TREK/MCP.md

MCP Integration

TREK includes a built-in Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that lets AI assistants — such as Claude Desktop, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client — read and modify your trip data through a structured API.

Note: MCP is an addon that must be enabled by your TREK administrator before it becomes available.

Table of Contents

• Setup
• Limitations & Important Notes
• Resources (read-only)
• Tools (read-write)
• Screenshots

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Setup

1. Enable the MCP addon (admin)

An administrator must first enable the MCP addon from the Admin Panel > Addons page. Until enabled, the /mcp endpoint returns 403 Forbidden and the MCP section does not appear in user settings.

2. Create an API token

Once MCP is enabled, go to Settings > MCP Configuration and create an API token:

1. Click Create New Token
2. Give it a descriptive name (e.g. "Claude Desktop", "Work laptop")
3. Copy the token immediately — it is shown only once and cannot be recovered

Each user can create up to 10 tokens.

3. Configure your MCP client

The Settings page shows a ready-to-copy client configuration snippet. For Claude Desktop, add the following to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "trek": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://your-trek-instance.com/mcp",
        "--header",
        "Authorization: Bearer trek_your_token_here"
      ]
    }
  }
}

The path to npx may need to be adjusted for your system (e.g. C:\PROGRA~1\nodejs\npx.cmd on Windows).

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Limitations & Important Notes

Limitation	Details
Admin activation required	The MCP addon must be enabled by an admin before any user can access it.
Per-user scoping	Each MCP session is scoped to the authenticated user. You can only access trips you own or are a member of.
No image uploads	Cover images cannot be set through MCP. Use the web UI to upload trip covers.
Reservations are created as pending	When the AI creates a reservation, it starts with pending status. You must confirm it manually or ask the AI to set the status to confirmed.
Demo mode restrictions	If TREK is running in demo mode, all write operations through MCP are blocked.
Rate limiting	60 requests per minute per user. Exceeding this returns a 429 error.
Session limits	Maximum 5 concurrent MCP sessions per user. Sessions expire after 1 hour of inactivity.
Token limits	Maximum 10 API tokens per user.
Token revocation	Deleting a token immediately terminates all active MCP sessions for that user.
Real-time sync	Changes made through MCP are broadcast to all connected clients in real-time via WebSocket, just like changes made through the web UI.

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Resources (read-only)

Resources provide read-only access to your TREK data. MCP clients can read these to understand the current state before making changes.

Resource	URI	Description
Trips	trek://trips	All trips you own or are a member of
Trip Detail	trek://trips/{tripId}	Single trip with metadata and member count
Days	trek://trips/{tripId}/days	Days of a trip with their assigned places
Places	trek://trips/{tripId}/places	All places/POIs saved in a trip
Budget	trek://trips/{tripId}/budget	Budget and expense items
Packing	trek://trips/{tripId}/packing	Packing checklist
Reservations	trek://trips/{tripId}/reservations	Flights, hotels, restaurants, etc.
Day Notes	trek://trips/{tripId}/days/{dayId}/notes	Notes for a specific day
Accommodations	trek://trips/{tripId}/accommodations	Hotels/rentals with check-in/out details
Members	trek://trips/{tripId}/members	Owner and collaborators
Collab Notes	trek://trips/{tripId}/collab-notes	Shared collaborative notes
Categories	trek://categories	Available place categories (for use when creating places)
Bucket List	trek://bucket-list	Your personal travel bucket list
Visited Countries	trek://visited-countries	Countries marked as visited in Atlas

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Tools (read-write)

TREK exposes 34 tools organized by feature area. Use get_trip_summary as a starting point — it returns everything about a trip in a single call.

Trip Summary

Tool	Description
get_trip_summary	Full denormalized snapshot of a trip: metadata, members, days with assignments and notes, accommodations, budget totals, packing stats, reservations, and collab notes. Use this as your context loader.

Trips

Tool	Description
list_trips	List all trips you own or are a member of. Supports include_archived flag.
create_trip	Create a new trip with title, dates, currency. Days are auto-generated from the date range.
update_trip	Update a trip's title, description, dates, or currency.
delete_trip	Delete a trip. Owner only.

Places

Tool	Description
create_place	Add a place/POI with name, coordinates, address, category, notes, website, phone.
update_place	Update any field of an existing place.
delete_place	Remove a place from a trip.

Day Planning

Tool	Description
assign_place_to_day	Pin a place to a specific day in the itinerary.
unassign_place	Remove a place assignment from a day.
reorder_day_assignments	Reorder places within a day by providing assignment IDs in the desired order.
update_assignment_time	Set start/end times for a place assignment (e.g. "09:00" – "11:30").
update_day	Set or clear a day's title (e.g. "Arrival in Paris", "Free day").

Reservations

Tool	Description
create_reservation	Create a pending reservation. Supports flights, hotels, restaurants, trains, cars, cruises, events, tours, activities, and other types. Hotels can be linked to places and check-in/out days.
update_reservation	Update any field including status (pending / confirmed / cancelled).
delete_reservation	Delete a reservation and its linked accommodation record if applicable.
link_hotel_accommodation	Set or update a hotel reservation's check-in/out day links and associated place.

Budget

Tool	Description
create_budget_item	Add an expense with name, category, and price.
update_budget_item	Update an expense's details, split (persons/days), or notes.
delete_budget_item	Remove a budget item.

Packing

Tool	Description
create_packing_item	Add an item to the packing checklist with optional category.
update_packing_item	Rename an item or change its category.
toggle_packing_item	Check or uncheck a packing item.
delete_packing_item	Remove a packing item.

Day Notes

Tool	Description
create_day_note	Add a note to a specific day with optional time label and emoji icon.
update_day_note	Edit a day note's text, time, or icon.
delete_day_note	Remove a note from a day.

Collab Notes

Tool	Description
create_collab_note	Create a shared note visible to all trip members. Supports title, content, category, and color.
update_collab_note	Edit a collab note's content, category, color, or pin status.
delete_collab_note	Delete a collab note and its associated files.

Bucket List

Tool	Description
create_bucket_list_item	Add a destination to your personal bucket list with optional coordinates and country code.
delete_bucket_list_item	Remove an item from your bucket list.

Atlas

Tool	Description
mark_country_visited	Mark a country as visited using its ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code (e.g. "FR", "JP").
unmark_country_visited	Remove a country from your visited list.

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Example

Conversation with Claude: https://claude.ai/share/51572203-6a4d-40f8-a6bd-eba09d4b009d

Initial prompt (1st message):

I'd like to plan a week-long trip to Kyoto, Japan, arriving April 5 2027
and leaving April 11 2027. It's cherry blossom season so please keep that
in mind when picking spots.

Before writing anything to TREK, do some research: look up what's worth
visiting, figure out a logical day-by-day flow (group nearby spots together
to avoid unnecessary travel), find a well-reviewed hotel in a central
neighbourhood, and think about what kind of food and restaurant experiences
are worth including.

Once you have a solid plan, write the whole thing to TREK:
- Create the trip
- Add all the places you've researched with their real coordinates
- Build out the daily itinerary with sensible visiting times
- Book the hotel as a reservation and link it properly to the accommodation days
- Add any notable restaurant reservations
- Put together a realistic budget in EUR
- Build a packing list suited to April in Kyoto
- Leave a pinned collab note with practical tips (transport, etiquette, money, etc.)
- Add a day note for each day with any important heads-up (early start, crowd
  tips, booking requirements, etc.)
- Mark Japan as visited in my Atlas

Currency: CHF. Use get_trip_summary at the end and give me a quick recap
of everything that was added.

Database file: https://share.jubnl.ch/s/S7bBpj42mB

Email: admin@admin.com
Password: admin123

PDF of the generated trip: ./docs/TREK-Generated-by-MCP.pdf