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Setting Up Help Scout in Claude Cowork

This guide walks you through installing the Help Scout plugin in Claude Cowork and connecting it to your Help Scout account.

Step 1: Install the Plugin

  1. Open the Claude desktop app and switch to Cowork
  2. Click Customize in the left sidebar
  3. Click Browse plugins and go to the Personal tab
  4. Click the + button and choose Add marketplace from GitHub
  5. Enter: drewburchfield/help-scout-mcp-server
  6. Find helpscout-navigator in the list and click Install
  7. When prompted about local MCP servers, click Continue

Step 2: Get Your Help Scout Credentials

You'll need two values from Help Scout: an App ID and an App Secret.

  1. Log in to Help Scout
  2. Go to My Apps (click your profile icon in the lower left, then My Apps)
  3. Click Create Private App
  4. Give it a name (e.g., "Claude AI")
  5. Under scopes, check Read access for Mailboxes and Conversations
  6. Click Create and copy the App ID and App Secret

Keep these values handy for the next step.

Step 3: Add Your Credentials

The plugin needs your App ID and App Secret to connect to Help Scout. There are two ways to do this:

Option A: Edit the Config File (Simplest)

  1. In Cowork, go to Customize > Connectors
  2. Click on the helpscout connector
  3. Click Edit > Show in folder
  4. Open the .mcp.json file in any text editor (TextEdit, Notepad, etc.)
  5. Replace the placeholder values with your actual credentials:

Before:

{
  "helpscout": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y", "help-scout-mcp-server"],
    "env": {
      "HELPSCOUT_APP_ID": "${HELPSCOUT_APP_ID}",
      "HELPSCOUT_APP_SECRET": "${HELPSCOUT_APP_SECRET}",
      "REDACT_MESSAGE_CONTENT": "${REDACT_MESSAGE_CONTENT:-false}"
    }
  }
}

After:

{
  "helpscout": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y", "help-scout-mcp-server"],
    "env": {
      "HELPSCOUT_APP_ID": "your-actual-app-id",
      "HELPSCOUT_APP_SECRET": "your-actual-app-secret",
      "REDACT_MESSAGE_CONTENT": "false"
    }
  }
}
  1. Save the file and restart Claude

Option B: Set Environment Variables

If you prefer not to put credentials in a file, you can set them as environment variables on your computer. This keeps them out of any config files.

Mac:

Open Terminal and run:

echo 'export HELPSCOUT_APP_ID="your-actual-app-id"' >> ~/.zshrc
echo 'export HELPSCOUT_APP_SECRET="your-actual-app-secret"' >> ~/.zshrc

Then restart Claude.

Windows:

  1. Search for "Environment Variables" in the Start menu
  2. Click Edit the system environment variables
  3. Click Environment Variables
  4. Under User variables, click New and add:
    • Variable: HELPSCOUT_APP_ID, Value: your App ID
    • Variable: HELPSCOUT_APP_SECRET, Value: your App Secret
  5. Click OK and restart Claude

Step 4: Verify It Works

Start a new Cowork session and try asking Claude:

"Show me my Help Scout inboxes"

If everything is connected, Claude will list your inboxes. If you see an authentication error, double-check your App ID and App Secret.

Troubleshooting

"Authentication failed" error: Your credentials may be incorrect. Go back to Help Scout > My Apps and verify the App ID and App Secret match exactly.

Plugin installed but no Help Scout tools available: Restart Claude after adding your credentials. The MCP server only starts on launch.

"Command not found: npx" error: You need Node.js installed. Download it from nodejs.org (choose the LTS version) and restart Claude.