Connect Doorstep to Claude

You can connect Doorstep to Claude and run the everyday jobs by asking, instead of clicking through menus: check your day, book a regular, move an appointment, or text a customer. This guide walks you through connecting the two, choosing what Claude is allowed to do, and keeping your key safe.

It takes about five minutes and only has to be done once.

Step 1: Create an API key in Doorstep

An API key is a long secret code that lets Claude act on your Doorstep account. You create it in your dashboard.

1. In your Doorstep dashboard, open Settings, then API Keys.
2. Select Create key and give it a name you’ll recognize, such as “Claude on my laptop.”
3. Choose what this key is allowed to do (see choosing permissions below).
4. Select Create. Doorstep shows you the full key once.
5. Copy the key right away and keep it somewhere safe. For security, Doorstep never shows the full key again after this screen.

If you lose the key or don’t copy it in time, no problem: revoke it and create a new one. You can’t recover the old one, but making a fresh key takes seconds.

Step 2: Choose what Claude can do

When you create a key, you pick its permissions — the specific things it can do. This keeps you in control. A key can only do what you allow, and nothing more.

The permissions you can grant are:

• See your schedule — read your calendar and available times.
• Change your schedule — book, move, and cancel appointments.
• See your customers — look up customer and pet details.
• Change your customers — add customers and update pet information.
• Send messages — text your customers and read your message threads.
• See payments — read revenue and payment totals for reports.

For most owners, the simplest choice is an everyday key with all of the above turned on. That lets Claude do the full range of daily work.

If you only want reports and never want Claude to change anything, create a reporting-only key with just see your schedule and see payments turned on.

There is also a separate booking permission meant for a public booking assistant on your website. Keep that one on its own key. Never mix it with your everyday permissions, and never paste your owner key into anything customer-facing, since your owner key can see and change everything in your account.

Step 3: Add Doorstep as a connector in Claude

Now tell Claude how to reach Doorstep. In Claude, this is called adding a custom connector.

1. In Claude, open Settings, then Connectors.
2. Select Add custom connector.
3. Paste your Doorstep connection URL. You’ll find this on the same API Keys page in Doorstep. It ends in /mcp.
4. Paste your API key where Claude asks for the key or token.
5. Save. Claude connects to Doorstep and your tools become available in the chat.

Other assistants that support the same kind of connection work too. They use the same connection URL and the same key, entered as an authorization token. That means you are not locked into one app.

Step 4: Try it out

Once connected, just ask Claude in plain language. Here are five to start with:

• “What’s my day look like tomorrow?” — Claude reads your schedule and gives you a rundown of your appointments and any gaps.
• “Book Bella’s next groom with Sarah two weeks out on a Thursday.” — Claude checks for an open, conflict-free time and books it.
• “Who hasn’t confirmed this week?” — Claude scans this week’s appointments and lists the ones still unconfirmed.
• “Text Maria that I’m running 15 minutes late.” — Claude sends the message to that customer from your business number.
• “Which pets have rabies shots expiring before their next visit?” — Claude finds pets whose vaccination records lapse before their upcoming appointment, with the owner’s contact info.

Every request runs against your live schedule and customers, so changes are real. You stay in control: Claude confirms specifics like the customer, pet, service, and time when it makes a change.

Keeping your key safe

Treat your API key like a password:

• Don’t share it or paste it into emails, chats, or public websites.
• Use a name you’ll recognize for each key, so you know what it’s for.
• Revoke anytime. If a key might have been seen by someone else, or you no longer use it, open Settings, then API Keys, and revoke it. Revoking takes effect immediately, and anything using that key stops working right away. Create a new key when you need one.

A couple of good habits: give each device or assistant its own key so you can revoke just that one, and give reporting keys only the “see” permissions.

If something isn’t working

• Claude says it’s not authorized. The key may be wrong or revoked. Create a new key and update the connector.
• A tool you expected is missing. The key probably doesn’t have that permission. Create a new key with the right permissions turned on.
• “That time was just taken.” Someone booked that slot first. Ask Claude to check availability again and pick another time.

Where to go next

• Connect Stripe and set deposits so the appointments Claude books can collect a deposit.
• Set your service areas and hours so Claude only offers times you actually work.