Butlr MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that connects AI assistants to Butlr's occupancy sensing platform. Query real-time space utilization, search facility assets, and analyze occupancy patterns through natural language.

What you can do

Find available spaces — "Are there any free conference rooms right now with capacity for 8?"
Monitor occupancy — "How busy is the cafe? Should I head there now?"
Analyze trends — "Show me occupancy patterns for Floor 3 over the past week"
Search your portfolio — "Find all rooms named 'huddle' across Building 2"
Check sensor health — "Which sensors are offline or need battery replacement?"
Track foot traffic — "How many people entered the main lobby today?"

Prerequisites

Node.js 18 or higher
An MCP-compatible client (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, VS Code, Cursor, etc.)
Butlr API token — see Getting API Credentials

Quick Start

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "butlr": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@butlr/butlr-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "BUTLR_CLIENT_ID": "your_client_id",
        "BUTLR_CLIENT_SECRET": "your_client_secret"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

claude mcp add butlr \
  -e BUTLR_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id \
  -e BUTLR_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret \
  -- npx -y @butlr/butlr-mcp-server@latest

VS Code (Copilot)

Add to .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "butlr": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@butlr/butlr-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "BUTLR_CLIENT_ID": "your_client_id",
        "BUTLR_CLIENT_SECRET": "your_client_secret"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Add to .cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "butlr": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@butlr/butlr-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "BUTLR_CLIENT_ID": "your_client_id",
        "BUTLR_CLIENT_SECRET": "your_client_secret"
      }
    }
  }
}

Other MCP clients

For any MCP client that supports stdio transport, use this command:

npx -y @butlr/butlr-mcp-server@latest

Pass the required environment variables (BUTLR_CLIENT_ID, BUTLR_CLIENT_SECRET) through your client's configuration.

Available Tools

Tool	Description	Try asking...
`butlr_search_assets`	Search for assets (sites, buildings, floors, rooms, sensors) by name with fuzzy matching	"Find the main lobby"
`butlr_get_asset_details`	Get comprehensive details for specific assets by ID with batch support	"Show me details for Conference Room 401"
`butlr_hardware_snapshot`	Device health check: online/offline status and battery levels across your portfolio	"Which sensors need battery replacement?"
`butlr_available_rooms`	Find currently unoccupied rooms, filterable by capacity and tags	"Are there any free conference rooms right now?"
`butlr_space_busyness`	Current occupancy with qualitative labels (quiet/moderate/busy) and trend comparison	"How busy is the cafe right now?"
`butlr_traffic_flow`	Entry/exit counts with hourly breakdown for traffic-mode sensors	"How many people entered the lobby today?"
`butlr_list_topology`	Display org hierarchy tree with flexible depth control	"Show me all floors in Building 2"
`butlr_fetch_entity_details`	Retrieve specific fields for entities by ID (minimal token usage)	"What's the timezone for this site?"
`butlr_get_occupancy_timeseries`	Historical occupancy data with configurable time ranges	"Show occupancy trends for Floor 3 this week"
`butlr_get_current_occupancy`	Real-time occupancy snapshot (last 5 minutes median)	"How many people are on Floor 2 right now?"

All tools are read-only — the server cannot modify any data in your Butlr account.

Configuration

Variable	Required	Default	Description
`BUTLR_CLIENT_ID`	Yes	-	API token client ID
`BUTLR_CLIENT_SECRET`	Yes	-	API token client secret
`BUTLR_BASE_URL`	No	`https://api.butlr.io`	API base URL
`BUTLR_TIMEZONE`	No	`UTC`	Default timezone
`MCP_CACHE_TOPO_TTL`	No	`600`	Topology cache TTL (seconds)
`DEBUG`	No	-	Set to `butlr-mcp` for verbose logging

Getting API Credentials

Log in to app.butlr.io
Click your username in the top-right corner, then Account Settings
Go to API Tokens and create a new token
Copy the Client ID and Client Secret

You need edit access to Butlr Studio to create API tokens. If you don't have edit permissions, ask someone in your organization who does, or contact your Butlr sales representative or submit a support ticket.

Troubleshooting

Authentication errors — Verify your BUTLR_CLIENT_ID and BUTLR_CLIENT_SECRET are correct. Tokens are refreshed automatically.

Rate limiting — The server handles rate limits automatically with retry logic. If you see persistent rate limit errors, reduce the frequency of requests.

No data returned — Ensure your organization has active sensors deployed. Use butlr_search_assets to verify your org has discoverable assets.

Debug logging — Set DEBUG=butlr-mcp in your environment to see detailed request/response logs on stderr.

Development

See CONTRIBUTING.md for full development workflow and standards.

npm install          # Install dependencies
npm run build        # Build TypeScript
npm test             # Run tests (442 tests)
npm run typecheck    # Type checking
npm run lint         # ESLint
npm run dev          # Dev with hot-reload
npm run dev:debug    # Dev with debug logging

Security

All tools enforce read-only API access
Never commit credentials to version control
See SECURITY.md for vulnerability disclosure

License

MIT - see LICENSE