Actual Budget, carefully: deletes preview first, and new transactions check for duplicates.
To add Actual Budget to Claude, run the install command below or copy the ready-made config for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and VS Code further down. Restart your client after adding it and its tools show up in your next conversation. It needs 9 environment variables, listed below.
Install
npx -y actual-budget-mcp@0.11.0Environment variables
ACTUAL_SERVER_URLSet in your MCP configACTUAL_PASSWORDSet in your MCP configACTUAL_SESSION_TOKENSet in your MCP configACTUAL_BUDGET_IDSet in your MCP configACTUAL_ENCRYPTION_PASSWORDSet in your MCP configACTUAL_READ_ONLYSet in your MCP configACTUAL_TOOLSETSet in your MCP configACTUAL_DATA_DIRSet in your MCP configACTUAL_HTTP_TIMEOUT_MSSet in your MCP configInstall with your client
claude mcp add actual-budget --env ACTUAL_SERVER_URL=<YOUR_ACTUAL_SERVER_URL> --env ACTUAL_PASSWORD=<YOUR_ACTUAL_PASSWORD> --env ACTUAL_SESSION_TOKEN=<YOUR_ACTUAL_SESSION_TOKEN> --env ACTUAL_BUDGET_ID=<YOUR_ACTUAL_BUDGET_ID> --env ACTUAL_ENCRYPTION_PASSWORD=<YOUR_ACTUAL_ENCRYPTION_PASSWORD> --env ACTUAL_READ_ONLY=<YOUR_ACTUAL_READ_ONLY> --env ACTUAL_TOOLSET=<YOUR_ACTUAL_TOOLSET> --env ACTUAL_DATA_DIR=<YOUR_ACTUAL_DATA_DIR> --env ACTUAL_HTTP_TIMEOUT_MS=<YOUR_ACTUAL_HTTP_TIMEOUT_MS> -- npx -y actual-budget-mcp@0.11.0
Run this in a terminal to add the server to Claude Code.
What this does
Actual Budget exposes a set of tools to Claude over the Model Context Protocol. After you add it to claude_desktop_config.json (snippet above) and restart Claude Desktop, those tools become callable inside any conversation.
Requirements
This server needs the following environment variables to be set before it can run:
ACTUAL_SERVER_URL ACTUAL_PASSWORD ACTUAL_SESSION_TOKEN ACTUAL_BUDGET_ID ACTUAL_ENCRYPTION_PASSWORD ACTUAL_READ_ONLY ACTUAL_TOOLSET ACTUAL_DATA_DIR ACTUAL_HTTP_TIMEOUT_MS
Set these via the env object in your MCP config (see claude_desktop_config.json snippet above).
Frequently asked questions
How do I install Actual Budget?
Run the Claude Code command in the install section to add Actual Budget to Claude Code, or copy the ready-made config for your client from the install section on this page. Restart your client afterwards and the tools appear in your next conversation.
Which clients work with Actual Budget?
This page carries setup and config for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and VS Code. Any other MCP client that accepts a standard server config can connect to Actual Budget as well.
Does Actual Budget need an API key?
Yes. Before it can run, set these environment variables: ACTUAL_SERVER_URL, ACTUAL_PASSWORD, ACTUAL_SESSION_TOKEN, ACTUAL_BUDGET_ID, ACTUAL_ENCRYPTION_PASSWORD, ACTUAL_READ_ONLY, ACTUAL_TOOLSET, ACTUAL_DATA_DIR, ACTUAL_HTTP_TIMEOUT_MS. They go in the env block of your MCP config.
Imported from the Official MCP Registry. The details above come from the registry entry; the maker can claim this listing to correct them, add docs, and see its traffic.
Is this your MCP server?
Claim this listing to see its traffic, fix details yourself, and skip the review queue on future updates.
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