Connecting Buyer24 to Claude
Step-by-step setup for the Buyer24 connector in Claude — on claude.ai, Claude Code, and Claude Desktop — plus what access you're granting and why drafts stay drafts.
Overview
Buyer24 exposes your procurement data to Claude through a connector — a single endpoint Claude talks to on your behalf. Once it's connected you can work in plain language:
- "Browse my suppliers and show me who does CNC machining"
- "Review the quotes on RFQ REQ-20260515 and compare them"
- "Draft an RFQ for 500 aluminum brackets, responses due next Friday"
There is nothing to install and no configuration file. Setup is entirely authentication — you point Claude at the connector URL and approve what it's allowed to do.
The connector URL is:
https://api.buyer24.ai/mcpChoose how to authenticate
There are two ways in. Which one you use depends on your Claude client, not on preference.
| Sign in with Buyer24 (recommended) | API key | |
|---|---|---|
| Use it for | claude.ai, Claude Desktop, Claude Code | scripts, custom integrations, your own tooling |
| What you do | Click Connect, log in to Buyer24, approve access | Create a key in Buyer24, paste it into your integration |
| Expires | Refreshes automatically — you stay connected | Never, until you revoke it |
| Access is chosen | On the approval screen, per connection | When you create the key |
If you're using Claude, use the sign-in method. You don't need an API key — creating one just to connect Claude adds a long-lived secret you'd have to manage and rotate yourself.
Connect on claude.ai
- Open Settings → Connectors in Claude
- Click Add custom connector
- Paste the connector URL:
https://api.buyer24.ai/mcp - Click Connect — Claude sends you to Buyer24
- Log in with your normal Buyer24 account if you aren't already
- Review the access list on the approval screen, then click Allow
Claude returns to the connector settings and the Buyer24 tools become available in your chats.
Connect in Claude Code
Add the connector once, from your terminal:
claude mcp add --transport http buyer24 https://api.buyer24.ai/mcpThen start Claude Code and run /mcp. Pick buyer24 and choose to authenticate — your browser opens the same Buyer24 login and approval screen as above. Once you click Allow, the connection is saved and you won't be asked again.
Connect in Claude Desktop
Claude Desktop uses the same Settings → Connectors flow as claude.ai. Add the connector URL, click Connect, and approve access in the browser window that opens.
What you're approving
The approval screen lists exactly what Claude may do. These are the same permissions shown on a Buyer24 API key:
| Permission | What it allows |
|---|---|
| View your suppliers and their details | Read your supplier directory |
| Create and update suppliers | Add suppliers, edit their details |
| Manage supplier contacts | Add, edit, and remove contact people |
| View supplier pools | Read your supplier groupings |
| View your RFQs and quotes | Read RFQs and their status |
| Create and update RFQ drafts | Compose RFQs — always as drafts |
| View quotes and comparisons | Read supplier quotes and side-by-side comparisons |
| View the quotes you send to your customers | Read your outgoing customer quotes |
| Draft and edit customer quotes | Build customer quotes — nothing is sent |
| View your organization | Read your organization's profile and settings |
| Approve and send RFQs to suppliers on your behalf | Let Claude actually send an RFQ email |
| Email quotes to your customers on your behalf | Let Claude actually send a customer quote |
The last two are different from the rest: they are never granted by default. You have to select them deliberately. Everything else Claude does stops short of anything leaving your organization.
Drafts stay drafts
This is the part worth understanding before you start, because it's the most common surprise.
Anything Claude creates is a draft. When Claude composes an RFQ, it lands in Buyer24 with status draft — it is not sent to suppliers. What happens next is decided by your organization's automation setting, not by Claude:
| Your automation setting | What happens to a draft Claude creates |
|---|---|
| Manual | It waits in Buyer24 for you to review and send |
| Ask before send | You get an approval card to confirm before it goes out |
| Auto | It goes through your normal automated pipeline |
Even when you have granted the send permission, Buyer24 re-checks the RFQ on its own before anything is emailed — Claude cannot skip validation.
So a normal, correct run ends with a draft waiting for you. If Claude tells you an RFQ "has been sent" and you didn't grant the send permission, check the RFQ in Buyer24 — it's a draft.
Managing the connection
- From Buyer24 (recommended): go to Profile → Security → Connected apps. Every app you've authorized is listed with what it can do and when it was last used. Click Disconnect to revoke it.
- From Claude: Settings → Connectors also lets you disconnect. Doing it in Buyer24 is stronger — it revokes the authorization itself, so it applies even if you no longer have access to that Claude account.
- If you connected with an API key instead: revoke it under Profile → API Keys.
One thing to know about timing: disconnecting stops the app from renewing its access. Access already in progress can take up to an hour to stop completely.
Reviewing where you're signed in
The same Profile → Security page lists the devices signed in to your Buyer24 account — the browser and operating system, the IP address, and when each was last active. You can end any one of them, or use Sign out everywhere else to sign out every device except the one you're using. Unlike disconnecting an app, ending a session takes effect immediately.
This is worth doing if you've ever signed in on a shared or borrowed machine — signing out there ends that session immediately rather than leaving it live for weeks.
When Buyer24 adds new capabilities
Most of the time there is nothing to approve. When we add a new capability that works within the permissions you already approved, no new approval is needed — the connector already has access to it. If the connector's settings page doesn't list a new capability yet, try Refresh tools list in its menu. If it still isn't listed, that's a display issue on Claude's side rather than a missing permission; the capability is granted and nothing needs re-approving.
The exception is a capability that needs a new permission — one that wasn't on the approval screen when you connected. Permissions are fixed at the moment you approve them, so Claude simply won't be offered that capability until you approve it.
To pick it up, disconnect and reconnect the connector. You'll get a fresh approval screen listing the new permission. This is deliberate: a connection you already approved never quietly gains new powers.
Claude only sees the capabilities your connection actually covers, so it won't offer to do something and then fail partway through.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Claude says it can't do something in Buyer24 | Usually the permission wasn't approved for this connection — Claude is only offered what your connection covers. Occasionally the connector isn't connected at all | Check Profile → Security → Connected apps in Buyer24 to see exactly what you granted, then disconnect and reconnect to approve more |
| Claude can read but not create anything | The connection was approved with read-only access | Reconnect and include the create/update permissions |
| Claude won't send an RFQ or a customer quote | The two sending permissions are never granted by default — they have to be chosen deliberately | Reconnect and tick the sending permission you need on the approval screen |
| An RFQ Claude "sent" isn't with suppliers | Working as designed — it's a draft | Review and send it in Buyer24, or check your automation setting |
| It worked last month, now Claude can't do one thing | That action now needs a permission introduced after you connected | Disconnect and reconnect to re-approve |
| Login loop on the approval screen | You're signed into a different Buyer24 account or organization | Sign out at app.buyer24.ai, sign back in with the right account, retry |
Combining Buyer24 with other tools
Because the connector is standard, Claude can use Buyer24 alongside your other connected systems in one request. With QuickBooks connected too, for example:
"Find completed RFQs that haven't been pushed to QuickBooks as a purchase order yet, and push the first one."
Claude reads the completed RFQ from Buyer24, creates the purchase order in QuickBooks, and records the link back on the Buyer24 RFQ. The same pattern works for any system you have connected — nothing Buyer24-specific needs to be set up for it.
Related
- API Keys & Integrations — creating and revoking keys for your own integrations
- RFQ Autopilot & Reminders — the automation setting that decides what happens to drafts
- Understanding Roles — who can do what in your organization