Claude Desktop Integration Guide

Overview

Claude Desktop supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP), which lets Claude access external tools and data sources directly. By connecting Orbit, Claude can read your job pipeline, add new jobs, log activities, and surface intelligent suggestions, all within the conversation.

Prerequisites

• Orbit Ultra plan (MCP API access is Ultra+ only)
• Claude Desktop installed on macOS or Windows
• An Orbit API key (generate one in Settings > Account > API Keys)

Step 1: Generate an API Key

1. Open Orbit and go to Settings > Account
2. Scroll to API Keys
3. Click Create API Key
4. Name it "Claude Desktop" and select Read & Write permissions
5. Copy the token (starts with ext_). You will not see it again.

Step 2: Configure Claude Desktop

Open Claude Desktop's MCP configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Add the Orbit MCP server to the mcpServers section:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "orbit": {
      "url": "https://www.orbitjobs.ai/mcp.json",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ext_your_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace ext_your_token_here with your actual API key.

Step 3: Restart Claude Desktop

Close and reopen Claude Desktop. You should see Orbit appear in the MCP tools panel (the hammer icon in the bottom left).

Step 4: Try It Out

Here are some things you can ask Claude:

• "Show me my job pipeline" — Claude will call GET /api/mcp/pipeline and display your jobs by status
• "Add this job to my pipeline: Senior Engineer at Stripe" — Claude will create a new job entry
• "What should I follow up on?" — Claude will check GET /api/mcp/suggestions for action items
• "Update the Stripe job to interviewing" — Claude will advance the job status
• "Who are my contacts at Linear?" — Claude will search your contacts by company

Available Tools

Once connected, Claude has access to 22 Orbit tools:

Category	Tools
Jobs	List, get, create, update status, update details, delete
Contacts	List, get, create, update, delete
Activities	List, create
Calendar	List upcoming, create event
Pipeline	Get summary with insights
Suggestions	Get agent recommendations
Webhooks	List, create, delete, test
Identity	Get current user info

Troubleshooting

Claude doesn't show Orbit in the tools panel:

• Make sure the config file is valid JSON (no trailing commas)
• Verify the URL is exactly https://www.orbitjobs.ai/mcp.json
• Restart Claude Desktop completely (quit and reopen)

Getting 403 errors:

• Confirm your Orbit plan is Ultra
• Check that the API key is correct and not revoked

Getting 429 errors:

• You have hit the rate limit (60 requests/minute or 50,000/month)
• Wait a moment and try again

Tips

• Use read-only tokens if you only want Claude to view your pipeline (safer for shared computers)
• Claude Desktop maintains the MCP connection across conversations, so you do not need to re-authenticate
• Ask Claude to build a morning briefing by combining pipeline status, upcoming interviews, and follow-up suggestions in one query

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "orbit": {
      "url": "https://www.orbitjobs.ai/mcp.json",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}