MCP Server Overview
What the ClearSpan Remote MCP server is and how it lets Claude drive your workspace.
The ClearSpan Remote MCP server lets you drive ClearSpan from Claude Desktop or claude.ai. Once connected, Claude can read and create projects, build and run wood-beam and wood-post calcs, manage load criteria, and assemble calc packages — all in your own live workspace.
What it is#
MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the standard that lets Claude connect to external tools. ClearSpan runs a hosted MCP server that exposes a set of engineer tools to Claude. You connect once with your ClearSpan credentials, and from then on you can ask Claude to do real work in ClearSpan in plain language — "size a 16 ft wood beam for these loads", "pull the dead-load psf from this project's criteria", "compile a calc package PDF."
The connector is protected by OAuth, so you never paste an API key. See Connect Claude Desktop for the one-time setup.
Changes are live#
Anything Claude saves through the connector shows up immediately in the ClearSpan web app. The server runs the same service layer and access rules the web UI uses, so calcs created or run via Claude behave exactly as if you'd made them yourself — the same projects, the same Files browser, the same reports.
A calc created or run through Claude is a normal ClearSpan calculation. Open it in the web app to view diagrams, edit it further, or move it through the Calculation Lifecycle.
Firm-scoped and engineer-only#
The connector is an engineer feature. When you connect, every tool runs as you — an org member (reviewer, firm admin, or superuser) or a firmless individual/beta engineer — scoped to your firm. You only ever see and touch projects and calcs your account can already access in the web app.
Client accounts cannot connect. See Security & Scoping for how authentication and scoping work, and the FAQ for common questions.
What Claude can do#
The tool surface breaks down into a few groups, each documented on its own reference page:
| Area | What you can do | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Projects & calcs | List, read, create, and update projects and calculations | Projects & Calcs |
| Runners | Solve the wood-beam and wood-post designs and read results | Runners |
| Packages | Create packages, add calcs, compile a combined PDF | Packages |
| Load criteria | Read and manage project design loads, derive applied loads | Load Criteria |
How it compares to the chat assistant#
The in-app Engineer Chat Assistant and the inbound email agent use the same underlying ClearSpan tools, but run inside the ClearSpan app. The Remote MCP server is the option for working from your own Claude client — Claude Desktop or claude.ai — against your live workspace.
Next steps#
- Connect Claude Desktop — add the connector and log in.
- Security & Scoping — how the connector authenticates you.
- FAQ — quick answers to common questions.