How do I connect Salesforce to Claude with MCP?

Use Salesforce's hosted MCP servers. In Salesforce Setup, open MCP Servers and activate a server, such as sobject-reads for read-only access, and copy its URL. Then create an External Client App with OAuth enabled, Claude's callback URL and the mcp_api, refresh_token and offline_access scopes, and copy its consumer key. In Claude, open Customize, then Connectors, add a custom connector with the server URL, paste the consumer key as the OAuth client ID, and click Connect to sign in to Salesforce. On Team and Enterprise plans, an Owner adds the connector under Organization settings first.

Which Salesforce MCP server should I start with?

sobject-reads. It is read-only: schema, SOQL queries, search and relationships. Move to sobject-mutations (create and update, no deletes) or sobject-all (full create, read, update and delete) only once you know what you want Claude to change, and for whom.

Does the Salesforce hosted MCP server cost anything?

The hosted MCP servers became generally available on 29 April 2026 for Enterprise Edition and above. Salesforce says they are intended for customers with Flex Credits and that usage may be billed, and it plans to charge Flex Credits per successful call by a registered agent in production orgs; the per-call rate was still listed as to be announced in late October 2026. Sandboxes, scratch orgs and Developer Edition orgs are reported as excluded. Check your own contract before rolling it out to a team.

Can Claude see every record in Salesforce once connected?

No. Each person signs in with their own Salesforce account, and Claude works inside that user's object permissions, field-level security and sharing rules. Claude cannot see or change anything the user could not already see or change in Salesforce.

What is the difference between Salesforce's MCP server and Salesforce in Claude?

The hosted MCP servers are the plumbing: any MCP client, including Claude, ChatGPT or your own agent, can call them. Salesforce in Claude is a plugin built by Salesforce on top of them, with 37 sales skills and the Salesforce and Slack connectors. It is in beta, for organizations Salesforce approves, on the latest Sales Cloud enterprise edition.

When do I need a custom Salesforce MCP server instead?

When the hosted servers do not fit your org or your workflow: the AI must follow your custom objects, record types, validation rules and Flows rather than generic record operations, writes to revenue-critical records need a preview and a confirmation, or one AI action has to touch Salesforce and another system such as your ERP. At Reflekt Lab, scoping costs $2,300 to $4,700 and a first workflow in production starts at $17,500.

Connect Salesforce to Claude with MCP: Step by Step (2026)

A cloud-shaped block wired to a chat window, with a key module and a small checklist card on the cable between them

To connect Salesforce to Claude with MCP, activate one of Salesforce's hosted MCP servers in Setup, create an External Client App for Claude's sign-in, then add the server as a custom connector in Claude and sign in with your Salesforce account. No code and no server of your own. Start with the read-only sobject-reads server. The hosted servers have been generally available since April 2026 on Enterprise Edition and above, and Salesforce plans to bill their calls in Flex Credits. Below: the steps, which server to choose, what it may cost, and when the hosted server is not enough.

Before you start

A Salesforce admin. Activating a server and creating an External Client App both happen in Setup.
Enterprise Edition or above. The hosted MCP servers are generally available there since 29 April 2026.
A Claude plan that allows custom connectors. On Pro and Max you add it yourself. On Team and Enterprise, an Owner adds it under Organization settings, then Connectors, and each member then connects with their own Salesforce login (how adding a connector works).
A sandbox to try it on. Every server has a sandbox address, and sandbox calls are reported as excluded from the planned per-call billing.

Step 1: activate a hosted MCP server

In Salesforce, open Setup and search for MCP Servers. Open the Salesforce servers tab, choose a server and click Activate. Copy its API name and server URL.

The addresses follow one pattern:

Org	Server URL
Production	`https://api.salesforce.com/platform/mcp/v1/platform/<server>`
Sandbox or scratch org	`https://api.salesforce.com/platform/mcp/v1/sandbox/platform/<server>`

The record servers, from the most cautious to the broadest:

Server	What Claude can do
`sobject-reads`	Read only: schema, SOQL queries, search, relationships
`sobject-mutations`	Create and update records, no deletes
`sobject-deletes`	Delete records only
`sobject-all`	Create, read, update and delete, plus queries and search

Salesforce also hosts servers for Data 360, Tableau Next, CMS content and, in beta, metadata and CRM Analytics. Start with sobject-reads. Add write access later, for the people and records that need it.

Step 2: create an External Client App

Claude signs each user in to Salesforce with OAuth, and it needs a client registered in your org to do that. In Setup, open External Client App Manager and click New External Client App. Give it a name such as Claude MCP Client and a contact email, then set OAuth as Salesforce's guide for Claude lists it:

Enable OAuth, with the callback URL https://claude.ai/api/mcp/auth_callback for Claude on the web and desktop. Claude Code uses a local callback, given in the same guide.
Scopes: mcp_api (access Salesforce hosted MCP servers), and refresh_token with offline_access so the connection keeps working after the first access token expires.
Security: require PKCE, issue JWT-based access tokens for named users, and do not require a secret for the web server and refresh token flows.

Save it, open its Settings tab, reveal the Consumer Key and copy it. A new External Client App can take a few minutes to work after you save it: if the first sign-in fails, wait and try again before changing settings.

Step 3: add the connector in Claude

In Claude, open Customize, then Connectors, click the plus button and choose Add custom connector.
Name it, for example Salesforce (read only), and paste the server URL from step 1.
Open the advanced settings and paste the Consumer Key into OAuth Client ID. Leave the client secret empty unless your setup requires one.
Click Add, then Connect. Salesforce's own sign-in window opens: log in to the right org and approve the access.

Then ask Claude something only your org can answer: "Using the Salesforce connector, list my ten largest open opportunities closing this quarter, with their stage and owner." If Claude answers without calling the connector, ask it to use the connector by name.

In Claude Code, add the same server URL with claude mcp add (Salesforce's guide gives the exact command with your consumer key), then type /mcp, select the Salesforce server and choose Authenticate.

What it costs

Two bills, and only one is settled:

Claude: your existing plan. A connector costs nothing extra.
Salesforce: the hosted servers are, in Salesforce's words, intended for customers with Flex Credits, and usage may be billed. Salesforce plans to charge Flex Credits for each successful call by a registered agent in production orgs; the per-call rate was still listed as to be announced on 23 October 2026 (StackSync's summary). Sandboxes, scratch orgs and Developer Edition orgs are reported as excluded.

Before you roll it out to a whole sales team, ask your Salesforce account executive what a call will cost on your contract. For a sense of Salesforce's per-action pricing elsewhere, see what Agentforce costs.

What Claude can and cannot see

Each person signs in as themselves, so Claude works inside that user's profile, permission sets, field-level security and sharing rules. It cannot read a record the user could not open in Salesforce, and with sobject-reads it cannot change anything at all. That is the main reason to prefer this route over a shared integration user with an API key.

Two cautions remain. A connector with write access will do what the user asks, including bulk updates the user did not think through, so give write servers only to the people who need them. And anything Claude reads, including a record's free-text fields, enters the conversation, which is why prompt injection through tool results matters even on a read-only server.

Salesforce in Claude: the packaged option

If your goal is sellers working in Claude rather than an integration, Salesforce also ships Salesforce in Claude, a plugin built by Salesforce with 37 sales skills and the Salesforce and Slack connectors. It is in beta, for organizations Salesforce approves, on the latest Sales Cloud enterprise edition, and it is set up by both admins: the Salesforce admin requests access through AgentExchange, and a Claude Owner enters the External Client App's key and secret under Organization settings (Anthropic's setup guide). What it covers and what is still marked coming soon is in Claudeforce explained.

When the hosted server is not enough

The hosted servers expose generic record operations. That is enough for a clean org and simple questions. It stops being enough when:

Your org is not stock. Years of custom objects, record types, validation rules and Flows encode how your business works, and the AI should use them as actions ("move this deal to legal review"), not as raw field updates.
Writes need a safety net. An update to a revenue-critical record should show the person a preview and wait for a confirmation they actually read.
One action crosses systems. Creating an order in your ERP when an opportunity closes, or filling Salesforce from WhatsApp conversations (our reference architecture).

Then you want a Salesforce MCP server built for your org. At Reflekt Lab, scoping one workflow costs $2,300 to $4,700 and a first workflow in production starts at $17,500 (what an MCP server costs). If the hosted server covers what you need, we will tell you to use it.

How to Connect Salesforce to Claude with MCP (2026)

Salesforce now hosts its own MCP servers, so connecting Claude to your org takes three steps and no code. Here are the steps, the server to start with, what it may cost, and when the hosted server is not enough.