Integration · Payroll & HR

Connect Claude & ChatGPT to BambooHR

Ask your AI who is out next week, how many vacation days an employee has left, or to run a saved report in BambooHR. It can read employee records and the directory, handle time off requests, clock people in and out, and query datasets for a report built on the spot. You decide which tools are on, so pay data and approvals stay off until you want them.

Connect BambooHR free

Free plan, no credit card. Takes about a minute.

Try asking

“Who is out between 6 and 10 October?”
The AI lists everyone who is out in that period, with time off and company holidays.
“How many vacation days does employee 214 have left?”
It reads the employee's time off balances per type, as of today or a future date you give it.
“Approve Maria's pending time off request and add a note.”
It finds the pending request and approves it with your manager note. BambooHR notifies Maria.

What your AI can do

Employees and directory

Read the employee directory, employee records, history tables and documents, and create or update employees.

Time off and time tracking

See who is out, read balances, create, approve, deny or cancel time off requests, and clock employees in and out.

Reports and datasets

Run saved custom reports or query datasets with your own fields, filters and sorting.

“Run our saved headcount report.”
It finds the report among your saved custom reports and returns its rows.
“List everyone in Sales hired after January 2025.”
It queries the employee dataset with filters on department and hire date and returns the fields you ask for.
“Add Jonas Berg as Account Manager in Sales, starting 1 November.”
It creates the employee with name, job title, department and hire date.

28 tools for BambooHR

These tools are switched on when you connect. You can switch any of them off, or require your approval before it runs.

approve_time_off_requestChanges dataApprove a pending time off request. Required: request_id. Optional: manager_note. The employee is notified.
cancel_time_off_requestChanges dataCancel a time off request. Required: request_id.
clock_in_employeeChanges dataClock an employee in for time tracking. Required: employee_id. Optional: date, start, timezone, project_id, task_id, note.
clock_out_employeeChanges dataClock an employee out. Required: employee_id. Optional: date, end, timezone.
create_employeeChanges dataAdd a new employee. Required: first_name and last_name. Optional: hire_date, job_title, department, work_email.
create_time_off_requestVisible to othersCreate a time off request for an employee. Required: employee_id, time_off_type_id (from list_time_off_types), start and end (YYYY-MM-DD) and status (requested, or approved to record it as already approved). Optional: amount, notes.
deny_time_off_requestChanges dataDeny a pending time off request. Required: request_id. Optional: manager_note. The employee is notified.
get_company_informationGet the company's name, address and contact information.
get_employeeGet one employee's record. Required: employee_id.
get_employee_directoryGet the company employee directory: names, job titles, departments, locations and work contact details.
get_employee_tableGet rows from an employee's history table, such as jobInfo, employmentStatus or compensation. Required: employee_id and table.
get_time_off_balancesGet an employee's time off balances per type, as of today or a future date (end). Required: employee_id.
get_time_off_requestGet one time off request with dates, type, amount, status and notes. Required: request_id.
list_clock_entriesList time tracking clock entries. Narrow with filter (e.g. by employee or date).
list_dataset_fieldsList the fields you can select and filter on in a dataset. Required: dataset_name.
list_datasetsList the datasets available for querying (e.g. employee data).
list_employee_fieldsList all employee fields with their names and types, to know which fields exist.
list_employee_filesList the documents stored on an employee's profile, grouped by category. Required: employee_id.
list_employeesList employees with paging, sorting and filters (status active/inactive, ids, city, country, hire date and more).
list_field_optionsList the option values for list fields such as department, division, location and job title.
list_locationsList the company's work locations.
list_reportsList the saved custom reports in BambooHR.
list_time_off_requestsList time off requests, newest first. Narrow with filter (e.g. by employee, status or dates) and order_by.
list_time_off_typesList the time off types (vacation, sick...) and their IDs.
list_whos_outList who is out (time off and holidays) between two dates. Required: start and end (YYYY-MM-DD).
query_datasetChanges dataQuery a dataset for a custom report on the fly. Required: dataset_name and fields. Optional: filter, order_by, page_size.
run_reportRun a saved custom report and return its rows. Required: report_id.
update_employeeChanges dataUpdate an employee's basic fields: name, job title, department, division, location, hire date, phone numbers, work email and address. Required: employee_id.

Set up in three steps

1
Pick the app
Create a free PipMCP account and choose BambooHR from the app list.
2
Paste your key
Enter your BambooHR subdomain (the "acme" in acme.bamboohr.com), your API key and the letter x as the password. To create the key, click your name in the lower-left corner of BambooHR, choose API Keys and add a new key. The key has the same access as your own BambooHR user.
3
Add the link to your AI
You get a personal MCP link. Add it to Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor:
Click your name, then Settings › Connectors › Add custom connector. Paste your link as the Remote MCP server URL. Switch it on from the + menu in a chat.

Questions

What can the AI do in BambooHR?

The AI can read employees, the directory, employee history tables and files, time off requests and balances, who is out, clock entries, saved reports and datasets. It can create and update employees, create time off requests, approve, deny or cancel them, and clock employees in and out.

Does the AI see my BambooHR credentials?

No. Your BambooHR API key is encrypted at rest and never shown to the AI. After you save it, it is not shown again, not even to you. The AI only sees the results of the tools it calls.

Can I control what the AI is allowed to do?

Yes. You choose which tools are switched on, so you can start with read tools like the directory and who is out. HR data is sensitive: get_employee_table can read history tables such as compensation, so leave it off if the AI should not see pay. Approving, denying and creating time off can require your approval before they run, and every tool call is logged.

Does it work with ChatGPT?

Yes. In ChatGPT go to Settings › Apps & Connectors › Advanced and turn on Developer mode, then add your PipMCP link. Developer mode needs a paid ChatGPT plan: Plus, Pro, Business or Enterprise. The same link also works in Claude (Settings › Connectors › Add custom connector), Cursor and other MCP clients.

What does it cost?

PipMCP has a free plan with no credit card required. Paid plans bill per completed task. You also need your own BambooHR account.

Does the employee get notified when the AI approves time off?

Yes. When the AI approves or denies a time off request, BambooHR notifies the employee, the same as when a manager does it. Creating a request with the status approved records it as already approved. Require approval for these tools if you want to check each one first.