OneSignal MCP Server

OneSignal MCP Server lets MCP-compatible AI clients run OneSignal actions directly. Look up a user, check delivery stats, send a test message, or export subscribers without leaving your AI client.

What is MCP?

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard, originally created by Anthropic, for connecting AI applications to external systems. It is now supported by major AI clients including Claude, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, and OpenAI Codex. OneSignal MCP Server lets any of these clients run OneSignal actions without switching dashboard pages.

This page is about OneSignal MCP Server, which exposes OneSignal to external AI clients. It is not the same as the MCP connections feature inside the OneSignal AI Agent, which lets the AI Agent consume external MCP servers. See AI data practices for that feature.

Why use OneSignal MCP Server

You can complete common OneSignal workflows faster with natural-language prompts.

Run multi-step tasks in one request, like finding a user, checking subscriptions, and sending a test message
Reduce onboarding friction for teams that are new to the dashboard or REST API
Manage day-to-day campaign and user operations directly in your AI client

Common use cases

You can ask your AI client to:

Send a message to a specific segment
Look up a user and list all subscriptions
Check delivery metrics for a recent message
Create a segment from audience filters
Create a user and attach email, SMS, or push subscriptions
List apps you can access, or look up custom event definitions
Export subscribers or audience activity to CSV

Set up OneSignal MCP Server

You can usually complete setup in about 5 minutes. How you connect depends on your AI client:

Client	Recommended setup	Authentication
Cursor	Official Cursor Marketplace plugin	OneSignal OAuth (no API key paste)
ChatGPT / Codex	Official OpenAI / ChatGPT plugins marketplace listing	OneSignal OAuth (no API key paste)
Claude Desktop, Claude.ai, Claude Code	Smithery-hosted MCP URL (Claude official registry listing is in progress)	App ID + REST API key
GitHub Copilot and other MCP clients	Smithery-hosted MCP URL	App ID + REST API key

Prerequisites

For Cursor and ChatGPT / Codex (marketplace plugins):

A OneSignal account with access to the apps you want to manage
Permission to authorize OneSignal through the browser-based OAuth flow

You do not need to paste a OneSignal REST API key into these clients. For Claude, GitHub Copilot, and other Smithery-connected clients:

A OneSignal App ID from Settings > Keys & IDs, or from the URL when you’re logged into the OneSignal dashboard
A OneSignal REST API key from Settings > Keys & IDs (not the Key ID)
A supported AI client (see options below)

Connection details

Marketplace plugins (Cursor and OpenAI)

Official Cursor and OpenAI marketplace plugins connect to OneSignal’s hosted OAuth MCP endpoint:

https://mcp.onesignal.com/mcp/oauth

When you install the plugin, your client opens OneSignal’s browser authorization flow. Sign in and approve access. The connection uses your OneSignal account permissions — you do not paste an App ID or REST API key.

Smithery (Claude and other clients)

Claude and other MCP clients that are not yet on an official marketplace connect through Smithery:

https://server.smithery.ai/onesignal/onesignal

After you add the server, the first connection opens a hosted Connect OneSignal page where you enter your App ID and API key. Your credentials are stored on the Smithery-hosted bridge so the connection stays authenticated. They are not stored on OneSignal MCP Server itself, and no customer data (subscribers, messages, exports) is persisted server-side. Each Smithery MCP configuration is scoped to one app_id. If you manage multiple OneSignal apps with Smithery, create one MCP configuration per app. Marketplace OAuth connections can work across apps your account can access (for example with list_apps).

Configure your AI client

Pick the section for your AI client and follow the steps.

Cursor

Install OneSignal from the official Cursor Marketplace. This is the recommended path for Cursor.

Open the OneSignal plugin listing

Go to the OneSignal Cursor Marketplace page, or search for OneSignal in Cursor’s marketplace / plugin browser.

Install the plugin

Click Add to Cursor (or install from Cursor’s Customize / marketplace UI). Cursor installs the OneSignal plugin, including the hosted MCP server.

Authenticate with OneSignal

Open Settings > MCP & Integrations. Click Authenticate (or Needs login) next to the OneSignal server. Cursor opens OneSignal’s OAuth page in your browser — sign in and approve access.

Use OneSignal in Agent chat

Start a new Agent chat and ask OneSignal to run a read-only check, such as onesignal_health or listing your apps.

Manual mcp.json setup is not required when you install from the marketplace. Prefer the marketplace plugin over adding the Smithery URL by hand.

ChatGPT and Codex (OpenAI)

Install OneSignal from the official OpenAI / ChatGPT plugins marketplace. This is the recommended path for ChatGPT and Codex.

Open the plugins directory

In ChatGPT, open Plugins (or Work → Plugins in the ChatGPT desktop app / Codex surfaces). You can also browse chatgpt.com/plugins.

Install OneSignal

Search for OneSignal and install the official OneSignal plugin.

Authorize OneSignal

When prompted to connect or authenticate, complete OneSignal’s OAuth consent in the browser. Sign in and approve access. You do not paste an App ID or REST API key.

Use OneSignal in a new chat

Start a new chat, invoke OneSignal (for example with @OneSignal), and try a read-only prompt such as checking server health or listing apps you can access.

For Codex CLI or the IDE extension, install the same official OneSignal plugin from the OpenAI plugin directory, then authenticate when prompted. Prefer the marketplace plugin over adding a manual Smithery MCP URL.

Claude (Claude Desktop and Claude.ai)

OneSignal is working toward listing in Claude’s official MCP registry. Until that listing is available, add OneSignal through Claude’s Connectors UI with the Smithery-hosted URL. Remote MCP servers cannot be added through claude_desktop_config.json, which is only for local stdio servers.

Open Connectors settings

In Claude Desktop, open Settings > Connectors. On claude.ai, open Settings > Connectors in the web app.

Add a custom connector

Click Add custom connector and provide:

Name: OneSignal
Remote MCP server URL: https://server.smithery.ai/onesignal/onesignal

Leave OAuth Client ID and OAuth Client Secret under Advanced settings blank. OneSignal MCP Server handles authentication through the Connect OneSignal page in the next step, so filling these fields causes the connection to fail with invalid_client.Then click Add (or Connect).

Enter your OneSignal credentials

A Connect OneSignal dialog opens. Enter your:

App ID: your OneSignal App ID
API key: your OneSignal REST API key

Click Connect to finish the setup.

Use OneSignal in a new chat

Enable the OneSignal connector in any new chat. Claude lists the connector’s tools when the connection succeeds.

Claude Code

Until Claude’s official registry listing is available, connect Claude Code through Smithery.

Add OneSignal MCP Server

Run the following command in your terminal:

claude mcp add --transport http onesignal https://server.smithery.ai/onesignal/onesignal

Authenticate from inside Claude Code

Start claude, then type /mcp to open the MCP panel. Select onesignal, then choose Authenticate to open the Connect OneSignal page in your browser.

Enter your OneSignal credentials

On the Connect OneSignal page, enter your App ID and API key, then click Connect. Return to Claude Code and the server status changes to connected.

Verify with claude mcp list or run /mcp inside Claude Code to view the tool count.

GitHub Copilot (VS Code)

Use the Smithery-hosted URL for GitHub Copilot and other clients without an official OneSignal marketplace listing.

Add OneSignal to your VS Code MCP config

Use .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace to share with your team, or run MCP: Open User Configuration from the Command Palette to install for your user profile:

{
  "servers": {
    "onesignal": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://server.smithery.ai/onesignal/onesignal"
    }
  }
}

Authenticate when prompted

Open Copilot Chat in Agent mode. The first time the OneSignal tools are needed, VS Code prompts you to authenticate and opens the Connect OneSignal page in your browser. Enter your App ID and API key, then click Connect.

Verify the connection

After setup, start a new chat and ask your AI client:

Use the onesignal_health tool to check if the server is connected.

If the response indicates the server is healthy, your connection is working. On marketplace OAuth connections, you can also ask the client to list the apps your account can access.

Troubleshooting

If a request fails unexpectedly, try the following in order:

Marketplace plugins (Cursor / ChatGPT / Codex): Re-authenticate from the client’s plugin or MCP settings, confirm your OneSignal account can access the target app, then start a new chat.
Smithery clients: Re-check that the server URL is exactly https://server.smithery.ai/onesignal/onesignal with no extra paths or trailing characters, then re-authenticate from your client’s MCP panel (/mcp in Claude Code, MCP view in VS Code).
Restart the AI client and start a new chat session. This resolves most transient connection and session issues.

`invalid_client` error in Claude

If Claude returns {"error":"invalid_client","error_description":"Invalid client_id"} when you connect, the custom connector was created with values in OAuth Client ID or OAuth Client Secret. OneSignal MCP Server does not use those fields. Disconnecting is not enough. You must remove the connector entirely and recreate it:

In Claude, open Settings > Connectors, find the OneSignal connector, and click Remove (not just Disconnect).
Click Add custom connector again and enter only the Name and Remote MCP server URL. Leave OAuth Client ID and OAuth Client Secret blank.
Click Add, then complete the Connect OneSignal page with your App ID and API key.

Leave OAuth Client ID and OAuth Client Secret blank. Filling either field causes the invalid_client error.

MCP tool capabilities

OneSignal MCP Server currently supports 34 tools across 9 categories.

Apps (1 tool)

Action	Tool
List apps accessible to the authenticated OAuth user	`list_apps`

list_apps requires an OAuth connection (for example Cursor or ChatGPT / Codex marketplace plugins).

Messaging (3 tools)

Action	Tool
Send a push notification, email, or SMS/RCS	`send_message`
List recent notifications	`list_messages`
View notification details and delivery stats	`view_message`

To start or update a Live Activity, see Live Activities below.

Users and subscriptions (12 tools)

Action	Tool
Look up a user by alias	`view_user`
Get a user’s identity aliases	`get_user_identity`
Get identity by subscription ID	`get_user_identity_by_subscription`
Create a new user with properties	`create_user`
Update user properties (tags, language, and more)	`update_user`
Add or update identity aliases	`create_or_update_alias`
Add aliases via subscription ID	`create_alias_by_subscription`
Add a push, email, or SMS subscription	`create_subscription`
Update an existing subscription	`update_subscription`
Update a subscription by token	`update_subscription_by_token`
Unsubscribe an email address	`unsubscribe_email`
Transfer a subscription to a different user	`transfer_subscription`

Templates (4 tools)

Action	Tool
List templates	`list_templates`
View a template	`get_template`
Create a template	`create_template`
Update a template	`update_template`

Segments (4 tools)

Action	Tool
List segments	`list_segments`
View a segment and filters	`get_segment`
Create a segment	`create_segment`
Update a segment	`update_segment`

Live Activities (2 tools)

Action	Tool
Start an iOS Live Activity	`start_live_activity`
Update or end a Live Activity	`update_live_activity`

Exports (2 tools)

Action	Tool
Export subscriptions to CSV	`export_subscriptions_csv`
Export notification audience activity to CSV	`export_audience_activity_csv`

Custom events (2 tools)

Action	Tool
Create custom events for users	`create_custom_events`
List indexed custom event definitions	`get_custom_events`

get_custom_events requires an OAuth connection (for example Cursor or ChatGPT / Codex marketplace plugins).

Analytics and utility (4 tools)

Action	Tool
View outcome analytics	`view_outcomes`
Check server health	`onesignal_health`
View server configuration	`onesignal_config`
View a reference overview of all tools	`onesignal_reference_overview`

Safety and guardrails

OneSignal MCP Server includes built-in protections for high-impact actions.

`send_message` protections

Compatible AI clients treat send_message as a high-impact action and ask for confirmation before execution
send_message has a lower rate limit (30 requests per minute) than other tools
Targeting is validated before send (single targeting method, capped filters, recipient limits)
Inputs are validated before execution, including identifiers and contact fields

Additional controls

Access is controlled per app and can be enabled or disabled by OneSignal
Per-session rate limits help prevent runaway tool loops
The MCP server is stateless and does not store your customer data (subscribers, messages, exports)

Known limitations

Smithery configurations support one OneSignal app (app_id) per MCP server entry
Marketplace OAuth connections follow the signed-in user’s account permissions and can access multiple apps
Sessions expire after inactivity and automatically re-establish on the next request
During open beta, app access may require enablement before non-utility tools are available
Some tools (list_apps, get_custom_events) require OAuth and are not available on API-key / Smithery connections

FAQ

What AI clients can I use with OneSignal MCP Server?

You can use Cursor, ChatGPT, OpenAI Codex, Claude Desktop, Claude.ai, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot in VS Code, and any other MCP-compatible client that supports remote Streamable HTTP servers. Prefer the official marketplace plugins for Cursor and OpenAI clients.

Does OneSignal MCP Server cost extra?

The MCP server is free. MCP tool calls still count against your normal OneSignal API usage limits, and your AI client may have separate usage costs.

Why does my `Key ID` not work as `api_key`?

Key ID is an identifier, not the secret API key value. Smithery setup requires the REST API key value that is shown one time when the key is created. If you no longer have that value, create a new API key and use that key value in your MCP configuration. Cursor and ChatGPT / Codex marketplace plugins use OAuth instead and do not need a REST API key.

Can AI send notifications without my approval?

No. send_message is flagged as a high-impact action, and compatible AI clients ask for confirmation before running it.

Is customer data stored by the MCP server?

No. OneSignal MCP Server is stateless and does not store your customer data. For Smithery connections, your App ID and API key are stored on the Smithery-hosted bridge so the connection stays authenticated; they are not stored on OneSignal MCP Server itself. Marketplace plugins authenticate with OneSignal OAuth and do not store your REST API key in the MCP client config.

How do I use MCP with multiple OneSignal apps?

Marketplace OAuth (Cursor, ChatGPT / Codex): One connection can access the apps your OneSignal account is allowed to manage. Use list_apps when you need to discover app IDs.
Smithery: Create one MCP server configuration per app. Each configuration uses its own app_id and api_key.

Keys and IDs

Find your App ID and API key values, and learn how to rotate them safely.

REST API overview

Reference for the underlying endpoints OneSignal MCP Server calls.

Create message API

Endpoint reference for send_message and other messaging tools.

AI data practices

How OneSignal handles data inside AI features, including MCP connections.

​What is MCP?

​Why use OneSignal MCP Server

​Common use cases

​Set up OneSignal MCP Server

​Prerequisites

​Connection details

​Marketplace plugins (Cursor and OpenAI)

​Smithery (Claude and other clients)

​Configure your AI client

​Cursor

​ChatGPT and Codex (OpenAI)

​Claude (Claude Desktop and Claude.ai)

​Claude Code

​GitHub Copilot (VS Code)

​Verify the connection

​Troubleshooting

​invalid_client error in Claude

​MCP tool capabilities

​Apps (1 tool)

​Messaging (3 tools)

​Users and subscriptions (12 tools)

​Templates (4 tools)

​Segments (4 tools)

​Live Activities (2 tools)

​Exports (2 tools)

​Custom events (2 tools)

​Analytics and utility (4 tools)

​Safety and guardrails

​send_message protections

​Additional controls

​Known limitations

​FAQ

​What AI clients can I use with OneSignal MCP Server?

​Does OneSignal MCP Server cost extra?

​Why does my Key ID not work as api_key?

​Can AI send notifications without my approval?

​Is customer data stored by the MCP server?

​How do I use MCP with multiple OneSignal apps?

​Related pages

Keys and IDs

REST API overview

Create message API

AI data practices

What is MCP?

Why use OneSignal MCP Server

Common use cases

Set up OneSignal MCP Server

Prerequisites

Connection details

Marketplace plugins (Cursor and OpenAI)

Smithery (Claude and other clients)

Configure your AI client

Cursor

ChatGPT and Codex (OpenAI)

Claude (Claude Desktop and Claude.ai)

Claude Code

GitHub Copilot (VS Code)

Verify the connection

Troubleshooting

`invalid_client` error in Claude

MCP tool capabilities

Apps (1 tool)

Messaging (3 tools)

Users and subscriptions (12 tools)

Templates (4 tools)

Segments (4 tools)

Live Activities (2 tools)

Exports (2 tools)

Custom events (2 tools)

Analytics and utility (4 tools)

Safety and guardrails

`send_message` protections

Additional controls

Known limitations

FAQ

What AI clients can I use with OneSignal MCP Server?

Does OneSignal MCP Server cost extra?

Why does my `Key ID` not work as `api_key`?

Can AI send notifications without my approval?

Is customer data stored by the MCP server?

How do I use MCP with multiple OneSignal apps?

Related pages