Pipedrive MCP: query and change CRM by safety mode

Who it is for

If you want to query, create, or update Pipedrive CRM data directly in Claude Code or Claude Desktop, this service matches. It is an MCP server for local or self-hosted use, authenticated with a Pipedrive API key.

For people who already have a Pipedrive account and API key, and whose client can run STDIO MCP. Official text says transport today is STDIO only, with no hosted OAuth. If you need remote HTTP access or OAuth login, this page has no usable path.

The package name must be the scoped @ckalima/pipedrive-mcp-server. Official text is explicit: if an old snippet cites the unscoped pipedrive-mcp-server, that is a different, unrelated package; do not install the wrong one.

First try in 3 minutes

The official recommended path is guided install. Prerequisites: have a Pipedrive API key ready, pick Claude Code or Claude Desktop as the client, and transport must be STDIO.

In a terminal run:

npx -y @ckalima/pipedrive-mcp-server init

Follow the guide to write the server into the client config. When you must edit config by hand, the command is npx, the args are -y and @ckalima/pipedrive-mcp-server, and set PIPEDRIVE_API_KEY in the environment. Do not write any sample key string, and do not use the unscoped package name.

On the first try set PIPEDRIVE_MODE to read-only. Official text defines this band as read-only; the default band safe-write already includes non-destructive writes and is not right for the first try.

Then make one low-risk call: query CRM data. Official text says you can Query, create, and update CRM data from the assistant; the first try only does Query. Official docs do not give a concrete tool name or object type. Use only query-class tools the client lists for this server. Do not invent tool names that do not appear, and do not create or update records.

Success: a query result of records already in Pipedrive comes back, with no write. If write-class tools are hidden at the current band, that matches official text — tools outside the band are hidden, and a direct call is rejected.

Use cases

Case 1: read-only CRM query. Set PIPEDRIVE_MODE to read-only, then query existing data. Official text only says Query CRM data; it does not say which objects, filters, or pagination. On success you should see existing records; do not treat one query as a full data export.

Case 2: create or update records in the default safe-write band. Official text says the default band is reads plus non-destructive writes, matching create and update. This changes CRM; before the call, confirm which business record you will change. Official docs give no field list or sample payload. Use only the create or update capability the client shows, and restate what will be written before you run it. Deletes, conversions, and other irreversible writes are not in this band; official text requires the full band to unlock them.

Limits

PIPEDRIVE_MODE has read-only, safe-write (default), and full. Tools outside the band do not appear in the tool list, and a direct call is rejected. Deletes, conversions, and other irreversible writes need full; do not open that band on the first try.

Transport today is STDIO only; Streamable HTTP is only a planned flag and cannot be treated as provided on this page. Auth is a Pipedrive API key, with no hosted OAuth. The key lives in a local environment variable; queries and writes both leave the machine to reach Pipedrive.

Official docs do not write rate limits or revocation. Once a write succeeds, you must undo it yourself in Pipedrive. Using the unscoped package name pipedrive-mcp-server is, official text says, a different unrelated package.