Apple MCP

Apple Business + AI - for ChatGPT, Claude, GitHub Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Gemini, and any agent that speaks MCP

Unofficial. Community-built Claude Code Skill and MCP server for the Apple Business API. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Apple Inc.

[Apple Business demo - animated preview]

_{▶ Watch the 30-second demo - demo data is simulated; every command shown exists in the real CLI.}

Every Apple Business API call, plus offline fleet answers: unassigned devices, AppleCare expiry and Activation Lock. Works with the AI you already use - ChatGPT (Plus/Pro+), Claude Desktop, Codex, Claude Code, Claude Cowork, and GitHub Copilot - plus Microsoft 365 Copilot / Copilot Studio and Google Gemini via the remote path. Free, open source, runs on your laptop. Built for MSP owners. No code required.

Works with your agent

The six agents MSP owners actually use (self-serve, works today):

For ChatGPT, run apple-business-mcp --transport http with APPLE_BUSINESS_MCP_HTTP_TOKEN set, on an HTTPS host; every request sends that token. See mcp-install.md.

Also for the Microsoft and Google stacks

Big install base, but an honest heads-up: these are the remote / enterprise path, not the local binary you just installed.

Skill-native agents (also covered): Hermes and OpenClaw read this skill's SKILL.md directly and speak MCP - see their install sections below. Also works with Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, Continue.dev, and Zed via MCP. Full per-tool wire-up: docs/which-agent.md.

Run more than one agent? Install across all 51+ supported agents in one command: npx skills add Servosity/msp-skills@latest (requires Node.js, then run the per-skill installer for the CLI/MCP binaries). See docs/which-agent.md.

Install in 60 seconds

Fastest for Claude Desktop - one-click .mcpb

Download Apple Business MCP (.mcpb) - then open Claude Desktop > Settings > Extensions and select the file. One click, no JSON, no shell. (Browse every Apple Business release on the releases page.)

Prefer the Claude Code plugin? Add the marketplace once, then install - works immediately, no directory listing required:

/plugin marketplace add Servosity/msp-skills/plugin install apple-business@msp-skills

Path A - paste one prompt into your AI agent (recommended)

Copy this into Claude Code, Codex CLI, or Claude Cowork:

Install the Apple Business Skill and MCP server from Servosity/msp-skills in this agent workspace. If this workspace uses a POSIX shell (macOS, Linux, WSL, or Bash), run bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/apple-business/install.sh). If it uses Windows PowerShell, run iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/apple-business/install.ps1 | iex. Then authenticate per the README and run apple-business-cli --help to explore.

The same prompt works in any agent that can run shell.

Path B - run the installer yourself

Windows (PowerShell):

iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/apple-business/install.ps1 | iex

macOS / Linux:

bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/apple-business/install.sh)

The installer drops both apple-business-cli (the CLI) and apple-business-mcp (the MCP server) into your user bin path. Claude Code, Codex, and Cowork discover the Skill via SKILL.md in this directory.

Verify:

apple-business-cli --version

Upgrade to the latest version

The installer always fetches the current release - re-run it to upgrade:

macOS / Linux:

bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/apple-business/install.sh)

Windows (PowerShell):

iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/apple-business/install.ps1 | iex

Claude Desktop .mcpb users: download the latest .mcpb (top of this section) and re-select it in Settings > Extensions. Claude Code plugin users: /plugin update apple-business@msp-skills.

Add to Claude Desktop, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Microsoft 365 Copilot, or another MCP client

After the installer runs, see mcp-install.md and docs/which-agent.md for the per-agent wire-up - one section per agent, including the GitHub Copilot servers key and the remote Microsoft 365 Copilot / Copilot Studio path. Claude Desktop's Settings > Extensions panel is the simplest path; the MCP config block (for users who prefer editing JSON) is documented in mcp-install.md.

Install for Hermes

From the Hermes CLI:

hermes skills install servosity/msp-skills/skills/apple-business --force

Inside a Hermes chat session:

/skills install servosity/msp-skills/skills/apple-business --force

Hermes speaks MCP natively, so it can also use the apple-business-mcp server directly - same install path, same env vars.

Install for OpenClaw

Tell your OpenClaw agent (copy this):

Install the apple-business skill from https://github.com/servosity/msp-skills/tree/main/skills/apple-business. The skill defines how its required CLI (apple-business-cli) can be installed via the openclaw: frontmatter block.

OpenClaw isn't generally available yet; the frontmatter wiring is pre-shipped and will activate the moment OpenClaw launches.

Authenticate

Set the credentials the CLI needs (from your Apple Business portal):

APPLE_BUSINESS_CLIENT_ID=<value> APPLE_BUSINESS_KEY_ID=<value> APPLE_BUSINESS_PRIVATE_KEY=<value> apple-business-cli doctor

doctor checks config, paths, and API reachability, and reports whether credentials are loaded - it does not validate them. Run a read command to confirm the credential actually works end-to-end.

What this skill does

The fleet reports read the local store: run apple-business-cli sync and apple-business-cli devices enrich first (an unsynced store answers empty).

Full command reference: guide.md. For the AI-agent operating contract (--agent, --dry-run, when to confirm before mutating), see AGENTS.md.

What makes this different

Most Apple Business integrations and MCP servers proxy each question into a live API call. That's fine for one record. It dies at scale, when you're asking which devices across 40 client organizations lose AppleCare this quarter: AppleCare and Activation Lock are per-device endpoints.

This skill syncs Apple Business into a local SQLite mirror with full-text search. Aggregate questions become one local SQL join: instant, offline, and the AI sees the answer, not the raw data. Compound commands like fleet summary, applecare expiring --group-by order and devices unassigned join devices, MDM servers, AppleCare coverage and Activation Lock across every customer org's store - work a stateless API wrapper can't do.

The pain this closes

A device never assigned to the right MDM server in Apple Business Manager does not enroll, and the technician finds out at the client's desk (Jamf Community, July 2024). AppleCare coverage and Activation Lock are per-device lookups, and every client is its own organization, so nothing rolls them up.

• apple-business-cli devices unassigned --all-orgs - unassigned devices across every client, with the missing default server flagged.
• apple-business-cli applecare expiring --within 90d --group-by order --all-orgs - coverage ending inside the window, grouped by order for the renewal quote.
• apple-business-cli devices locked --type user --all-orgs - devices still Activation Locked to a user.
• apple-business-cli fleet summary - one row of counts per client org.

See pain-point.md for the longer narrative.

Frequently asked questions

Does this work with ChatGPT?

Yes, on Plus, Pro, Team, Business, Enterprise, and Education plans (Free tier does not yet expose Developer Mode). ChatGPT connects to remote MCP servers over HTTPS, not local stdio binaries. The Apple Business MCP server runs locally over stdio by default. Its HTTP mode (apple-business-mcp --transport http) serves http://127.0.0.1:7777/mcp, refuses to start until APPLE_BUSINESS_MCP_HTTP_TOKEN is set, requires Authorization: Bearer <token> on every request, and needs --tls-cert/--tls-key for any other address. See mcp-install.md. Step-by-step in mcp-install.md.

Does this work with Codex, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, Copilot, or Gemini?

Yes - all of them speak MCP. Cross-tool install commands are in the matrix above and the deep-dive in docs/which-agent.md.

Do I need to know how to code?

No. The recommended install is to paste one sentence into Claude Code or Codex - your agent reads SKILL.md and does the install. The fallback is a one-line installer per OS (bash or PowerShell). Neither path requires writing code. You'll enter your Apple Business credentials once.

Is my Apple Business data safe?

Your data stays on your machine. The CLI and MCP server are local binaries. The SQLite mirror sits in a directory under your user account. The AI agent only sees what the CLI returns - typically a query result, not raw bulk data. Credentials are read from your environment or your agent's config; never bundled into this repo or transmitted anywhere by MSP Skills.

What do I need from each client's Apple Business Manager?

An API account. An Administrator opens Settings > API in Apple Business, adds an API account and downloads its private key (.pem, offered once). The account's Client ID and Key ID plus that key are the three values the skill needs. API accounts belong to one organization, so each client gets its own.

Will this hit Apple's API rate limits?

It paces itself when Apple Business answers 429. Sync once, then the fleet reports read the local store and make no API calls; devices enrich is the only per-device fan-out, bounded by --concurrency, and --skip-fresh lets a rerun resume.

Does it replace my MDM (Jamf, Intune, Kandji, Mosyle)?

No. Apple Business Manager decides which MDM server a device enrolls with; this skill reads and changes that assignment and reports on the devices. Your MDM still manages them after enrollment.

What do I need from each client's Apple Business Manager?

An API account. An Administrator opens Settings > API in Apple Business, adds an API account and downloads its private key (.pem, offered once). The account's Client ID and Key ID plus that key are the three values the skill needs. API accounts belong to one organization, so each client gets its own.

Will this hit Apple's API rate limits?

It paces itself when Apple answers 429. Sync once, then the fleet reports read the local store and make no API calls; devices enrich is the only per-device fan-out, bounded by --concurrency, and --skip-fresh lets a rerun resume.

Does it replace my MDM (Jamf, Intune, Kandji, Mosyle)?

No. Apple Business Manager decides which MDM server a device enrolls with; this skill reads and changes that assignment and reports on the devices. Your MDM still manages them after enrollment.

What does it cost?

Free. Apache-2.0 licensed. You pay only for whichever AI agent you use (Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, etc.), and that's billed by your AI provider, not by us.

Safety model

Over MCP, every write tool returns a preview and runs only when called with confirm: true. On the command line, --dry-run previews any write.

The strongest control is the scope you grant the Apple Business credentials - the CLI can only do what the credentials are permitted to do. Full details, including how to lock it down, are in governance.md.

Status

Beta. Validated offline against the Apple Business API surface and being validated with MSPs running it live against their own production tenant in our weekly Build Sessions. RSVP at compoundingteams.com/build-sessions.

Standards. Conforms to the open Agent Skills spec (Anthropic, Dec 2025; 40+ agents). MCP-compatible - works with any MCP-capable agent including Hermes. OpenClaw-ready (frontmatter pre-wired, awaiting OpenClaw launch).

Maintained by Servosity. Apache-2.0 licensed. Built with CLI Printing Press. Last updated: 2026-10-29.