How can we help you today?

Menu

    How to set up and use the OrangeHRM MCP Connector [Admin]

    Avatar
    OrangeHRM Administrator
    • Updated
    Follow

    The OrangeHRM MCP Connector lets you connect an external AI assistant, such as Claude, ChatGPT, or the Gemini CLI, directly to your live OrangeHRM data. Instead of logging in and navigating through modules to find information, an administrator can ask questions in plain, natural language from their AI tool and get answers drawn straight from the HR system. “MCP” (Model Context Protocol) is a standard way for AI tools to connect securely to external systems and data sources.

    This article explains what it covers, how to connect your AI tool, and the kinds of questions you can ask.

    Note: For now, the MCP Connector is available to administrators only. It connects using your own OrangeHRM admin login, so it can only access the data your account is already permitted to see.

    What you can do with the MCP Connector

    Once your AI tool is connected, it can read your OrangeHRM data to answer questions and help with everyday HR tasks. Coverage is being added in phases.

    introduced the connector with coverage across core HR areas, including:

    • Employee records (PIM)
    • Leave
    • Attendance
    • Organization structure
    • Compensation
    • Work schedules
    • Demographics and workforce analytics
    • Recruitment — review vacancies and applications, rank candidates, and prepare for interviews.
    • Time and Timesheets — check timesheet submission status and review time, project, and customer details.

    Before you start

    • You need an OrangeHRM administrator account.
    • You need an AI tool that supports custom MCP connectors. The connector currently works with Claude, ChatGPT, and the Gemini CLI.

    Note: The Gemini web interface does not currently support this connector — use the Gemini CLI instead. Claude and ChatGPT work in both their web and desktop apps.

    Note: For complex questions, a paid AI plan is recommended. Free plans of tools such as Claude and ChatGPT can reach their usage limits quickly when handling large or detailed queries.

    How to connect your AI tool to OrangeHRM

    The steps below use Claude as an example. The process is similar for the other supported AI tools.

    Step 1: Open your AI tool and go to its Connectors settings.

    Step 2: Select Add custom connector.

    Step 3: Enter the OrangeHRM MCP Connector details (connector name and URL) provided by OrangeHRM, then select Add.

    The connector now appears under Connectors list.

    When prompted, log in with your OrangeHRM administrator credentials and grant the requested access.

    Once connected, open a new chat and start asking questions in natural language.

    Note: Contact your OrangeHRM implementation consultant if you need the connector URL or help setting it up. The connector is not yet listed in the built-in connector libraries of these AI tools, so it must be added as a custom connector for now.

    Example prompts

    Recruitment 

    • “How many applications have we received for each of our published vacancies?”
    • “Rank the candidates who applied for this vacancy, comparing their education and experience against the job description.”
    • “I’m about to interview this candidate for this position. Give me a summary of their profile and flag anything I should be aware of.”

    Note: When preparing interview summaries, the AI can flag concerns such as an archived candidate profile, possible duplicate records, gaps in a résumé, or missing details like salary expectations or skills.

    Time and timesheets 

    • “Who has not submitted their timesheet this week?”
    • “Show me a breakdown of this employee’s timesheet.”
    • “What projects and customers are currently active, and what stage are they in?”

    Core HR

    • “What is the active headcount of the company?”
    • “This employee has been arriving late and leaving early recently. Based on their information in the system, what could be the reasons?”

    MCP Connector or Citra Analytics — which should I use?

    Both let you ask HR questions in natural language, but they work differently:

    • The MCP Connector brings your OrangeHRM data into an external AI tool you already use (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini CLI). It is flexible, well suited to open-ended questions, and can combine OrangeHRM data with other connectors you have enabled in that tool.
    • Citra Analytics runs inside OrangeHRM and is purpose-built for HR analytics, so for detailed charts, groupings, and metrics it tends to be more precise.

    Note: Because the MCP Connector relies on the external AI tool to interpret data returned from the APIs, results for complex groupings or charts may be less precise than Citra Analytics, which is fine-tuned for that purpose.