When2Work MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides seamless integration with the When2Work scheduling API. This server exposes When2Work data as MCP tools, allowing AI assistants like Claude to query employee schedules, shifts, time off, and reports.

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💚 Support Our Mission

This tool was built for Dumont Volunteer Ambulance Corps, a member-owned non-profit volunteer ambulance service. If you find this tool useful, please consider supporting our life-saving work:

Your donation helps us continue providing emergency medical services to those in need!

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✨ Features

Feature	Description
👥 Employee Management	List all employees with contact information
🎯 Position Management	List all positions/job roles
🏷️ Category Management	List all shift categories
📅 Shift Queries	Get assigned shifts with date range support and automatic pagination
🏖️ Time Off Tracking	Get approved time off requests
📊 Daily Reports	Get daily schedule totals and position breakdowns
🔄 Automatic Pagination	Handles When2Work's 31-day limit by chunking requests automatically
🔒 Type Safety	Full TypeScript support with proper type definitions

✅ Testing Status

All 7 tools have been tested and verified working:

Tool	Status	Description
w2w_get_employees	✅ Tested	Retrieve all employees with contact info
w2w_get_positions	✅ Tested	Retrieve all positions/job roles
w2w_get_categories	✅ Tested	Retrieve all shift categories
w2w_get_shifts	✅ Tested	Get assigned shifts with date range support
w2w_get_timeoff	✅ Tested	Get approved time off requests
w2w_get_daily_totals	✅ Tested	Get daily schedule totals
w2w_get_daily_position_totals	✅ Tested	Get daily totals by position

📋 Prerequisites

• Node.js 18 or higher
• When2Work Pro Plan with API access
• When2Work API key

🚀 Installation

1. Clone or create the project

cd /home/dvac_workspace/DVAC/dvac-w2w-mcp

2. Install dependencies

npm install

3. Build the project

npm run build

4. Set up environment variables

export W2W_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

To make this permanent, add it to your shell profile (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, etc.):

echo 'export W2W_API_KEY=your_api_key_here' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

💻 Usage

▶️ Running the server

npm start

Or directly:

node dist/index.js

For development with auto-rebuild:

npm run dev

🤖 Using with Claude Desktop

Add this server to your Claude Desktop configuration:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "when2work": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/home/dvac_workspace/DVAC/dvac-w2w-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "W2W_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

🛠️ Available Tools

w2w_get_employees

Get all employees from When2Work.

Parameters: None

Example:

{
  "name": "w2w_get_employees",
  "arguments": {}
}

w2w_get_positions

Get all positions from When2Work.

Parameters: None

Example:

{
  "name": "w2w_get_positions",
  "arguments": {}
}

w2w_get_categories

Get all shift categories from When2Work.

Parameters: None

Example:

{
  "name": "w2w_get_categories",
  "arguments": {}
}

w2w_get_shifts

Get assigned shifts for a date range. Automatically handles pagination for ranges over 31 days.

Parameters:

• start_date (string, required): Start date in mm/dd/yyyy format (e.g., "01/15/2024")
• end_date (string, required): End date in mm/dd/yyyy format (e.g., "01/31/2024")
• position_id (string, optional): Filter by position ID

Example:

{
  "name": "w2w_get_shifts",
  "arguments": {
    "start_date": "01/01/2024",
    "end_date": "01/31/2024",
    "position_id": "12345"
  }
}

w2w_get_timeoff

Get approved time off for a date range. Automatically handles pagination for ranges over 31 days.

Parameters:

• start_date (string, required): Start date in mm/dd/yyyy format
• end_date (string, required): End date in mm/dd/yyyy format

Example:

{
  "name": "w2w_get_timeoff",
  "arguments": {
    "start_date": "01/01/2024",
    "end_date": "01/31/2024"
  }
}

w2w_get_daily_totals

Get daily schedule totals (shifts and hours) for a date range. Automatically handles pagination for ranges over 31 days.

Parameters:

• start_date (string, required): Start date in mm/dd/yyyy format
• end_date (string, required): End date in mm/dd/yyyy format

Example:

{
  "name": "w2w_get_daily_totals",
  "arguments": {
    "start_date": "01/01/2024",
    "end_date": "01/31/2024"
  }
}

w2w_get_daily_position_totals

Get daily schedule totals broken down by position for a date range. Automatically handles pagination for ranges over 31 days.

Parameters:

• start_date (string, required): Start date in mm/dd/yyyy format
• end_date (string, required): End date in mm/dd/yyyy format

Example:

{
  "name": "w2w_get_daily_position_totals",
  "arguments": {
    "start_date": "01/01/2024",
    "end_date": "01/31/2024"
  }
}

🔌 API Details

When2Work API Endpoint

Base URL: https://www8.whentowork.com/cgi-bin/w2wJ.dll

Note: This is the correct production endpoint for the When2Work API, not https://api.when2work.com.

Authentication

The When2Work API uses query parameter authentication:

• API key is passed as a key query parameter
• No Authorization header is used

Example request URL:

https://www8.whentowork.com/cgi-bin/w2wJ.dll/api/employees?key=YOUR_API_KEY&detail=Y

When2Work API Constraints

• Date Format: All dates must be in mm/dd/yyyy format (not ISO 8601)
• Date Range Limit: Maximum 31 days per query (this server handles pagination automatically)
• Plan Requirement: Pro Plan required for API access

Response Format

The When2Work API returns data in specific keys depending on the endpoint:

Endpoint	Response Key
Employees	EmployeeList
Positions	PositionList
Categories	CategoryList
Shifts	AssignedShiftList
Time Off	ApprovedTimeOff
Daily Totals	DailyTotals
Daily Position Totals	DailyPositionTotals

The MCP server normalizes these responses into consistent arrays for easier consumption.

Automatic Pagination

The server automatically handles When2Work's 31-day limit by:

1. Splitting date ranges > 31 days into chunks
2. Making multiple API requests in parallel
3. Merging results into a single response

This allows you to query any date range without worrying about the limit.

👨‍💻 Development

Project Structure

dvac-w2w-mcp/
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
├── README.md
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts              # MCP server entry point
│   ├── w2w-client.ts         # When2Work API client
│   ├── tools/                # MCP tool implementations
│   │   ├── employees.ts
│   │   ├── positions.ts
│   │   ├── categories.ts
│   │   ├── shifts.ts
│   │   ├── timeoff.ts
│   │   └── reports.ts
│   └── types/
│       └── w2w.ts            # TypeScript interfaces

Adding New Tools

1. Create a new file in src/tools/
2. Define the tool schema and handler function
3. Export both from the file
4. Import and register in src/index.ts

Type Checking

npm run typecheck

Linting

npm run lint

🐛 Troubleshooting

Error: "W2W_API_KEY environment variable is required"

Make sure you've set the W2W_API_KEY environment variable:

export W2W_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

Error: "When2Work API error (401)"

Your API key may be invalid or expired. Verify your API key in your When2Work account settings:

1. Log in to your When2Work account
2. Go to Settings > Company Settings > Integrations
3. Check or regenerate your API key

Error: "Invalid date format"

Make sure dates are in mm/dd/yyyy format (e.g., "01/15/2024"), not ISO 8601 format.

Error: "When2Work API error (429)"

You're being rate limited. The server automatically handles most rate limiting through pagination, but very large queries may still hit limits. Try reducing your date range.

Empty Results

If tools return empty arrays, check:

• The date range contains data in your When2Work account
• Your API key has access to the requested data
• The position/category filters (if used) match existing records

Connection Issues

If you see connection errors:

• Verify your internet connection
• Check that https://www8.whentowork.com is accessible
• Ensure no firewall is blocking the connection

🧪 Testing

To verify the server is working correctly:

1. Start the server:

   npm start
   

2. Test with Claude Desktop or any MCP client:

   • Try w2w_get_employees first (no parameters needed)
   • Then test date-based tools with a small date range
   • Verify pagination by querying a 60+ day range

All tools have been verified to work with real When2Work API calls.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see below for details:

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2024 Dumont Volunteer Ambulance Corps

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.

🆘 Support

For issues related to this MCP server, please check:

1. ✅ Your When2Work Pro Plan subscription status
2. ✅ Your API key validity
3. ✅ The date format (must be mm/dd/yyyy)
4. ✅ The API endpoint URL is correct: https://www8.whentowork.com/cgi-bin/w2wJ.dll
5. Finally, if you're still having an issue please submit an issue here on github.

🔑 Getting Your API Key

1. Log in to your When2Work account as a Tech Administrator
2. Navigate to Pro > API Config
3. Copy your API key (or generate a new one if needed)

📚 When2Work Resources

• When2Work Help Center
• API Documentation (requires Pro Plan)

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🙏 Acknowledgments

Built with ❤️ by Dumont Volunteer Ambulance Corps

If this tool has been helpful to your organization, please consider making a donation to support our volunteer emergency services.