What is the Canny MCP Server?

The Canny MCP Server lets AI tools securely interact with your Canny data using the Model Context Protocol (MCP). MCP provides a way for apps and AI models to communicate through a safe, permission-based interface. In simple terms: it's a way to give an AI controlled access to Canny data.

The MCP Server works with ChatGPT, Claude, Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Microsoft Copilot, Devin, ClickUp, Canva, Missive, and Runlayer. It's also available on the OpenAI marketplace as a one-click connector for ChatGPT users.

ℹ️ Before you connect

Your workspace needs both of these:

A current plan (Free, Pro, or Business). Legacy plans will see "Current plan does not support MCP connectors" when connecting. On a legacy plan? Reach out via live chat to get access.
The updated Canny experience with Canny Ideas. If you see Ideas in the left nav of your admin view, you're on the updated experience. Don't see it? Reach out via live chat.

An Owner has to connect first. The first connector in a workspace has to be set up by someone with the Owner role. After that, any teammate can authorize their own connector, including Managers and Contributors. If you're a Manager and can't connect, it's likely that no Owner has set one up yet.

Everyone can use it, within their role. Managers and Contributors can both connect. The tools available to each person follow their Canny role permissions, so a Contributor can read data, create Ideas, and edit Ideas within the fields their role allows.

With the MCP Server, you can:

Pull structured data about your Feedback (Groups, MRR, Insights, opportunity values, and more) into your AI workflows 📊
Automate common tasks like summarizing, querying, deduplicating, and analyzing Feedback 🤖
Build custom AI-powered tools that operate on your Canny data without sharing your API key directly 🛠️

Supported clients

The MCP Server supports dynamic client registration, so most tools only need the server URL: https://api.canny.io/api/mcp/v1. Your tool registers itself, then opens an OAuth window where you authorize Canny.

Clients with setup guides below:

ChatGPT, using the one-click connector in the OpenAI marketplace
Claude and Claude Code
Codex
Cursor
Microsoft Copilot
GitHub Copilot
Devin

ClickUp, Canva, Missive, and Runlayer are also supported. Add Canny as an MCP connector using the app's own instructions.

Don't see your tool? Any client that supports remote MCP servers over OAuth can connect. See Connecting any other client below. If you'd like us to support a specific tool, let us know here.

Available tools

The MCP Server ships with over 60 tools, and we add more regularly. Access to each tool is governed by the connecting user's Canny role.

Tools available to all roles, including Contributors:

add_user_to_company
create_company
create_idea
create_insight
create_portal_comment
create_user
link_opportunity
list_admins
list_board_categories
list_board_tags
list_boards
list_changelog_entries
list_changelog_labels
list_comments
list_companies
list_groups
list_idea_fields
list_idea_filtering_operations
list_idea_opportunities
list_idea_statuses
list_idea_themes
list_ideas
list_insights
list_portal_comments
list_portal_statuses
list_portal_voters
list_segment_fields
list_segment_operations
list_segments
list_users
list_views
move_idea
retrieve_company
retrieve_group
retrieve_idea
retrieve_user
retrieve_users
send_to_autopilot
unlink_opportunity
update_company
update_idea
update_portal_category
update_portal_comment

Tools available to Managers and Owners only:

create_changelog_entry
create_group
create_segment
create_view
delete_changelog_entry
delete_group
delete_idea
delete_insight
delete_portal_comment
delete_view
merge_ideas
move_insight
remove_user_from_company
update_changelog_entry
update_changelog_entry_status
update_group
update_insight
update_portal_status
update_view

Segmentation is supported across tools: list_ideas, list_companies, and update_view accept a segment, so your AI assistant can scope Ideas, companies, and Views to a specific customer segment. Use create_segment to create new Segments, alongside the existing list_segments, list_segment_fields, and list_segment_operations tools.

For teams on a Business plan using custom roles, each tool that writes data maps to a specific permission (read-only list_ and retrieve_ tools require none). Grant the matching permission on a custom role to expose the tool:

Create ideas — create_idea, send_to_autopilot
Create insights — create_insight
Create public comments — create_portal_comment, update_portal_comment
Move ideas — move_idea
View user details — create_company, update_company, add_user_to_company
Manage insights — update_insight, delete_insight, move_insight
Manage groups — create_group, update_group, delete_group
Manage views — create_view, update_view, delete_view
Manage user segmentation — create_segment
Manage changelog — create_changelog_entry, update_changelog_entry, update_changelog_entry_status, delete_changelog_entry
Merge/unmerge ideas — merge_ideas
Delete ideas — delete_idea
Delete comments — delete_portal_comment
Delete users — remove_user_from_company
Change portal feedback status — update_portal_status

create_user, update_idea, update_portal_category, link_opportunity, and unlink_opportunity don't require a dedicated permission. See Admin roles for details.

update_idea additionally enforces per-field permissions: each field you ask the AI to change must be one the connecting user is already allowed to change in the Canny UI.

Common use cases

Triage and deduplication — ask the AI to find similar Ideas, suggest merges, or summarize a backlog.
Customer impact analysis — ask the AI to surface Ideas with the highest opportunity value, MRR, or Insight count from a specific segment.
Roadmap reasoning — feed the AI your Views and statuses and ask for prioritization suggestions based on your scoring formula.
Custom workflow automation — wire the MCP Server into your own AI agents to update statuses, create Ideas, or generate reports.

How to set up the MCP Server with ChatGPT

Connect Canny to ChatGPT via the OpenAI marketplace. The marketplace version includes every available tool.

Open the Canny app in the OpenAI marketplace.
Click Connect and authorize Canny.

How to set up the MCP Server with Claude

ℹ️

To set up MCP with Claude, you must be on a paid Claude plan.
On Team and Enterprise plans, only an Owner or Primary Owner can add a custom connector (Organization settings → Connectors); other members can then enable it. On individual plans, you can add it yourself.
Install is also supported in Claude Code.

Open https://claude.ai/new#settings/customize-connectors
Scroll to the Connectors section and click Add custom connector at the bottom of the list.
Complete with the following values:
1. Name: Canny
2. MCP Server URL: https://api.canny.io/api/mcp/v1
3. Authentication: OAuth
Click Connect, then authorize Canny when the OAuth window opens.

How to set up the MCP Server with Cursor

Open https://cursor.com/
Go to Settings → Cursor Settings → MCP.
Click Add new MCP server. This opens a text file, mcp.json.

Add the following entry to mcpServers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canny": {
      "url": "https://api.canny.io/api/mcp/v1"
    }
  }
}

Save the file, then authorize Canny when the OAuth window opens.

How to set up the MCP Server with Microsoft Copilot

Add Canny as a tool on a Copilot Studio agent.

Go to the Tools page for your agent.
Select Add a tool, then New tool, then Model Context Protocol.
Complete the server details:
1. Server name: Canny
2. Server description: Read and update Canny Ideas, Feedback, and Insights.
3. Server URL: https://api.canny.io/api/mcp/v1
Set the authentication type to OAuth 2.0, then set Type to Dynamic discovery. Canny supports dynamic client registration, so no client ID or secret is needed.
Select Create, then Next.
On Add tool, select Create a new connection, authorize Canny, then select Add to agent.

How to set up the MCP Server with GitHub Copilot

In VS Code, the Copilot CLI, JetBrains, Eclipse, and Xcode, add Canny as a remote MCP Server using the server URL, https://api.canny.io/api/mcp/v1. No client ID or secret is needed. Authorize Canny when the OAuth window opens.

⚠️ The Copilot coding agent and Copilot code review don't support remote MCP servers that use OAuth, so Canny can't be connected there.

How to set up the MCP Server with Devin

Add Canny to your Devin MCP configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canny": {
      "url": "https://api.canny.io/api/mcp/v1",
      "transport": "http"
    }
  }
}

Alternatively, add it from the command line:

devin mcp add canny https://api.canny.io/api/mcp/v1

Run devin mcp login canny and authorize Canny.

Connecting any other client

Any client that supports remote MCP servers over OAuth can connect to Canny. Point it at:

MCP Server URL: https://api.canny.io/api/mcp/v1
Authentication: OAuth
Authorization URL: https://api.canny.io/api/mcp/oauth/authorize
Token URL: https://api.canny.io/api/mcp/oauth/token

Canny supports dynamic client registration and client ID metadata documents, so clients that support either register themselves and need nothing beyond the server URL. If your tool supports neither and requires a client ID and secret, contact us.

Things to note

If you don't see your AI tool listed and want it supported, let us know here.
Tools and permissions are evolving. We may extend Contributor access or lock down certain functionality based on Ideas-specific permission rules.
We add new tools regularly, and ship them to every client, including the OpenAI marketplace version.

Canny MCP Server