# 3D printer MCP for Claude & ChatGPT **Minimum Plan:** Pro SimplyPrint runs an official 3D printer MCP server, so Claude, ChatGPT and other AI assistants control your printer fleet in plain English. OAuth, Pro and up. **Categories:** core, smart *Plain-English control of your fleet, from any AI assistant* ## The SimplyPrint MCP server MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the open standard that lets AI assistants connect to outside tools. SimplyPrint ships an official MCP server, so Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Cursor and any other MCP-aware assistant can talk to your fleet directly. Ask in plain English - approve a queue item, pause a print, find every spool below 100 grams, queue five copies of benchy.gcode - and the assistant takes the action through the same API your panel uses. No API keys pasted into chatbots, no glue code, no Zapier middleware. ## One URL. Every MCP client. Your whole fleet. Paste *https://simplyprint.io/api/mcp* into any MCP-aware assistant's connector settings, approve the OAuth consent screen, and you are done. Same auth model as the rest of SimplyPrint, same permissions, same data - just spoken to in natural language instead of clicked in the panel. ## What is MCP? MCP - Model Context Protocol - is an open standard, championed by Anthropic and adopted by every major AI vendor, that lets an AI assistant call external tools through a single uniform interface. Instead of every assistant inventing its own plugin format, MCP defines one shape that Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, Zed and others all understand. SimplyPrint runs an official MCP server at *https://simplyprint.io/api/mcp*. Any assistant that supports custom connectors or MCP servers can connect to it - one URL, every client. We are also listed on the official Model Context Protocol registry as *io.simplyprint/simplyprint*, so clients that browse the registry can discover us automatically. ## What people actually ask their assistant A few of the real prompts that map cleanly to a tool call, taken from the example surface in the helpdesk article: - **Printers:** "What's printing right now?" - "Home all three axes on Printer 4." - "Cancel the print on the K2." - **Queue:** "Approve the three pending items from Sarah." - "Queue five copies of benchy.gcode for tomorrow." - "Which printer in the shop can print the next item fastest?" - **Files:** "Find every file tagged 'prototype' and delete them." - "Estimate the cost of printing battery-holder.gcode on the X1C." - **Filament:** "Which spools are below 100 grams?" - "Adjust the remaining weight on spool 42 to 820 grams." - **Stats:** "How much filament did we use this week?" - "Show me the details of yesterday's longest print." If the assistant is not sure whether something is possible, the user can just ask - it can see the full list of available tools the moment it connects. ## Config-file clients: one JSON block Editor and CLI MCP clients (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Cline, Zed) keep their MCP server list in a JSON config file. Drop SimplyPrint in under *mcpServers* and the client takes care of the OAuth round-trip on first use. { "mcpServers": { "simplyprint": { "url": "https://simplyprint.io/api/mcp" } } } For Claude Desktop the file is *claude_desktop_config.json*; for Claude Code it's *~/.claude.json*; for Cursor it's *~/.cursor/mcp.json*. The block above goes in all three. Browser-only clients (claude.ai, ChatGPT) skip the config file - paste the same URL into the connector UI instead. Full step-by-step paths for every client live in the helpdesk walkthrough. ## Granular scopes - grant only what the assistant needs Each permission grants the assistant a specific slice of your account. The OAuth consent screen lists every scope an assistant is asking for, and you decide what to approve - so a read-only summarizer never gets write access, and a queue-only automation never sees filament details. - **View vs Manage:** almost every category has separate read and write scopes. Want a strictly read-only assistant? Skip the manage scopes. Want full automation? Grant both. - **Per-user tokens:** the token is bound to *your* user, not the account admin. It inherits your permissions in the account, never more. - **Off-limits by design:** billing, subscription changes and account deletion are not exposed to MCP at all - no scope can unlock them. - **Revoke instantly:** open *account settings → connected apps*, see every connected assistant with its scopes and last-used timestamp, click revoke. The assistant stops working immediately. ## Building your own MCP client? If you're writing a custom MCP client, the auth flow is a standard OAuth 2.1 Authorization Code grant against *https://simplyprint.io/oauth/authorize* and *https://simplyprint.io/oauth/token*. Full curl walkthrough, scope reference and token semantics live in the [API docs](https://apidocs.simplyprint.io). ## OAuth, scoped tokens, revocable any time Security is the same model the rest of SimplyPrint uses, just packaged for AI clients. - **OAuth flow, not pasted keys:** you log in on simplyprint.io, the assistant never sees your password. The token it receives is opaque to it. - **Scope-gated:** a token can only call tools that match the scopes you approved. Tools outside its scope are filtered out of its tool list and rejected at call time. - **Audience-bound:** tokens are bound to the canonical MCP URL they were issued against (RFC 8707). A token for SimplyPrint can only be used against SimplyPrint - no cross-server replay. - **Short-lived access, rotating refresh:** access tokens last 1 hour, refresh tokens rotate on every use and expire after 90 days. Per MCP 2025-06-18 spec. - **Per-user, never shared:** the token inherits your permissions in the account. An assistant connected by a viewer can never escalate to admin actions. - **Full delivery log:** every MCP call is logged server-side with method, params, duration and outcome - so you can audit what an assistant actually did. ## Pairs with the REST API and webhooks MCP sits alongside the rest of the SimplyPrint developer surface - same auth model, same data shapes, same permission system: - The [SimplyPrint API](/features/api) is what your own code calls to *pull* state on demand. - [Webhooks](/features/webhooks) are what SimplyPrint *pushes* the moment something changes, so you do not have to poll. - **MCP** is what AI assistants call when they need to *read or act* on the same fleet - through a vetted, scope-gated tool registry instead of raw endpoints. Use one. Use all three. A printer in an MCP tool response is the same printer object the API returns and the same printer in a webhook payload. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is MCP? Model Context Protocol - an open standard for connecting AI assistants to external tools. One protocol, every major AI vendor. SimplyPrint runs an official MCP server so any MCP-aware assistant can manage your fleet. ### What is the SimplyPrint MCP URL? *https://simplyprint.io/api/mcp*. Paste that into any MCP client's custom-connector / MCP-server settings and run through the OAuth login. Same URL on every client. ### Which AI assistants can connect? Anything that supports MCP - which today includes Claude (claude.ai, Claude Desktop, Claude Code), ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, Zed, and the open-source MCP client frameworks. We have dedicated walkthroughs for Claude and Gemini CLI in the helpdesk; every other client follows the same OAuth flow. ### Which AI assistants support MCP? MCP support is now broad across the major assistants: **Claude** (claude.ai web, Claude Desktop, Claude Code), **ChatGPT** (custom connectors), **Google Gemini** (Gemini CLI and Gemini extensions), **Cursor**, **Windsurf**, **Cline**, **Zed**, and the open-source MCP client frameworks. Any of them can connect to SimplyPrint through the same MCP URL. ### How does token refresh work? Access tokens expire after **1 hour**; refresh tokens rotate on every use and expire after **90 days**. Assistants handle the refresh round-trip automatically - you won't be asked to re-authorize unless you've been disconnected for more than 90 days or you've revoked the connection. ### What can an assistant actually do? Almost everything you can do in the panel: list and operate printers, manage the queue (including approvals), browse and reorganize files, inspect and manage filament spools, query print history and statistics, look up sample webhook payloads. Around 70 tools across printers, queue, files, filament, jobs and statistics. Billing, subscription changes and account deletion are deliberately off-limits. ### Do I have to paste an API key? No - MCP uses OAuth. You log in on simplyprint.io, approve the requested scopes, and the assistant receives a token scoped to exactly those permissions. The token is bound to your user and inherits your permissions in the account. ### How do I revoke an assistant's access? Open [account settings → connected apps](https://simplyprint.io/panel/user_settings/api), find the assistant in the list, click revoke. The assistant stops working immediately and would need to go through OAuth again to reconnect. ### Does my data train the AI? No. Data the assistant sends through MCP goes to the assistant's vendor (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google) per their own data and training policies - check your assistant's privacy settings if you want to opt out of training there. SimplyPrint does not train any AI on your data. ### What does MCP cost on SimplyPrint? Nothing extra. MCP is included on the Pro plan and above, with no per-tool, per-call or per-assistant fee. You pay your AI vendor separately for the assistant itself (Claude Pro, ChatGPT Plus, etc.). ### Can multiple assistants connect to the same account? Yes. Each one gets its own OAuth token with its own scopes, and you can revoke any of them independently. A Claude connection, a ChatGPT connection and a Cursor connection can all run side-by-side. ### How is MCP different from the REST API and webhooks? Same auth model, same data, different surface. The [REST API](/features/api) is for your own code (pull). [Webhooks](/features/webhooks) are how SimplyPrint pushes events to your endpoint. MCP is the native tool surface for AI assistants. Most integration patterns use just one; advanced ones combine all three. ### Where is the step-by-step guide? The full setup walkthrough lives in the [helpdesk MCP article](https://help.simplyprint.io/en/article/connect-simplyprint-to-any-ai-assistant-via-mcp-u5j4bw/), with a dedicated [Claude walkthrough](https://help.simplyprint.io/en/article/connect-simplyprint-to-claude-claudeai-and-claude-code-cj7wyg/) for claude.ai and Claude Code. ## Step-by-step setup guide For the full client-by-client walkthrough - including specifics for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini CLI and editor MCP clients - see the [connect SimplyPrint to any AI assistant via MCP](https://help.simplyprint.io/en/article/connect-simplyprint-to-any-ai-assistant-via-mcp-u5j4bw/) article in the helpdesk. --- **Learn more:** [Help Article](https://help.simplyprint.io/en/article/connect-simplyprint-to-any-ai-assistant-via-mcp-u5j4bw/)