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The Commerce Engine MCP connector lets an AI app work in your store for you. Ask it to add products, set up a promotion, upload images or approve marketplace sellers, and it makes the change through your own Commerce Engine account.
  • It acts as you. You sign in with your Commerce Engine login, and the AI app can do only what your role allows, in the stores you can reach.
  • It starts in Sandbox. A new connection works on your Sandbox stores. Only you can switch it to Live.
  • It asks before changing things. Tools that change or delete data are marked as such, so your AI app asks you to approve them first.
The connector’s server URL is:

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Before you start

You need:
  • A Commerce Engine account with access to at least one store.
  • An AI app that can connect to remote MCP servers with OAuth sign-in, such as Claude, ChatGPT, Codex or Claude Code.

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Connect your AI app

On a Free, Pro, Max or Ultra plan:
1

Add a custom connector

Go to Customize > Connectors and click Add custom connector.
2

Enter the server URL

Name it Commerce Engine, enter https://mcp.commercengine.io/mcp, and click Add.
3

Sign in

Click Connect, then sign in to Commerce Engine and approve the connection.
On a Team or Enterprise plan, an Owner adds the connector under Organization settings > Connectors: Add, then Custom. Each member then finds it under Customize > Connectors and clicks Connect.In a chat, turn the connector on from + > Connectors.

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Approve the connection

When you connect, your AI app opens Commerce Engine in your browser.
1

Choose your organisation

If the page asks, enter your organisation’s subdomain: acme for acme.commercengine.io.
2

Sign in

Sign in with your usual Commerce Engine login.
3

Review and allow

The page shows what the app will be able to read and change, the account and stores it will act on, and where it receives access. Check that this is the app you started from, then click Allow.
Verified means Commerce Engine confirmed the app’s web domain, such as claude.ai or chatgpt.com. Unverified means the app named itself, which is normal for apps that run on your computer, such as Claude Code. Continue only if you started the connection.

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What your AI app can do

  • Connection: ce_state, ce_switch_environment
  • Search: search
  • Catalog: get_product, create_product, update_product, delete_product, bulk_update_products, list_variants, get_variant, create_variant, update_variant, delete_variant, get_product_inventory, update_product_inventory, update_product_packaging, update_product_shipping, list_product_channels, set_product_channels, get_category, create_category, update_category, delete_category, get_category_attributes, set_category_attributes, get_attribute, create_attribute, update_attribute, delete_attribute, get_attribute_set, create_attribute_set, update_attribute_set, delete_attribute_set
  • Media: media_library, media, update_media, create_media_folder, update_media_folder
  • Channels: list_channels, get_channel, create_channel, update_channel, delete_channel
  • Marketplace: publish_marketplace_products, unpublish_marketplace_products, stock_in_marketplace_products, stock_out_marketplace_products, check_marketplace_inventory, create_update_marketplace_listing, list_marketplace_listings, list_products_on_marketplace, unlist_products_on_marketplace, sync_product_on_marketplace, remove_marketplace_listing, list_marketplace_reviews, get_marketplace_review, update_marketplace_review, trigger_product_sync, trigger_model_sync, list_sync_activity
  • Marketplace sellers: list_sellers, get_seller, approve_seller, reject_seller, approve_seller_document, reject_seller_document, update_seller_visibility
  • Orders: search_orders, get_order
  • Coupons: search_coupons, create_coupon, update_coupon, delete_coupon
  • Promotions: search_promotions, create_promotion, update_promotion, delete_promotion

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What it can’t do

  • Change orders. It can read orders, but it can’t cancel, refund or edit them.
  • Edit customers. It can find customers, but it can’t create or change them.
  • Change payments, store settings, users or roles. Use the admin app for these.
  • Set up marketplace channels. They need the marketplace’s API credentials, which you enter in the admin app so they never pass through a chat.
  • Create images itself. If your AI app makes one, the connector can upload it from a public link or, in apps that can run commands such as Claude Code and Codex, from a file.
  • Switch to Live. Only you can, from the admin app.

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Sandbox and Live

Every new connection starts in Sandbox. At the start of a chat, your AI app checks which environment it’s in and tells you. Sandbox and Live are separate stores. A product or coupon you create in Sandbox doesn’t exist in Live, and IDs don’t carry over between them. To switch a connection to Live:
1

Ask your AI app

Ask it to switch to Live. It gives you a link to the admin app.
2

Confirm in the admin app

Open the link, sign in if asked, and click Switch to Live.
The switch applies to every chat on that connection. Switch back to Sandbox the same way.
Sales channels and marketplace sellers belong to your whole organisation, not to one environment. Changes to them take effect in Live even when the connection is in Sandbox.

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Approving changes

Every tool tells your AI app whether it only reads, only creates something new, or changes existing data. Tools that update, delete, publish or sync existing data are marked destructive, so apps such as Claude and ChatGPT ask you to approve them before they run. Read each request before you approve it, and avoid Always allow for these tools when you work in Live. Commerce Engine checks every change with the same rules as the admin app. If something is invalid, nothing is saved: the messages come back field by field, and your AI app can fix the request and try again.

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Example prompts

  • “Which environment are you in, and which stores can you reach?”
  • “Create a category called Accessories under Men.”
  • “Find the Linen Shirt and update its description to say it’s made from European flax.”
  • “Create a coupon WELCOME10 for 10% off, valid until 31 December.”
  • “Upload https://example.com/summer-hero.jpg to the Summer folder in the media library.”
  • “Show me the most recent orders.”
  • “List the sellers waiting for approval on my marketplace.”
  • “Mark the Linen Shirt out of stock on my marketplace.”

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Your data

  • What the connector keeps. When you connect, it keeps your Commerce Engine email, your user and organisation IDs, and a sign-in token, so it can act as you. It also remembers whether each connection is in Sandbox or Live.
  • What it doesn’t keep. It doesn’t receive your conversations. It passes each request to Commerce Engine and returns the result, and it doesn’t keep copies of what it reads or writes for you.
  • Who sees the results. Your AI app’s provider, such as Anthropic or OpenAI, receives what the tools return, including customer details in orders, under its own terms.
  • How long it lasts. Your sign-in lasts 30 days, after which your AI app asks you to sign in again. Changing your Commerce Engine password ends it within an hour.
See the privacy policy for how Commerce Engine handles your data.

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Disconnect

Remove the connector from your AI app:
  • Claude: go to Customize > Connectors, select Commerce Engine, and click Remove.
  • ChatGPT: remove the Commerce Engine plugin from Plugins.
  • Codex: run codex mcp remove commerce-engine.
  • Claude Code: run claude mcp remove commerce-engine.
To end every connection at once, change your Commerce Engine password. Connections stop working within an hour.

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Troubleshooting

Your sign-in has ended, either after 30 days or because your password changed. Reconnect from your AI app: in Claude, click Connect on the connector; in Claude Code, run /mcp and choose Authenticate; in Codex, run codex mcp login commerce-engine.
Your Commerce Engine user has no role in that store. Ask your store owner to give you access, then ask your AI app which stores it can reach.
You opened the page on app.commercengine.io, which doesn’t know your organisation. Enter the first part of your admin address, such as acme for acme.commercengine.io, and continue.
The link is missing the connection request. Start again from your AI app instead of opening the page directly.
Check the environment. Ask your AI app which environment it’s in: something created in Sandbox doesn’t exist in Live, and the reverse.
The link is incomplete. Ask your AI app to switch again and open the new link.
Commerce Engine found something invalid and saved nothing. Your AI app sees the messages by field and can correct the request; if it can’t, check the same change in the admin app.
On Claude Team and Enterprise plans, only an Owner can add one for the organisation. In ChatGPT workspaces, admins can restrict custom MCP servers. Ask your admin.

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Support

For help with the connector, contact us.