Content
# Workday Studio MCP
A local MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that gives Claude direct access to your Workday Studio workspace. Read, write, plan, and validate integration assemblies without copy-pasting XML back and forth.
---
## What it does
Claude connects to this server and gains 19 tools for working with Studio projects:
| Category | Tools |
|---|---|
| **Navigation** | List projects, list files, read files, search across files, workspace tree |
| **File management** | Write files, copy, rename, delete |
| **Planning** | Design elicitation + skeleton generator (`plan_integration`) |
| **Assembly editing** | List steps, add steps, replace sub-flow body (`update_sub_flow`) |
| **XSL** | Generate transform file stubs (`create_xsl_transform`) |
| **Validation** | XML well-formedness, Studio-specific rules (`validate_assembly`) |
| **Reference** | Step type documentation with confirmed production examples |
---
## Prerequisites
- **Node.js 18+** — check with `node --version`
- **Workday Studio** installed with at least one project in your workspace
- **Claude.ai** account with access to custom MCP connectors (Team or higher plan)
---
## Setup
**1. Clone and install**
```bash
git clone https://github.com/krishnagutta/Workday-studio-mcp.git
cd Workday-studio-mcp
npm install
```
**2. Configure your workspace path**
```bash
cp config.json.example config.json
```
Open `config.json` and set `workspace_path` to the folder that contains your Studio projects:
```json
{
"workspace_path": "/Users/yourname/Documents/Studio Workspace",
"max_file_size_kb": 500,
"backup_on_write": true,
"excluded_dirs": [".git", ".settings", "bin", "build", "node_modules", ".metadata", ".plugins"],
"excluded_extensions": [".class", ".jar", ".zip", ".bak"]
}
```
Your workspace folder is the one that contains `INT###_ProjectName` directories — the same folder Eclipse opens when you launch Studio.
Alternatively, skip `config.json` entirely and set an environment variable:
```bash
export STUDIO_WORKSPACE_PATH="/Users/yourname/Documents/Studio Workspace"
```
**3. Verify it starts**
```bash
node src/index.mjs
```
You should see:
```
[studio-mcp] Server started. Workspace: /Users/yourname/Documents/Studio Workspace
```
Press `Ctrl+C` to stop — you only need it running when Claude is connected.
---
## Connect to Claude
Choose whichever client you use — both work the same way.
### Option A — Claude Desktop
Edit the Claude Desktop config file:
- **macOS:** `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
- **Windows:** `%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json`
Add the `studio-mcp` entry inside `mcpServers`:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"studio-mcp": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/absolute/path/to/Workday-studio-mcp/src/index.mjs"]
}
}
}
```
Replace the path with wherever you cloned the repo. Save the file, then **restart Claude Desktop**. The 19 tools will appear automatically in every conversation.
### Option B — Claude Code (CLI)
Run once from any terminal:
```bash
claude mcp add studio-mcp node /absolute/path/to/Workday-studio-mcp/src/index.mjs
```
That's it — Claude Code picks it up immediately, no restart needed.
To confirm it registered:
```bash
claude mcp list
```
> **Tip:** Use `which node` to get your full node path if Claude can't find it (e.g. `/usr/local/bin/node`).
---
## How to use it
### List your projects
> "List my Studio projects"
### Read a file
> "Read the assembly.xml from INT002"
### Plan a new integration
> "I need to build a new integration"
Claude will ask you a series of design questions (data source, destination, trigger, record volume, auth, error handling, etc.) before generating anything. Once answered, it writes a complete skeleton `assembly.xml` + `assembly-diagram.xml` you can open in Studio immediately.
### Fill in a sub-flow
> "Fill in the GetWorkers sub-flow — here's a sample from the RAAS report: [paste XML]"
Claude uses `update_sub_flow` to surgically replace the TODO stub with real steps, then automatically validates the result.
### Search across integrations
> "Find all places where integrationMapLookup is used"
### Validate an assembly
> "Validate the assembly for INT145"
Returns errors (broken routes, XML comments, missing required attributes) and warnings (missing XSL files, unresolved sub-flow endpoints).
---
## Project structure
```
Workday-studio-mcp/
├── src/
│ ├── index.mjs # Entry point — registers all tools and starts server
│ ├── config.mjs # Loads workspace path from config.json or env var
│ ├── fs.mjs # File system helpers and path traversal protection
│ ├── xml.mjs # XML validation wrapper (fast-xml-parser)
│ ├── assembly-validator.mjs # Studio-specific assembly rules engine
│ └── tools/
│ ├── list-projects.mjs
│ ├── list-files.mjs
│ ├── read-file.mjs
│ ├── write-file.mjs
│ ├── search-files.mjs
│ ├── workspace-tree.mjs
│ ├── validate-xml.mjs
│ ├── create-project.mjs
│ ├── list-assembly-steps.mjs
│ ├── list-integration-params.mjs
│ ├── add-assembly-step.mjs
│ ├── create-xsl-transform.mjs
│ ├── copy-file-from-project.mjs
│ ├── rename-file.mjs
│ ├── delete-file.mjs
│ ├── get-step-type-reference.mjs # Step type docs with production examples
│ ├── plan-integration.mjs # Design elicitation + skeleton generation
│ ├── update-sub-flow.mjs # Surgical sub-flow body replacement
│ └── validate-assembly.mjs # Studio validation tool
├── config.json.example
├── package.json
└── .gitignore
```
---
## Security
- The server only has access to files inside your configured `workspace_path` — path traversal attempts are blocked.
- No credentials, API keys, or Workday tenant details are stored in this repo or passed through the server.
- `config.json` (which contains your local workspace path) is gitignored and never committed.
- The server runs locally over stdio — no network ports are opened.
---
## Troubleshooting
**`workspace_path not configured`**
You haven't created `config.json` yet. Run `cp config.json.example config.json` and set your path.
**`Workspace path does not exist`**
The path in `config.json` doesn't exist on your machine. Check the path points to your Studio Workspace folder (the one Eclipse opens).
**Tools don't appear in Claude**
Make sure the path in `claude_desktop_config.json` (or the `claude mcp add` command) is an absolute path, not relative. Restart Claude Desktop after editing the config file.
**`node: command not found` in Claude**
Claude can't find Node.js. Use the full path to node in the connector command:
```
/usr/local/bin/node /full/path/to/src/index.mjs
```
Find your node path with `which node` in a terminal.
