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Planning Center API and MCP server

Planning Center's official AI connection cannot send scheduling emails, answer schedule requests or move workflow cards. Sign in to Planning Center once in your own Cloud Browser, and your AI agent does the work there for you. The same tools work over MCP for agents and as a REST API for scripts.

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Not affiliated with Planning Center.

Planning Center has no API for this. So we run one for you.

Planning Center's own API, a GitHub MCP server and Cotlet compared
What you need Planning Center's APIGitHub MCP serverCotlet
Scheduling emails, workflow steps, schedule replies No Partly Yes, 12 tools
Acts as you, signed in 24/7 No No Yes, Cloud Browser
Fixed for you when Planning Center changes N/A No Yes, tested every 6h
Runs with your laptop off N/A No Yes, hosted

Checked Oct 22, 2026. Sources: Planning Center Help: Connect AI tools to Planning Center · Planning Center Blog: Announcing the Planning Center MCP · Planning Center Help: The Planning Center API · Planning Center: Zapier integration

Your own Cloud Browser, on 24/7. Sign in once. We keep it connected.

  1. 01Sign in to Planning Center in your own Cloud Browser

  2. 02Connect it for your agents

  3. 03Cotlet keeps it signed in and working

How do I connect Planning Center to Claude, ChatGPT or my code?

AI agents connect over MCP, scripts call the REST API. Both reach the same 12 tools with one API key.

For AI agents: MCP

Add Cotlet to your agent once. Planning Center and every other app you connect show up as its tools.

  • Claude
  • ChatGPT
  • OpenClaw
  • Hermes
  • GrokBot
  • Cursor
  • n8n
  • Any MCP client
  1. 1

    Add Cotlet to your agent

    Claude Code
    claude mcp add --transport http cotlet \
  https://cotlet.dev/mcp/v1 \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $COTLET_API_KEY"
    Cursor
    {
  "mcpServers": {
    "cotlet": {
      "url": "https://cotlet.dev/mcp/v1",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${COTLET_API_KEY}"
      }
    }
  }
}
    Codex
    # ~/.codex/config.toml
[mcp_servers.cotlet]
url = "https://cotlet.dev/mcp/v1"
bearer_token_env_var = "COTLET_API_KEY"

    Paste the snippet for your client. The same server and key serve every app you connect, so you do this once.

For scripts: REST API

Every tool is an endpoint under /api/v1/planning-center with its own method and path, such as POST /api/v1/planning-center/plans/{plan_id}/scheduling-emails, with the same API key. Our open-source repo has ready scripts to start from.

REST API docs

What can the Planning Center API and MCP server do?

12 tools on your own Planning Center account. Agents call them as operations of the MCP tools planning_center_read and planning_center_write; scripts call each one at its own REST endpoint, with the same inputs and answers.

API reference
Planning Center tools in Cotlet's MCP server and REST API
Tool What it does Access
search_people People profiles that match a name or email. read
get_person One People profile with contact details and the notes you can see. read
list_service_plans Services plans of a service type in a date range, in date order. read
get_plan_team Scheduled volunteers of a plan with position, status and whether their email is still waiting. read
list_my_schedule Your own pending and confirmed requests, as My Schedule shows them. read
list_workflow_cards Cards of a People workflow that are ready or snoozed, with person, step and assignee. read
list_first_timers People whose check-in to an event was their first, in a date range. read
send_scheduling_emails Send the scheduling emails that are still waiting on a plan, for one team, one person or everyone. writeasks first
respond_to_schedule_request Accept or decline your own pending request for a plan, as you. writeasks first
complete_workflow_step Complete the current step of a workflow card and move it to the next step. writeasks first
snooze_workflow_card Hide a workflow card from your list for a duration. write
add_person_note Add a note to a person's profile in a note category. writeasks first

Scroll the table for all 12 tools.

Ask in plain words. Your agent does the rest.

All Planning Center use cases

Is it safe to connect Planning Center?

You sign in yourself in your own Cloud Browser, we never save your password, and anything that reaches your readers waits for your OK. The browser profile is encrypted in the EU. Independent scanners grade cotlet.dev A+.

Security overview

How much do the Planning Center API and MCP server cost?

One price for both: a tool call costs the same over MCP or REST. Free 7-day trial with 2,000 credits, no card needed. Then one-time credit packs, no subscription, valid 12 months. Most calls use 25 credits, and your Cloud Browser uses 50 credits a day while Planning Center is enabled for agents, so 20 calls a day come to 550 credits.

See full pricing
Cotlet credit packs: price, credits and calls at 25 credits each
Credits Price, one time Calls at 25 credits Per 1,000 credits
5,000 $29 200 $5.80
15,000 $79 600 $5.27
32,000 $149 1,280 $4.66
60,000 $249 2,400 $4.15

Only successful calls use credits; failed calls and timeouts cost nothing. At a balance of 0 calls pause, never a surprise charge. Authenticate with the Authorization: Bearer header.

Questions

Does Planning Center have an API?

Planning Center has a full REST API for Calendar, Check-Ins, Giving, Groups, People and Services, and since August 2026 an official MCP server, but the MCP is mostly read-only (checked 22 Oct 2026). Its only writes are in People: notes on profiles and forms. It has no Services write tools, so it cannot send scheduling emails.

How do I get access?

Sign up free, open Planning Center under Integrations in the console and press Request access. Your free trial starts with your account, no card needed.

Is the MCP server different from the API?

No, only the way in. Cotlet builds each integration as a REST API and puts an MCP server on top, so both have the same 12 tools, the same inputs and answers, one API key and one price. AI agents such as Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor use MCP; scripts, cron jobs and HTTP steps in n8n, Make or Zapier use the REST API.

What is the Cloud Browser?

Your own Chrome that Cotlet runs for you in the EU, around the clock. You open it from the console, sign in to Planning Center yourself and press Enable for agents. Your agent's calls go through it, from its IP with its cookies, so Planning Center sees the browser you signed in with. Password saving is off and the profile is stored encrypted with AES-256-GCM.

Can my agent act without asking me?

Not on anything that reaches other people: send_scheduling_emails, respond_to_schedule_request, complete_workflow_step, add_person_note wait for your OK by default. You can switch that off per tool for scheduled runs.

Which Planning Center role does my agent need?

The same role you have, because the agent acts in your signed-in session. Planning Center says people only see data within their permissions. Scheduling emails need a team leader role in Services (see Permissions in Services), and notes need View / Create access to the note category in People.

Is the official Planning Center MCP enough for reading?

For reading, often yes. It covers Services, Giving, People, Registrations, Calendar, Groups, Publishing and Check-Ins, and admins decide who can connect. It cannot send scheduling emails, answer requests or move workflow cards, which is what Cotlet adds. Both can run side by side.

Does Cotlet touch Giving or donations?

No. The tools cover People, Services and Check-Ins only. There is no tool that reads or changes donations, funds or payments.

Should I use a Planning Center MCP server from GitHub instead?

Pick one if you want the code on your own computer and do not mind the upkeep: you install it, sign it in and fix it when Planning Center changes. Pick Cotlet if you want it hosted and kept working for you.

Can I use it in n8n, Make or Zapier?

Yes. Add https://cotlet.dev/mcp/v1 in n8n's MCP Client node, or call the REST endpoints from an HTTP step in Make or Zapier.

Who runs Cotlet?

Cotlet is run by Take Group, a Polish software company working since 2019. Take Group runs about 3,200 websites on its own systems and has its own DevOps team for infrastructure security. We built and used integrations like this inside the company for years before opening them as Cotlet.

Is Cotlet affiliated with Planning Center?

No. Cotlet is independent and not affiliated with Planning Center.

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