Introducing SheetLink for Claude Desktop

SheetLink MAX now connects directly to Claude Desktop. Ask natural language questions about your spending — Claude pulls live transaction data from your Plaid-connected accounts and answers in seconds.

No exports. No copy-paste. Just ask.

What you can do

Once connected, Claude has full access to your transaction history across all linked accounts. Some examples:

• "How much did I spend last month, broken down by category?"
• "What are my top 10 merchants this year?"
• "How much have I spent on food vs. entertainment in 2026?"
• "Show me all transactions over $200 in March"
• "Am I spending more on subscriptions than last quarter?"

Claude handles the filtering, aggregation, and math — and can explain what it finds in plain English.

How it works

SheetLink's MCP server runs locally on your machine as a lightweight Node.js process. When Claude needs data, it calls one of three tools:

• list_accounts — lists your connected banks and last sync time
• list_transactions — fetches transactions filtered by account, date range, or category
• get_spending_summary — aggregates spending by category or merchant

Data is fetched live from the SheetLink API (backed by Plaid) each time Claude calls a tool. Nothing is cached or stored on Anthropic's side.

Getting started

You'll need a SheetLink MAX plan and Claude Desktop installed.

1. Get an API key

Go to Dashboard → API Keys and create a new key. It'll start with sl_.

2. Edit your Claude Desktop config

Open the config file:

# Mac
open -e ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

# Windows
notepad %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Add the mcpServers block alongside your existing preferences:

{
  "preferences": {
    ...
  },
  "mcpServers": {
    "sheetlink": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@sheetlink/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "SHEETLINK_API_KEY": "sl_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop

Fully quit (Cmd+Q on Mac) and reopen. SheetLink will appear in the tools panel on your next conversation.

Why Claude + SheetLink

Spreadsheets are great for structured tracking — running totals, budget dashboards, month-over-month comparisons. But for open-ended questions where you're not sure what you're looking for, natural language is faster. Claude can combine filters, do math, and explain context in one shot without you writing a formula.

The two work well together: Sheets for the persistent dashboard, Claude for on-demand investigation.

Troubleshooting

npx: command not found — Claude Desktop launches with a limited PATH. If you use nvm, replace npx with the full path: run which npx in your terminal and use that value (e.g. /opt/homebrew/bin/npx).

SheetLink API error 403 — API access requires MAX tier. Check your plan at Dashboard → Billing.

Full setup guide with all the details at sheetlink.app/docs/claude-desktop. The MCP server is open source at github.com/sheetlink/mcp.