Authentication

GroupMe MCP authenticates with the GroupMe API using an access token. You must set the GROUPME_TOKEN environment variable before starting the server. If the variable is missing, the server prints an error message and exits with code 1.

Treat your GroupMe token like a password. Anyone who has it can read your messages and act on your behalf. Never commit it to source control or share it publicly.

Get a token from the GroupMe developer site

The quickest way to get a token is directly from the GroupMe developer site:

Go to dev.groupme.com and sign in.
Click your name in the top-right corner and select Access Token.
Copy the token shown on the page.

Get a token with the OAuth helper script

If you prefer a proper OAuth flow — for example, to obtain a token without logging into the developer site — use the included oauth/get_token.py script. It uses the GroupMe implicit OAuth flow and requires only the Python standard library.

Create an application

Go to dev.groupme.com/applications and create a new application.

Set the callback URL

In your application settings, set the callback URL to:

http://localhost:8080/callback

Run the helper script

From the root of the repository, run:

python oauth/get_token.py --client-id YOUR_CLIENT_ID

You can also pass the client ID as an environment variable:

GROUPME_CLIENT_ID=YOUR_CLIENT_ID python oauth/get_token.py

Authorize and copy your token

The script opens your browser to the GroupMe authorization page at https://oauth.groupme.com/oauth/authorize. After you approve access, GroupMe redirects to the local callback server and the script prints your token:

Access token:

  your_token_here

Set it with:  export GROUPME_TOKEN=your_token_here

Copy the export command from the output and run it in your shell to set the token.

Pass the token to the server

Claude Desktop

Set GROUPME_TOKEN in the env block of your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "groupme": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["groupme-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "GROUPME_TOKEN": "<your-token>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Local development

Export the variable in your shell before running the server:

export GROUPME_TOKEN=your_token_here
uv run mcp dev src/groupme_mcp/main.py

Or set it inline:

GROUPME_TOKEN=your_token_here uv run mcp dev src/groupme_mcp/main.py

Get Started

Tool Reference

Development

Get a token from the GroupMe developer site

Get a token with the OAuth helper script

Pass the token to the server

Claude Desktop

Local development

​Get a token from the GroupMe developer site

​Get a token with the OAuth helper script

​Pass the token to the server

​Claude Desktop

​Local development

Get a token from the GroupMe developer site

Get a token with the OAuth helper script

Pass the token to the server

Claude Desktop

Local development