Connect KidCash to Claude, Cursor, and Windsurf

We just shipped something a little different: the KidCash MCP server.

If you use Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, or any AI assistant that speaks the Model Context Protocol, you can now manage your family's allowances, chores, wishlists, and balances directly from chat. No app switching, no copy-paste.

"Add $5 to Rafi for cleaning his room" "What are everyone's balances?" "Approve every pending chore" "Summarize Amiel's spending this month"

Each of those works in your AI assistant the moment you connect KidCash.

Where to get it

• 📋 Smithery listing: smithery.ai/server/kidcashapp/kidcash-mcp
• 🛠 Source on GitHub: github.com/simsketch/kidcashapp-mcp (MIT licensed)
• 📖 Setup docs: kidcashapp.com/docs/mcp

The Smithery page is the fastest path — one click from there installs into Claude or Cursor with the gateway handling auth. The GitHub repo mirrors the production source if you want to read the code, fork it, or open issues.

What you can do from chat

12 tools across 5 namespaces:

Read

• kids.list — every kid + balances
• kids.get — one kid in detail (transactions, wishlist, chores)
• transactions.list — transaction history with optional date filter
• chores.pending — chores waiting for parent approval
• settings.get — currency, theme, family preferences

Write

• transactions.add / transactions.subtract — credit or debit any kid
• transactions.transfer — move between checking, savings, charity for one kid
• chores.approve / chores.reject — clear the pending queue from chat
• wishlist.add / wishlist.remove — manage savings goals

The AI assistant picks the right tool based on what you ask — you don't need to know any of these names. The list is just for the curious.

Real workflows

The thing that changes when MCP enters the picture is that your AI can chain KidCash with other tools you've already connected:

"Pull our household budget from Drive and tell me what % goes to kid allowances + chore payouts."

KidCash + Google Drive, in one shot.

"I gave Rafi $10 cash for the lawn — log it in KidCash and add a calendar reminder for next Saturday so we don't forget the next mow."

KidCash + Calendar.

"Compare each kid's spending this month to last month and email the summary to my partner."

KidCash + Gmail.

That's the part that's hard to do with Siri or the dashboard alone. Cross-tool composability is the bet, and it's why we built MCP before any other AI integration.

How to set it up

The full guide is at kidcashapp.com/docs/mcp. Short version:

1. Generate an API key at kidcashapp.com/settings → API Keys (same key that powers our Siri and Apple Watch integrations — it's reusable).
2. Pick your client:
   • Cursor / Windsurf: add the URL + Bearer header to your mcp.json
   • Claude Desktop: use mcp-remote to bridge stdio
   • Claude.ai (web) Pro/Team: add as a custom connector
   • Smithery: click Install on the listing page — it handles all of the above
3. Test by asking your AI: "What are my kids' balances?"

It takes about 90 seconds.

Plan requirement

MCP server access is part of the Family ($99/year) and Big Family ($129/year) plans, alongside Siri Shortcuts, Apple Watch, the Alexa skill, custom QR bills, and data export. If you're on the free tier, you can still see the tool catalog when you connect, but actual tool calls will return a paywall message with an upgrade link.

Why we open-sourced the wrapper

The KidCash app itself stays closed-source. But the MCP wrapper layer — the code that maps tools to our existing API — is genuinely educational for anyone building their own MCP server on top of an existing product. We've made it MIT-licensed at github.com/simsketch/kidcashapp-mcp so you can read it, fork it, or use it as a starting point.

If you're building an MCP server on top of a Next.js + Vercel stack, the mcp-handler integration in src/app/api/agent/[transport]/route.ts is probably worth your time.

What's next

A few followups we're working on:

• OAuth flow — for the official Anthropic connector application. Today auth is via Bearer tokens (which works for Cursor / Claude Desktop / Smithery); OAuth unlocks the Claude.ai connector store.
• Sub-account-scoped keys — let an AI assistant act on behalf of one kid without seeing the others. Useful when you want to give a teen their own "ask Claude what my balance is" experience without parent visibility.
• More tools — bills.create for QR bills via chat, chores.create for adding new chores, etc. We started with read-heavy tools to be conservative.

If you want any of these prioritized, open an issue on the repo or reply to any newsletter — we read everything.

— The KidCash Team

P.S. We're also listed on the upcoming Anthropic connector store (pending review) and submitted to the MCP registry. Wherever you discover MCP servers, we should be there.