Gradient MSP MCP

Gradient MSP + AI - for Claude, the ChatGPT desktop app, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, and any agent that speaks MCP

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

[Gradient MSP demo - animated preview]

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

The Gradient MSP Synthesize vendor API from your terminal: bulk usage pushes with a single billing rebuild, a local push-drift ledger, and alert-to-ticket tracing the portal and SDK don't offer. Works with the AI you already use - ChatGPT (desktop app), Claude Desktop, Codex, Claude Code, Claude Cowork, and GitHub Copilot - plus Gemini CLI. 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):

The ChatGPT desktop app runs gradient-mcp locally and shares MCP configuration with Codex (OpenAI). ChatGPT on the web needs a remote server: host gradient-mcp over HTTPS with GRADIENT_MCP_HTTP_TOKEN set, and check that your ChatGPT connector can send that bearer token (mcp-install.md, Remote agents). If your team works there, a hosted gateway is the better pick; check that your AI app is on the gateway's setup list.

Also for the Microsoft and Google stacks

Big install base, but an honest heads-up: Gemini CLI runs the local binary you just installed, while Microsoft 365 Copilot and the Gemini app need a remote server, which msp-skills does not support yet.

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

Claude Desktop bundle: the .mcpb launches on macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), Windows x64 and Linux x64. Every tool shells out to the companion gradient-cli. Releases cut from 2026-09-18 on ship that CLI inside the bundle; older bundles contain only the MCP server, so if yours lacks the companion, run the Path A or Path B installer below first (or set GRADIENT_CLI_PATH to an existing binary). Details: #331.

Download Gradient MSP MCP (.mcpb) - then open Claude Desktop > Settings > Extensions and select the file. One click, no JSON, no shell. (Browse every Gradient MSP 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 gradient@msp-skills

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

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

Install the Gradient MSP 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/gradient/install.sh). If it uses Windows PowerShell, run iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/gradient/install.ps1 | iex. Then authenticate per the README and run gradient-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/gradient/install.ps1 | iex

macOS / Linux:

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

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

Verify:

gradient-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/gradient/install.sh)

Windows (PowerShell):

iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/gradient/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 gradient@msp-skills.

Add to Claude Desktop, the ChatGPT desktop app, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, 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 ChatGPT desktop app. 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/gradient --force

Inside a Hermes chat session:

/skills install servosity/msp-skills/skills/gradient --force

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

Install for OpenClaw

Tell your OpenClaw agent (copy this):

Install the gradient skill from https://github.com/servosity/msp-skills/tree/main/skills/gradient. The skill defines how its required CLI (gradient-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 Gradient MSP portal):

GRADIENT_TOKEN=<value> gradient-cli doctor

doctor confirms the credentials work before you run anything that touches data. It exits 0 even when the credential is rejected, so scripts should add --fail-on error.

What this skill does

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 Gradient MSP 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 accounts drifted in billable units since your last push, or how many of 200 dispatched alerts never became PSA tickets.

This skill syncs Gradient MSP into a local SQLite mirror with full-text search, and records every count you push in a local ledger. Aggregate questions become one local lookup: instant, offline, and the AI sees the answer, not the raw data. Compound commands like usage drift, hygiene unmapped, and alert trace --stuck join across accounts, service/SKU mappings, and the push ledger - work a stateless API wrapper can't do.

The pain this closes

Billing reconciliation is the recurring tax on MSP margin: every cycle someone pulls a CSV from each vendor, hand-maps the fields to the PSA, and hopes they caught every seat that drifted. It's a standing topic on r/msp, and Gradient MSP's own research frames the manual version as costing up to 90% more time than automating it - which is why 1,000+ MSPs run Synthesize. But Synthesize ships a PowerShell SDK that wants a script project per integration, so the pushes that drive reconciliation live in brittle one-off scripts with no record of what was sent.

This skill closes that gap:

• usage push - push a whole CSV or JSON file of counts in one shot, with exactly one billing rebuild.
• usage drift - the pre-invoice pre-flight: which accounts' counts changed between your last two pushes.
• alert send --wait / alert trace --stuck - dispatch an alert and block until the PSA ticket exists; list the ones that never landed.
• hygiene unmapped - one work-queue rollup of every unmapped account and SKU gap.
• status ready - go/no-go before you flip the integration to active.

See pain-point.md for the longer narrative.

Frequently asked questions

Does this work with ChatGPT?

Yes, in the ChatGPT desktop app. It runs MCP servers locally (STDIO), the way gradient-mcp runs, and shares MCP configuration with Codex (OpenAI): add gradient-mcp under Settings > MCP servers as a STDIO server, or add it once to Codex's ~/.codex/config.toml. ChatGPT on the web needs a remote server: you host gradient-mcp over HTTPS with GRADIENT_MCP_HTTP_TOKEN set, and it works only if your ChatGPT connector can send that bearer token (mcp-install.md, Remote agents). If your team works there, a hosted gateway is the better pick; check that your AI app is on the gateway's setup list.

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 Gradient MSP credentials once.

Is my Gradient MSP 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.

Which credentials do I need, and how do I set them?

A Synthesize vendor token. Set GRADIENT_TOKEN to the base64 of <vendorApiKey>:<partnerApiKey>, or set GRADIENT_VENDOR_API_KEY and GRADIENT_PARTNER_API_KEY and the CLI derives the token for you. GRADIENT_BASE_URL is optional. Run gradient-cli integration get to confirm the credential works.

Does this replace the Synthesize portal or Managed Billing Reconciliation?

No. Mapping approval and reconciliation review still happen in the Synthesize portal (or are handled by Gradient's MBR service). This CLI is the vendor and integration side: it pushes accounts, services, and usage counts in, audits what was pushed, and traces alerts to PSA tickets. It complements the portal, it doesn't log into it.

Will this hit my Gradient MSP API rate limits?

The CLI talks to the live API only when you ask it to, and the bulk usage push defers the billing rebuild to a single call at the end instead of one per row. Read-heavy work runs against the local SQLite mirror after a sync. A global --rate-limit flag caps requests per second when you need it.

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

The strongest control is the scope you grant the Gradient MSP 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 against the Gradient MSP 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: 2026-06-07.