Quickstart

Stand up a bank2ai MCP server and ask Claude: "What did I spend on groceries last month?"

1. Install uv

macOS / Linux / WSL2

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
source $HOME/.local/bin/env

Windows

Run in PowerShell, then restart it:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"

2. Create a project

uv init my-bank
cd my-bank
uv add bank2ai fastmcp

3. Write a server

Create server.py in your project:

from fastmcp import FastMCP
from bank2ai import (
    Account, AccountList,
    Category, CategoryList,
    SpendingSummary, SpendingSummaryGroup, SpendingSummaryPeriod,
    register_tools,
)

app = FastMCP("my-bank")

ACCOUNTS = [
    Account(
        id="acc-1", accountNumber="1234-56-789012", currency="USD",
        balance=4250.00, accountType="Current",
        isWithdrawalAccount=True, isDefaultAccount=True,
    ),
]

CATEGORIES = [
    Category(id="cat-groceries", name="Groceries"),
    Category(id="cat-transport", name="Transportation"),
    Category(id="cat-dining", name="Dining"),
]

SPENDING = SpendingSummary(
    summary=[
        SpendingSummaryGroup(group="Groceries", total_amount=-588.00, transaction_count=6, average_amount=-98.00),
        SpendingSummaryGroup(group="Transportation", total_amount=-165.00, transaction_count=4, average_amount=-41.25),
        SpendingSummaryGroup(group="Dining", total_amount=-342.50, transaction_count=8, average_amount=-42.81),
    ],
    period=SpendingSummaryPeriod(start_date="2025-04-01", end_date="2025-04-30"),
    total=-1095.50,
)

async def get_accounts(*, only_withdrawal_accounts, account_type):
    return AccountList(items=ACCOUNTS)

async def get_categories():
    return CategoryList(items=CATEGORIES)

async def get_spending_summary(*, group_by="category", start_date=None, end_date=None, categories=None):
    return SPENDING

register_tools(
    app,
    get_accounts=get_accounts,
    get_categories=get_categories,
    get_spending_summary=get_spending_summary,
)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    app.run()

Tools whose handler is omitted are simply not registered — add more as you implement them.

4. Run it

uv run python server.py

5. Connect to Claude

Claude Code

Works on any platform, including Linux and WSL2.

From your my-bank directory:

claude mcp add my-bank -- uv run --directory "$PWD" python server.py
claude

Windows

In PowerShell, "$PWD" expands to the current directory — the command works as-is. Or replace it with the full path, e.g. C:\Users\YOU\my-bank.

Type /mcp in the new session — my-bank should appear. Then ask:

What did I spend on groceries last month?

---

Claude Desktop

info

Claude Desktop is not available on Linux. Linux users should use Claude Code above.

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. This opens the correct config file for your install regardless of how Claude Desktop was installed. Add mcpServers alongside any existing keys in that file:

macOS

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-bank": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "--directory", "/absolute/path/to/my-bank", "python", "server.py"]
    }
  }
}

Windows

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-bank": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "--directory", "C:\\Users\\YOU\\my-bank", "python", "server.py"]
    }
  }
}

Windows + WSL2

Your project lives inside WSL; Claude Desktop runs on Windows. Use wsl.exe to bridge them.

Replace /home/YOU/my-bank with your Linux project path, and verify the uv path with which uv in WSL:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-bank": {
      "command": "wsl.exe",
      "args": ["--", "bash", "-lc", "cd /home/YOU/my-bank && /home/YOU/.local/bin/uv run python server.py"]
    }
  }
}

Fully quit Claude Desktop (hamburger menu in the top-left → File → Exit) and reopen it.

Then ask Claude anything — for example:

What did I spend on groceries last month?

Claude will call your server and return the data. You can ask follow-up questions, request a chart, or try something completely different.

Next steps

• Add more handlers — see Writing handlers.
• Read the Specification to understand the full contract.
• Wire up a real bank in the real-bank guide.