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Connect Helferlain to Claude

Add Helferlain as a custom connector in Claude.ai or Claude Desktop. No API keys, no proxy — Anthropic never sees your ad-account credentials, and you use the Claude Pro / Max subscription you already pay for.

Helferlain MCP server URL

https://mcp.helferlain.app/mcp

Prerequisites

  • A Claude Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise subscription (Free plan is limited to 1 custom connector and may not be enough).
  • A Helferlain workspace with at least one ad account connected at app.helferlain.app/connectors.
  • About 60 seconds.

Setup steps

  1. 01

    Open Claude → Settings → Connectors

    In Claude.ai click your avatar → Settings → Connectors. In Claude Desktop the path is identical. Click Add custom connector.
  2. 02

    Paste the Helferlain MCP URL

    Paste the URL above into the connector field. Claude auto-discovers the server name and authentication method — no other configuration is needed.
  3. 03

    Authorize on the Helferlain page

    Your browser opens to app.helferlain.app/oauth/authorize. Sign in to Helferlain if needed, pick the workspace you want Claude to access, review the permissions, and click Approve. You will be redirected back to Claude.
  4. 04

    Test it from Claude

    Back in Claude, type: “Run a wasted-spend audit on my Google Ads account and show me the top 5 recommendations.” Claude will call our MCP tools and return structured findings. Changes go through one tool, google_ads_mutate_with_approval: without further arguments it only runs a dry run (validateOnly) and changes nothing. A real change needs an approval token that is bound to exactly these operations, expires after a few minutes, works once and is issued only to workspace owners and admins. Hard limits apply on every path (see below).
    To plan a new campaign, try: “Plan a Search campaign for Nuremberg with a 20 € daily budget. Look up the location IDs first and check whether an active campaign already targets these areas.”
  5. 05

    Claude Code (terminal)

    In a terminal, run:
    claude mcp add --transport http helferlain https://mcp.helferlain.app/mcp
    The first invocation triggers the OAuth flow in your browser.

Troubleshooting

“Connector failed to authenticate” after approval
Your token may have expired. In Claude, remove the connector and add it again. If the issue persists, check that your workspace has at least one connected ad account at app.helferlain.app/connectors.
Quota exceeded for current period
Each tier has a monthly tool-call limit (Starter 200 / Pro 1,000 / Agency 5,000 — see TIER_LIMITS in @helferlain/db, the single source of truth). Either wait until the next month or upgrade at app.helferlain.app/billing.
Tool returns “r2_approval_required”
High-risk changes (R2) are not blocked over MCP, but they only run with an approval token for exactly these operations (approvalToken). Without one, run the call as a dry run (validateOnly: true, the default) or apply the change in the Helferlain app. Protected accounts reject every change, dry runs included.
Tool returns “cpc_cap_exceeded”, “budget_cap_exceeded” or “mutation_shape_forbidden”
The change hit a hard limit that applies on every path: new campaigns, ad groups and ads must be created with status PAUSED (enable them later with separate status changes); every click, impression and view bid is capped at 10 €; only manual CPC, Maximize Clicks and Percent CPC with a bid ceiling above 0 and at most 10 € are accepted (Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize Conversions and other strategies without a ceiling are rejected); URLs must stay on the website in the account profile; a campaign can only use a budget created in the same request; every bidModifier is at most 1.5; budgets are capped (50 € per day unless the operator set another cap) and new budgets must not be shared; keys must be lowerCamelCase; partialFailure must be false (omitted counts as false).