How to Connect Shippo to Claude via MCP

💡 No install? Use cloud.anythingmcp.com directly. Sign in, click Connectors → Shippo, paste your credentials, mint an MCP API key and you're done. No Docker, no git clone, no local server.

Shippo + Claude

Let your AI handle shipping through Shippo: validate addresses, compare live rates from your carriers, buy and refund labels, track parcels, prepare customs paperwork and create scan forms. Test mode is free.

Prerequisites

See the full setup instructions baked into the connector (visible in the in-app store when you select the connector). The required environment variables for this connector are:

SHIPPO_API_TOKEN

Step 1 — Get credentials

1. Sign up for a free Shippo account at apps.goshippo.com/join, then open the API portal at portal.goshippo.com/api-config/api and go to API Configuration → Developer keys.
2. Click Create new test key to try everything for free, or Create new live key to buy real labels. Copy the key right away: Shippo shows it only once. Test keys start with shippo_test_, live keys with shippo_live_.
3. Paste the key into SHIPPO_API_TOKEN exactly as shown, without the word ShippoToken, then install the connector.
4. Start with shippo_list_carrier_accounts: it should list Shippo's own carrier accounts (for example USPS), which are ready to use in the US, along with the carrier names that shippo_get_tracking expects.

Test or live: the key decides. With a test key labels are free and watermarked "SAMPLE - DO NOT MAIL", tracking numbers never update, refunds always succeed, and manifests (scan forms) are not available. A test key sees only test data and a live key only live data. Carrier accounts you connect in Shippo with your own carrier credentials work only in the mode in which they were added.

Buying a label costs money: with a live key, shippo_buy_label charges the label price (plus any insurance) to your Shippo account at once, so the AI first names the carrier, service, price and both addresses and waits for your yes. shippo_create_shipment only fetches live rates and buys nothing. The label link expires after a while; shippo_get_label returns a fresh one. shippo_request_refund voids a label, which can then no longer be used, and asks the carrier for the money back. Only unused labels up to 90 days old qualify, and the refund takes days to weeks.

Permissions and read-only setup: a key can do everything your Shippo account can. For a setup that never spends money or voids labels, disable shippo_buy_label, shippo_request_refund and shippo_create_manifest. The AI can then still validate addresses, compare rates, track parcels and look up past labels.

International shipments: they need a customs declaration. The AI creates one line per product with shippo_create_customs_item (description, quantity, net weight, value, origin country, tariff number), then shippo_create_customs_declaration with a signer who certifies the data, and attaches it to the shipment. Have the tariff numbers and values of your products at hand.

Address validation: shippo_validate_address saves the checked, standardized address (for example with the ZIP+4 code) as a new address and leaves the original as it was; shipments then go to the new one. With a test key, addresses outside the US come back unchecked; with a live key, validating them is charged.

Limits: per minute Shippo allows 500 creates and 4,000 reads of single objects, but only 50 list calls (10 with a test key). Over a limit Shippo answers 429: wait a minute and try again.

Common errors: 401 Token does not exist means the key is wrong or was deleted: create a new one under API Configuration → Developer keys and paste it without the word ShippoToken. 400 names the field that is missing or invalid, for example an address the carrier rejects. 422, or a label with status ERROR, means the carrier refused, for example because the service does not cover that route or customs data is missing; the messages say why. A label or refund that comes back as QUEUED or WAITING is still being processed: ask again a few seconds later.

The connector does not handle batches, orders, pickups, webhooks other than tracking registration, or connecting your own carrier accounts.

Step 2 — Install the adapter

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/HelpCode-ai/anythingmcp/main/docker-compose.quickstart.yml -o docker-compose.yml
printf 'JWT_SECRET=%s\nENCRYPTION_KEY=%s\n' "$(openssl rand -hex 32)" "$(openssl rand -hex 32)" > .env
docker compose up -d

Step 3 — Add the connector in Claude

Your server URL: in AnythingMCP, open MCP Servers → the server this connector is on, and copy its URL (https://cloud.anythingmcp.com/mcp/…). Use it wherever this guide shows YOUR_SERVER_ID.

Recommended path: works on claude.ai web without editing any config file.

1. In Claude, open Customize → Connectors.
2. Click +, then Add custom connector.
3. Enter a name, e.g. Shippo, and the remote MCP server URL https://cloud.anythingmcp.com/mcp/YOUR_SERVER_ID, then click Add.
4. Click Connect and sign in to AnythingMCP (OAuth) to allow access.

All tools below appear in your chat: start typing prompts.

Available tools

Example prompts

• "Compare UPS and USPS rates for a 2 kg parcel (30 x 20 x 15 cm) from our saved warehouse address to 350 5th Ave, New York, NY 10118, and show me the cheapest and the fastest option."
• "Where is the parcel with USPS tracking number 9400111899223197428490 right now, and when is it expected to arrive?"
• "Buy the cheapest USPS label for the Acme Ltd order going to 233 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, and give me the tracking number and the label link."
• "Prepare the customs paperwork for 3 ceramic mugs worth 45 USD in total going to a customer in Toronto, Canada, then show me the available rates."

FAQ

Does it work with Claude Code as well as Claude Desktop? Yes, point both at https://cloud.anythingmcp.com/mcp/YOUR_SERVER_ID.

Next steps

• Connector landing page
• Connect to ChatGPT
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• Connect to Gemini
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