> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.a-char.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Claude connector

> Add A-Char to Claude and handle time off in plain language: check balances, book leave, move it, cancel it and approve your team's requests.

The A-Char connector lets Claude work with your time off directly. Ask *"How many vacation days do I have
left?"* or *"Book the week before Christmas"* and Claude reads your balances, works out the days, and files
the request in A-Char for you, on the web, in the desktop app and on your phone.

You sign in with your A-Char account. There is no API key to create, and Claude can only do what you
could do yourself in A-Char.

## What you can ask

| Ask Claude | What happens |
| - | - |
| *How many vacation days do I have left this year?* | Reads your balance for every policy you are on |
| *Book 21–24 December as annual leave.* | Previews the request, shows how many days it costs, then books it and notifies your approvers |
| *How many days would a week off in August take?* | Previews without booking, with weekends and public holidays left out |
| *Move my Friday off to next Monday.* | Updates the request; it goes back to your approvers |
| *Cancel my leave next week.* | Cancels it and returns the days to your balance |
| *What's the status of my requests?* | Lists your requests with each approver's decision |
| *Download the approval for my summer leave.* | Returns the generated approval document |

Approvers can also approve and decline from Claude. Claude cannot yet list the requests waiting for you,
so give it the request's ID.

Claude understands Bulgarian too. *"Колко дни отпуска ми остават?"* works the same way.

<Tip>
  Ask Claude to preview before booking: *"How many days would 3–14 August cost? Don't book it yet."* It
  shows the counted days and the balance left, and you confirm in the next message.
</Tip>

## Before you start

You need:

* **An A-Char account** in the organization whose data you want to use.
* **A Claude account**, on claude.ai, the Claude desktop app or the Claude mobile apps. Once connected, the
  connector works in all of them and in Claude Code.
* **On Team and Enterprise**, an owner of your Claude organization enables the connector once for everyone.
  See the second tab below.

## Connect A-Char

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Pro and Max">
    <Steps>
      <Step title="Open Connectors">
        In Claude, open **Settings → Connectors**.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Find A-Char">
        Click **Browse connectors** and search for **A-Char**.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Sign in to A-Char">
        Click **Connect**. A browser window opens on the A-Char sign-in page. Sign in with your usual
        account.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Approve access">
        Review the access Claude asks for and click **Allow**. You return to Claude and the connector
        shows as connected.
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Team and Enterprise">
    An owner enables the connector for the Claude organization first, then each person connects their own
    A-Char account.

    <Steps>
      <Step title="Owner: enable the connector">
        Open **Admin settings → Connectors**, click **Browse connectors**, find **A-Char** and add it.
        Enabling it does not give anyone access to A-Char data; each person still signs in as themselves.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Everyone: connect your account">
        Open **Settings → Connectors**, find **A-Char** and click **Connect**.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Sign in and approve">
        Sign in to A-Char in the window that opens, review the access, and click **Allow**.
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

### Use it in a chat

Start a new chat, click the **+** button (or the tools menu) below the message box, and make sure
**A-Char** is switched on. Then ask a question, for example *"What's my time-off balance?"*. The first time
Claude uses a tool it asks for your permission; choose **Allow once** or **Always allow**.

<Check>
  If Claude answers with your actual policies and numbers, the connector is working.
</Check>

### Choose what Claude may do without asking

Open **Settings → Connectors → A-Char** to see every tool. For each one you can let Claude run it freely,
make it ask you first, or turn it off. A sensible setup:

| Tools | Suggested setting |
| - | - |
| `get_time_off_balances`, `list_my_time_off`, `preview_time_off`, `get_time_off_document` | Always allow. They only read |
| `request_time_off`, `update_time_off` | Needs approval, so you see the dates before anything is filed |
| `cancel_time_off`, `approve_time_off`, `decline_time_off` | Needs approval, or off if you never use them from Claude |

`cancel_time_off` and `decline_time_off` are marked as destructive, so Claude treats them with extra care.

## What Claude can see and do

The connector acts **as you**, with your current role in A-Char, in one organization. It goes through
the same rules as the dashboard.

| You are | Claude can |
| - | - |
| **An employee** | Read your balances and requests, preview, book, change and cancel your own time off, and download its documents |
| **An approver** | Also approve or decline requests that are waiting on you, and read the balances and requests of the people whose requests you approve |
| **An admin** | Also act on anyone's time off, approve or decline in place of the approver whose turn it is, and cancel leave that has already started |

Some things Claude cannot do, because A-Char does not allow them for anyone:

* Approve or decline your own request.
* Book leave that overdraws a fixed balance, misses the policy's notice period, or overlaps another
  request. Claude gets the same message you would see in A-Char and explains it.
* See another organization's data.

## Privacy and security

* **Your data only goes where you ask.** Claude calls A-Char only when a question needs it, and only
  with the tools you have enabled. The results become part of that conversation.
* **Review before it acts.** Keep booking, cancelling and reviewing tools on *Needs approval* and read
  the dates in Claude's request before you allow it.
* **Check the answer.** Claude can misread a date or a policy name. For anything that matters, confirm
  the result in A-Char.
* **Keep HR chats focused.** Start a new chat for HR tasks rather than mixing them into unrelated
  conversations, especially in shared projects.
* **Know your Claude data settings.** How Anthropic stores and uses conversations is set by your Claude
  plan and privacy settings, not by A-Char.

### Disconnect

Open **Settings → Connectors → A-Char** and click **Disconnect**. Claude can no longer reach A-Char
until you connect again. On Team and Enterprise, an owner can remove the connector for the whole
organization from **Admin settings → Connectors**.

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Claude says it couldn't reach the MCP server">
    Disconnect A-Char in **Settings → Connectors** and connect it again: Claude remembers a failed sign-in,
    and the stale failure stays until you reconnect.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Sign-in finishes, but the connector won't connect">
    This happens when your A-Char account belongs to **more than one organization**: the connector cannot
    yet tell which one you mean. Use the [MCP server](/mcp) with an API key, which is created inside
    a single organization, until organization choice is added to sign-in.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Claude doesn't use A-Char">
    Make sure A-Char is switched on for this chat under the **+** menu, and that the tool you need is not
    turned off in **Settings → Connectors → A-Char**. Naming it helps: *"Using A-Char, what's my
    balance?"*.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Claude says it isn't allowed to do something">
    The action is outside your role in A-Char: someone else's time off when you are not their approver, a
    request that is not waiting on you, or cancelling leave that has already started. Ask an admin, or do
    it as the right person.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A policy I expect is missing">
    Claude only sees **active** policies you are assigned to. If a policy is missing in A-Char too, ask
    your HR admin to assign it. Policy names are set by your company, so use the name you see in A-Char.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="It stopped working after it used to work">
    Your access may have been revoked, your role may have changed, or you may have left the organization.
    Disconnect and connect again. If it still fails, check with your A-Char admin.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Do I need an API key?">
    No. The connector signs in with your A-Char account. API keys are for coding tools and agents that use
    the [MCP server](/mcp) directly.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can Claude book time off without me knowing?">
    Only if you allow it. Every booking runs through a tool, and you decide per tool whether Claude must ask
    first. Your approvers are notified exactly as if you had booked it in A-Char, and the request appears
    in your time-off history.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does it work on my phone?">
    Yes. Connect once on claude.ai or in the desktop app, and the connector is available in the Claude iOS
    and Android apps under the same account.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can my HR admin see that I used Claude?">
    A request booked through Claude is an ordinary request under your name. Your approvers and admins see
    it like any other, and it follows the same approval flow.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does it work with ChatGPT or other assistants?">
    The connector is built on the open [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/), so any
    MCP client can use the same server. See [MCP server](/mcp) for Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code,
    Codex and others.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related

* [MCP server](/mcp): the server behind the connector, every tool, and setup for other clients.
* [Authentication](/authentication): roles, scopes and what a credential may do.
* [Connectors in Claude](https://claude.com/docs/connectors/overview): Anthropic's guide.


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