Optimal's MCP (Model Context Protocol) server lets any MCP-compatible AI assistant securely pull your research data straight out of Optimal, so you can ask natural-language questions and dive deeper into your research.
Don't see your tool listed in our other guides (Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Gemini)? Use this generic guide — it covers the details you'll need for any MCP client.
Requirements
Optimal
An active Optimal account, with access to the workspace(s)/studies you want Claude to read from.
MCP enabled for your Optimal workspace. If you do not have access, please get in touch with your admin to enable MCP under the Features tab.
Server details
Name | Optimal |
Server URL |
|
Transport | Streamable HTTP |
Authentication | OAuth 2.0 (you'll sign in to Optimal in a browser window/tab when prompted) |
Client ID / Secret | Not required for standard connections |
General steps
Most MCP clients follow a similar pattern, even if the menu names differ:
Look in your AI tool's settings for something called Connectors, MCP Servers, Tools & Integrations, or Integrations.
Choose to add a new custom or remote MCP server (as opposed to a pre-built/directory connector).
Enter the server details above. Name it "Optimal" and use the server URL
https://app.optimalworkshop.com/mcpComplete the OAuth sign-in flow when prompted, logging in with your normal Optimal credentials and approving access.
Enable/toggle the connector on for the conversation or agent where you want to use it, if your tool requires that step.
If your tool uses a config file instead of a settings UI (common for CLI tools and some IDEs), add an entry like this to its MCP configuration (the exact key — url vs. httpUrl — depends on the tool, so check its docs):
{
"mcpServers": {
"optimal": {
"url": "https://app.optimalworkshop.com/mcp"
}
}
}
What can the MCP-compatible AI assistant read?
Claude can only read your Optimal data. It can't create, edit, or delete anything in Optimal, and it only sees what your own user login already has access to.
Study setup & metadata — study configuration and metadata (names, methodology, dates, etc.); tags, observations, and notes added by your team
Participant results — task results, success/completion metrics, and clickmaps/paths for prototype & usability tests; aggregated survey response distributions for structured questions (radio, checkbox, rating, etc.). Open-text/free-form survey answers are not currently surfaced through the MCP.
Recordings & transcripts — session and transcript counts for interview studies. Raw recordings and playback (video/audio) are not retrieved directly — what's exposed is derived from them (counts, AI analysis), not the recording files themselves.
AI-generated outputs — AI-generated study summaries, plus categorized insights such as themes, pain points, opportunities, sentiment, behaviours, and mental models, each with source/citation counts; task-, section-, and study-level analysis
Example prompts
These are just a few examples to get you started. You're not limited to this phrasing or these topics. Ask Claude in your own words; it can handle a much wider range of questions across your Optimal data.
"What were the biggest usability issues across our last five prototype tests?"
"Summarize participant feedback for our onboarding flow."
"What themes emerged from our customer interviews this quarter?"
"Compare findings between our March and June studies."
Things to know
Access mirrors your Optimal permissions. No MCP client can retrieve data from workspaces/studies you can't already see yourself.
Your MCP client connects to Optimal's server over the public internet. Most clients (like Claude and ChatGPT) reach it from their own cloud infrastructure rather than your local device, so no firewall changes are typically needed. Locally-run tools reach it directly from your machine.
If you run into trouble connecting a tool not covered by our other guides, please reach out to the Optimal team.
Questions? Please get in touch with our team or share your feedback via our feedback and features request form.