> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://support.affinity.co/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # MCP FAQ **Common customer questions about Affinity MCP.** For step-by-step setup, see [Getting started with Affinity MCP](/s/article/Getting-started-with-Affinity-MCP). ## General **What is Affinity MCP?** It connects Affinity to your own AI tool — Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot, Notion, or Gemini — so you can read and update your CRM in natural language. It's a thin, secure layer over Affinity's external API and always runs with your own permissions. **Which plans include MCP, and is there an extra cost?** MCP is included on **Scale, Advanced, and Enterprise** at no additional cost. Token usage inside Claude, ChatGPT, or other tools is between you and that AI provider — Affinity doesn't charge for MCP access. **Do I need my admin to set it up?** You can connect it yourself once you're on a supported plan. See [Getting started with Affinity MCP](/s/article/Getting-started-with-Affinity-MCP). **Which AI tools are supported?** Any MCP-compatible client. **OAuth ("Log in with Affinity")** is supported for **Claude, ChatGPT, and Notion**. **API-key** authentication works for **Copilot, Gemini, and other clients**. **Hosted or self-hosted?** Most firms use the **hosted MCP** — no installation, works with browser-based tools, stays automatically up to date, and connects with OAuth or an API key. A **self-hosted (local)** option exists for more technical setups. Steps for both are in the [setup guide](/s/article/Getting-started-with-Affinity-MCP). ## What it can do **What can MCP read?** Companies, people, and opportunities; lists and list entries; notes; meetings and (where available) transcripts; email metadata; relationship-intelligence data; and field-value history. **What can MCP change?** Update field values (global and list-specific), add entities to lists, create notes, create reminders, log interactions, and create companies, people, and opportunities. It can also define new fields and dropdown options. **Can it create opportunities, companies, and lists?** Yes. Creating records (companies, people, opportunities) and adding list entries are supported. **Does creating a note through MCP trigger agent suggestions?** If you attach a note to a **meeting**, it can trigger the Data Update agent's Suggested Field Updates — the same as a Notetaker meeting note. A note attached only to a record (person/company/opportunity) won't. **Does it access notes and files?** Yes — search notes by keyword or topic, retrieve notes on a company or person, and pull meeting notes and Notetaker summaries. Searching **notes and files requires Deal Assist** on your plan. **Does it read email?** Email **metadata and subject lines** only — not message bodies. **Can it update custom fields?** Yes — global and list-specific fields, including custom ones. Supported types include Text, Number, Date, Location, Dropdown, Ranked Dropdown, Person, and Organization. **Can it merge records or enrich fields?** MCP retrieves the enriched data already in your CRM; it doesn't perform enrichment itself. Merging records isn't supported through MCP, though you can copy values between fields. ## Advanced use cases **Can it analyze my whole pipeline, not just one company at a time?** Yes — it can fetch data across companies and list entries to summarize your pipeline (deals by stage, activity, what's gone cold). Very complex multi-criteria filtering in a single query is still limited, so break large asks into steps. **Can it support IR and sourcing workflows?** Yes. Common examples: *"Who has the strongest relationship with \[firm]?"*, *"Find companies in \[sector] in \[region],"* and drafting outreach — all through data queries plus note and reminder creation. **Can it work alongside my other tools?** Yes. Affinity MCP only accesses Affinity data, but your AI tool can combine it with other connected MCPs (Notion, Drive, and so on) in the same conversation. ## Skills **What are the MCP skills, and how do I use them?** Pre-built workflows deployed with the Affinity MCP server. Four ship today — **Meeting Prep, Warm Intro, Data Migration, and Event Setup** — with **Market Map** coming soon. You can discover them from Ascend Settings, which can hand you off to Claude or ChatGPT with the skill ready to run. See [Affinity MCP skills](/s/article/Affinity-MCP-skills). ## Data & privacy **Is my data still protected through MCP?** Yes. MCP enforces the same privacy and permission rules as the product and the API — you can't see interactions, notes, or other data you wouldn't normally have access to. See [Affinity MCP security](/s/article/Affinity-MCP-security). ## Limitations to know * Email **bodies** aren't accessible (metadata and subject lines only). * **Writing files back** into Affinity isn't supported. * **Location / geographic filtering** isn't native yet. * **Dashboards** can't be modified through MCP — use it for ad-hoc pulls instead. * Very large lists (\~100+) can hit your AI tool's context limit — work in batches. ## MCP vs. AI Chat **When should I use AI Chat instead of MCP?** Use **AI Chat** to work inside Affinity with no setup — ask about your CRM and take confirm-before-execute actions. Use **MCP** when you're already in Claude, ChatGPT, or another tool, want to parse documents, work across a whole list, or chain Affinity with other systems. Many teams use both. See [Prompts for Affinity MCP](/s/article/Prompts-for-Affinity-MCP) and [Prompts for Affinity AI Chat](/s/article/Prompts-for-Affinity-AI-Chat). ## More resources * [Getting started with Affinity MCP](/s/article/Getting-started-with-Affinity-MCP) * [Affinity MCP reference](/s/article/Affinity-MCP-reference) * [Affinity MCP security](/s/article/Affinity-MCP-security) * [Troubleshooting Affinity MCP](/s/article/Troubleshooting-Affinity-MCP) ## Related topics - [Ascend FAQ](/s/article/ascend-faq.md) - [Using Affinity MCP with Claude for Deal Intelligence](/s/article/using-affinity-mcp-claude-deal-intelligence.md) - [On-demand Pipeline Dashboard and Reports with Claude](/s/article/on-demand-pipeline-dashboard-and-reports.md) - [List Setup, Management and Clean-up with Claude](/s/article/list-setup-management-and-clean-up.md) - [Getting Started With The Affinity API + FAQs](/s/article/Getting-started-with-the-Affinity-API-faqs.md) - [Getting started with Affinity for Salesforce + FAQs](/s/article/Getting-started-with-Affinity-for-Salesforce-FAQs.md) - [Understanding inferred connections](/s/article/Understanding-inferred-connections.md) - [Troubleshooting](/s/article/Troubleshooting.md) - [Enterprise Permissions (Enterprise Only)](/s/article/Enterprise-permissions-enterprise-only.md)