
   8
           "https://api.shipbob.com/developer-api/mcp"
   9
         ]
   10
       }
   11
     }
   12
   }

   For sandbox, swap the URL for https://sandbox-api.shipbob.com/developer-api/mcp.

3. Save the file and fully quit Claude Desktop (don’t just close the window). Reopen it.

4. On first use of a ShipBob tool, Claude Desktop opens a browser for the ShipBob sign-in / consent screen — same flow as the GUI path.

Claude Code registers MCP servers from the terminal — no config-file editing needed.

Add the ShipBob server (production):

$
claude mcp add --transport http shipbob-mcp --scope user https://api.shipbob.com/developer-api/mcp

Add the sandbox server:

$
claude mcp add --transport http shipbob-sandbox --scope user https://sandbox-api.shipbob.com/developer-api/mcp

• --transport http matches the Streamable HTTP transport the ShipBob server uses.
• --scope user registers the server for your user across every Claude Code project. Use --scope project (or omit the flag) if you only want it inside the current project.

The first tool call against the server opens a browser for ShipBob sign-in and the consent screen — the same OAuth flow every other client uses.

Remove the server:

$
claude mcp remove "shipbob-mcp"

Run claude mcp list at any time to see which servers are registered.

Prerequisites

• Latest Visual Studio Code
• Access to GitHub Copilot

One-click install:

Click the link below to add the ShipBob MCP server to VS Code automatically:

• Production: Install ShipBob MCP Server in VS Code
• Sandbox: Install ShipBob Sandbox MCP Server in VS Code

VS Code opens a prompt to confirm the server installation. After confirming, it opens a browser for sign-in.

Manual setup:

1. Choose where the MCP config lives:

   • Workspace (.vscode/mcp.json): use this for project-specific access. Teammates who check out the repo also get the server.
   • User profile (run MCP: Open User Configuration from the Command Palette with Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P): use this to make the server available across all your projects.

2. Add the ShipBob server:

   1
   {
   2
     "servers": {
   3
       "shipbob": {
   4
         "type": "http",
   5
         "url": "https://api.shipbob.com/developer-api/mcp"
   6
       }
   7
     }
   8
   }

   Swap the URL for https://sandbox-api.shipbob.com/developer-api/mcp to point at sandbox.

3. Run MCP: List Servers and start shipbob. VS Code opens a browser for sign-in.

4. Sign in with your ShipBob account and grant access.

Any app that supports remote MCP servers works the same way:

1. Add a new remote / custom MCP server in the app
2. Paste the ShipBob URL for your environment
3. Sign in to ShipBob in the browser window your app opens

No API tokens, headers, or extra tools are needed.

• 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

• 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

• 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

• Get Channels

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

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

Solutions:

1. Re-run the OAuth flow — remove and re-add the ShipBob connector in your AI client to trigger a fresh sign-in.
2. Confirm you signed in with the account that matches the environment (sandbox account for the sandbox URL, production account for the production URL).
3. For 403 on cancel or modify operations: the record likely belongs to a different channel. Writes only work against the channel created at consent — see What the Consent Screen Asks For.
4. For 403 on other tools: your ShipBob account role may not have access to that operation. Contact your ShipBob account admin.

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?”

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

Problem: Requests are being throttled

Solutions:

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

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

Any MCP-compatible client with remote server + OAuth support. Tested clients include claude.ai, ChatGPT (custom connectors, on Plus/Pro/Business/Enterprise/Edu plans with Developer Mode), Claude Desktop (via custom connector), Claude Code CLI, and VS Code with GitHub Copilot. Any other modern MCP client that supports remote servers over Streamable HTTP will also work.

The MCP Server is free to use for ShipBob customers.

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

Add a separate connector for each environment in your AI client, using the URL and account that match:

• Sandbox: https://sandbox-api.shipbob.com/developer-api/mcp — sign in with your sandbox account
• Production: https://api.shipbob.com/developer-api/mcp — sign in with your production account

Yes. All communication is encrypted via HTTPS. Authentication uses OAuth 2.0 with PKCE, no long-lived API tokens are exchanged, and no data is stored or shared by the MCP server.

No. The primary setup uses OAuth in your browser — sign in with your ShipBob account, grant access on the consent screen, and you’re done. If your AI client can’t open a browser (headless automation, for example), see the ShipBob Authentication Guide for the API-token alternative.

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