Claude + When I Work: Connect Your Staff Schedule to Claude
When I Work doesn’t offer a Claude connector, and it hasn’t published an MCP server. It does have an API, and When I Work issues a developer key to customers who ask for one. Connect that key to Carly, add the Carly connector to Claude, and your schedule, shifts, availability and time off are in the chat.
Where When I Work stands with Claude
As of November 5, 2026, there’s no When I Work connector in Claude’s directory and no official MCP server. One community-built server exists, published by an individual, and it has to run on your own machine with your admin login in a config file.
When I Work’s API covers the schedule: shifts and open shifts, positions, locations, users, availability, time-off requests and timesheets. The key isn’t self-serve. You email When I Work’s support team with your company name, an admin’s name, a developer contact and what you intend to build, and they send a developer key. Requests then sign in with that key plus an admin user’s login.
How to connect When I Work to Claude through Carly
- Request a developer key. Email When I Work support with your company, the account admin’s name, a contact for the integration and what it’s for. The key arrives by email.
- Connect When I Work in Carly. In Carly, go to Integrations → Connect an API and connect When I Work with the developer key and an admin login.
- Add Carly to Claude. Click Get the Carly connector, then Connect, and sign in.
- Ask Claude about the schedule. It answers through the Carly connector with live When I Work data.
Rather not write the request yourself? Book a call and we’ll set it up with you.
What Claude can do with When I Work once Carly is in
- “Who’s on tomorrow, by location?”
- “Which open shifts this week still have nobody?”
- “Who’s requested time off over the holidays?”
- “Who’s over 38 hours this week so far?”
With your Gmail or Outlook connected in Carly too, Claude can answer an employee’s email about their shift with the actual schedule in front of it.
Where Claude stops
Claude answers when you ask. Its scheduled tasks run on a clock, and nothing in When I Work can start one. An open shift two days out, a swap request sitting in someone’s inbox, an employee about to tip into overtime: all of it waits for a chat.
Carly handles those in the cloud, on a schedule you set or when a message arrives:
- Every evening at 6, text each employee tomorrow’s shift time and location.
- Two days before an open shift, text the manager which shifts still have nobody.
- When an employee emails or texts about a swap, check the schedule and draft the reply, or book the swap by your rules.
- Every Monday, email the owner last week’s hours by location and anyone over the overtime line.
Carly texts and calls from your business number, so the same rules run on the phone as on email. Carly connects to thousands of apps, and you set it up in plain English. Routine steps run as free Zapier-style workflows; work that needs judgment runs as an AI agent. Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month. Get started with Carly.
Claude alone vs Claude with Carly
| Claude alone | Claude + Carly | |
|---|---|---|
| When I Work in Claude | No connector | Through the Carly connector |
| Shifts, availability, time off | No | Yes |
| Setup | Nothing official to install | Request a key, connect it in Carly |
| Tomorrow’s shift texted to each employee | No | Yes, every evening |
| Open-shift alerts | Only when you ask | Yes, two days out |
| Runs with your laptop closed | Scheduled tasks only | Yes, in the cloud |
| Price | Your Claude plan | Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month |
FAQ
Does Claude work with When I Work?
Not directly. When I Work has no Claude connector and no official MCP server. Get a developer key from When I Work, connect it to Carly, add the Carly connector to Claude, and Claude can work with your schedule.
How do I get a When I Work API key?
Email When I Work support with your company name, the account admin’s name, a developer contact and the intended use. They send the key by email, and requests sign in with that key plus an admin login.
Can Carly text employees their shifts?
Yes. Carly reads tomorrow’s schedule from When I Work and texts each employee their shift from your business number, with no chat open.
Can Claude handle shift swap requests?
Through Carly. When an employee emails or texts about a swap, Carly checks the schedule and drafts the reply, or books the swap by the rules you set.
More: Claude + Homebase · Claude + Deputy · Claude + 7shifts · Claude + Gusto
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"Before Carly, I relied on a Calendly link, but the whole process felt impersonal and not very professional. Carly changed that by handling all the back-and-forth, so I'm no longer stuck in endless email threads trying to line up schedules.
Now Carly reaches out to candidates, shares my real-time availability, lets them pick a slot, then sends a Zoom link and drops it straight into my calendar. She sends reminders to both of us before each call, which has significantly reduced no-shows and last-minute confusion.
On top of scheduling, Carly acts like a full executive assistant, sending me my schedule the night before so I can prepare for each call. It reminds me of the old x.ai assistant, but Carly is noticeably smarter, faster, and better suited to my healthcare recruitment business."
