Connecting AI Assistants to OpenProject

Overview

The AMRIT OpenProject MCP Server enables AI assistants to securely access OpenProject using your own credentials.

Once connected, the AI assistant can:

  • Search projects

  • View work packages

  • Track project progress

  • Review assigned work

  • Monitor project status

  • Analyze schedules and timelines

  • Generate project summaries

  • Create and update work packages

  • Retrieve project information using natural language

Prerequisites

Before connecting your AI assistant, ensure you have:

  • Access to OpenProject

  • An OpenProject API Token

  • An MCP-compatible AI client (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, etc.)

  • Node.js (LTS version recommended) https://nodejs.org/en/download

Generate Your OpenProject API Token

  1. Log in to OpenProject.

  2. Click your profile avatar in the upper-right corner.

  3. Open My Account.

  4. Navigate to Access Tokens or API Tokens.

  5. Generate a new API token.

  6. Copy and securely store the token.

Important: Treat this token like a password. Do not share it with anyone.

MCP Endpoint

Use the following AMRIT OpenProject MCP endpoint:

https://amrittools.piramalswasthya.org/openproject/mcp

Configuration

Finding the Claude Desktop Configuration File

To configure MCP servers, you need to edit the Claude Desktop configuration file.

Windows

Open File Explorer and navigate to:

%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Or directly:

C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Roaming\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

macOS

Navigate to:

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Linux

Navigate to:

~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

OpenProject MCP Configuration

Claude Code MCP Configuration

Add the following MCP configuration to your AI client:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openproject-mcp": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://amrittools.piramalswasthya.org/openproject/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <YOUR_OPENPROJECT_API_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop MCP Configuration


If you are using Claude Desktop, use the configuration below.


Open the Claude Desktop configuration file and add the following configuration inside the existing mcpServers section:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-openproject": {
      "command": "npx.cmd",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://amrittools.piramalswasthya.org/openproject/mcp",
        "--header",
        "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_OPENPROJECT_API_TOKEN>"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Replace:

<YOUR_OPENPROJECT_API_TOKEN>

with the API token generated from OpenProject.(Bearer must be present)

Restart Your AI Client

After updating the configuration:

  1. Completely close Claude Desktop.

  2. Ensure Claude Desktop is not running in the system tray or Task Manager.

  3. Reopen Claude Desktop.

Verify the Connection

After restarting your AI client, try asking:

Show all OpenProject projects available to me.

or

List my assigned OpenProject work packages.

If project information is returned successfully, the connection has been configured correctly.

OpenProject Capabilities Available Through the MCP Server


The OpenProject MCP Server allows AI assistants to interact directly with OpenProject projects, work packages, schedules, time tracking, project memberships, dependencies, and reporting information.

Users can query project data, manage work items, monitor delivery progress, and generate project insights using natural language.

Project Management

The MCP Server can help users manage projects throughout their lifecycle.

Available Capabilities

  • View project details

  • List active projects

  • Create new projects

  • Update project information

  • Archive or remove projects

  • Review project metadata

  • Track project status

Typical Use Cases

Project Managers

  • Review all active projects

  • Monitor project health

  • Create new project workspaces

  • Track delivery progress

Delivery Managers

  • Review project portfolios

  • Identify projects at risk

  • Analyze project timelines

Work Package Management

Work Packages are the core planning and execution units within OpenProject.

Available Capabilities

  • View work package details

  • Search work packages

  • Create new work packages

  • Update existing work packages

  • Delete work packages

  • Assign work packages

  • Change status

  • Update completion percentage

  • Manage priorities

Typical Use Cases

Business Analysts

  • Review assigned requirements

  • Track implementation progress

  • Create new analysis tasks

Project Managers

  • Monitor project execution

  • Reassign work when required

  • Review task completion status

Developers and Team Leads

  • Update task progress

  • Manage implementation activities

  • Track work completion

Advanced Task Discovery

The MCP Server provides advanced filtering capabilities for finding work packages.

Available Capabilities

  • Find overdue tasks

  • Find high-priority tasks

  • Find unassigned tasks

  • Find tasks due soon

  • Find recently created tasks

  • Find nearly completed tasks

  • Filter by assignee

  • Filter by project

  • Filter by status

  • Filter by priority

  • Filter by completion percentage

Typical Use Cases

Scrum Masters

  • Identify sprint risks

  • Review overdue work

  • Monitor pending assignments

Project Managers

  • Track upcoming deadlines

  • Review critical issues

  • Identify bottlenecks

Delivery Managers

  • Review project health

  • Monitor execution risk

Resource and Team Management

The MCP Server can provide visibility into project teams and memberships.

Available Capabilities

  • View project members

  • View user assignments

  • View project memberships

  • View user roles

  • Assign users to projects

  • Update project memberships

  • Remove project memberships

Typical Use Cases

Project Managers

  • Review team composition

  • Validate resource allocation

  • Onboard project members

Delivery Managers

  • Analyze team distribution

  • Review project ownership

Time Tracking

The MCP Server supports OpenProject time tracking functionality.

Available Capabilities

  • View logged time

  • Create time entries

  • Update time entries

  • Delete time entries

  • Review effort spent

  • View activity categories

Typical Use Cases

Team Members

  • Log work effort

  • Update work records

Project Managers

  • Review effort consumption

  • Compare planned vs actual effort

Delivery Managers

  • Analyze project utilization

  • Review resource consumption

Milestones and Release Planning

The MCP Server provides access to project versions and milestones.

Available Capabilities

  • View project milestones

  • Create milestones

  • Update milestone schedules

  • Review release timelines

  • Monitor milestone progress

Typical Use Cases

Product Owners

  • Review roadmap progress

  • Track planned releases

Project Managers

  • Monitor milestone completion

  • Manage release schedules

Dependencies and Work Package Relationships

The MCP Server can manage dependencies between work packages.

Available Capabilities

  • Create parent-child relationships

  • View child work packages

  • Remove hierarchy relationships

  • Create task dependencies

  • View dependency chains

  • Update dependency relationships

  • Remove dependency relationships

Supported Dependency Types

  • Blocks

  • Follows

  • Precedes

  • Relates To

  • Duplicates

  • Includes

  • Requires

  • Part Of

Typical Use Cases

Project Managers

  • Identify blockers

  • Manage dependency chains

  • Analyze delivery risks

Scrum Masters

  • Remove execution bottlenecks

  • Track blocked work

Delivery Managers

  • Monitor cross-team dependencies

  • Assess project impact

Reporting and Project Insights

The MCP Server can help generate project insights from OpenProject data.

Available Capabilities

  • Identify overdue work

  • Track completion trends

  • Review project workload

  • Analyze team assignments

  • Review milestone progress

  • Generate project summaries

  • Identify delivery risks

Typical Use Cases

Leadership Teams

  • Portfolio reviews

  • Delivery monitoring

  • Risk assessment

Project Managers

  • Weekly status reporting

  • Progress reviews

  • Sprint planning

Business Analysts

  • Requirement tracking

  • Feature delivery monitoring

Security Model

All OpenProject operations are performed using the user's own API token.

Users can only access:

  • Projects they are authorized to view

  • Work packages they have permission to access

  • Team information available to their role

  • Time entries available within their permissions

The MCP server does not grant any additional permissions beyond those already assigned within OpenProject.

Troubleshooting

Authentication Errors

Verify:

  • The OpenProject API token is valid.

  • The token has not expired.

  • The token was copied correctly.

  • The Authorization header includes the Bearer prefix.

Unable to Access Projects or Work Packages

Verify:

  • You have permission to access the project.

  • The work package exists.

  • Your account permissions are sufficient.

Connection Issues

Verify:

  • The MCP endpoint URL is correct.

  • Your network connection is available.

  • Your AI client supports MCP connections.

Supported Platforms

The OpenProject MCP Server can be used from:

  • Claude Desktop

  • Claude Code

  • Cursor

  • Other MCP-compatible AI clients

Support

For issues related to MCP connectivity or access, contact the AMRIT Agentic AI Framework team and provide:

  • AI client being used

  • Error message received

  • Project involved

  • Steps performed before the issue occurred

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