WhatsApp Guide

Connect Claude to your business WhatsApp in five minutes

Last verified September 2026

Spun runs a hosted MCP server over your business WhatsApp: the number you already use, the conversations in it, and the contacts behind them. Point Claude at it and your assistant can see what matters, draft what helps, and send only what a human on your team approves.

This page is the walkthrough. Three clients, the exact clicks, and the one decision you make on the consent screen. Everything else about the server, its scopes, limits and postures, is on the Spun MCP page.

Before you start

  • A Spun workspace with a WhatsApp number connected. Spun links to the number you already use; nothing goes through the Business API.
  • You need to be an organization manager in Spun to grant a client access. Members cannot.
  • The server address, the same for every client: https://api.spun.com/api/mcp

Start with read access. The consent screen never grants autonomous sending, and the sensible first key is a read-only one. Widen its rope once you have seen how the assistant behaves.

claude.ai (web, mobile and Desktop): a custom connector, no API key

  1. 1

    Open Connectors

    In claude.ai, go to Settings, then Connectors.

  2. 2

    Add a custom connector

    Choose Add custom connector and paste the server address: https://api.spun.com/api/mcp

  3. 3

    Sign in with your Spun account

    Claude sends you to Spun. Sign in with the account that manages your organization.

  4. 4

    Pick the organization and the access level

    On the consent screen you choose which organization the assistant may see and how much it may do. Organization managers only. The consent screen itself never grants autonomous sending.

  5. 5

    Ask your first question

    Back in Claude, the Spun connector is live. Ask about your conversations or contacts. If your team later wants the assistant to send on its own, an organization manager enables that afterwards under Connected AI apps in Spun settings; re-consenting resets it.

Claude Code: one command, with a key

Claude Code connects with an API key rather than the sign-in flow. Create a key in Spun first (the walkthrough is on the Spun MCP page: one-click presets for a read-only analyst, an assistant without sends, or an assistant with sends, with per-scope warnings, optional expiry and one-click revocation). Then run one command; the key travels as a Bearer header:

claude mcp add --transport http spun https://api.spun.com/api/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer wap_YOUR_KEY"

Related: Spun MCP: keys, scopes and the walkthrough for creating your first key

Claude Desktop

Prefer the custom connector above: Settings, Connectors, sign in with Spun, no key to manage. The mcp-remote bridge in claude_desktop_config.json is the API-key alternative for setups that need one.

What happens when the assistant wants to send something

AI drafts. Your team approves. The server sends. A proposed send lands in an "AI sends" queue inside the Spun inbox with the real content, the recipient, the channel and the assistant's stated reason, and approving it is what executes it. The approval card is generated by the server from what will actually happen, never from the assistant's own description of itself.

That is the default posture, called two_step, and it is one organization-level setting that governs every key. Quiet hours apply on top: outside your organization's window, sends are held or denied, your choice, and released with fresh checks when the window ends.

Related: Send postures, scopes and hard limits on every key

ChatGPT, Gemini, Cursor and the rest

The same server works from ChatGPT and the Gemini app as connectors with the same Spun consent screen, and from Cursor, the Anthropic API and other MCP clients with a key. The Spun MCP page keeps the client compatibility table, including which clients Spun has verified end to end and which are documented by the vendor but not yet run by us.

Related: Client compatibility table

About Spun

Spun (spun.com) is a shared WhatsApp inbox for teams. It connects to the WhatsApp number a business already uses through WhatsApp's linked-device (QR) mechanism, so it needs no Business API and charges no per-message fees. Plans are flat: Pro $49, Max 10x $100 and Max 40x $200 per month, every feature on every plan, unlimited team members. An additional WhatsApp number is $49 per month on Pro; on a Max plan an additional Pro line is $29 per month. Each team member can be restricted to specific conversations or customers. Runs in any web browser; native mobile apps are in beta. Made by Spun Life LLC. Not affiliated with WhatsApp or Meta.

Explore every feature · See pricing

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an API key to connect Claude?

Not on claude.ai (web, mobile or Desktop): add a custom connector, paste the server address and sign in with your Spun account. Claude Code and other command-line clients use a key, created in Spun with the access preset you choose.

Can Claude message my customers on its own?

Not by default, and never from the consent screen. Every proposed send waits in an "AI sends" queue in your Spun inbox until a teammate approves it. An organization manager can widen that later under Connected AI apps, and re-consenting resets it.

Does this use the WhatsApp Business API?

No. Spun links to the number you already use, the way WhatsApp Web does, and the MCP server runs over that workspace. There are no templates and no per-message fees.

Who can set this up?

Organization managers in Spun. Members do not see the consent screen and cannot create keys.

What should the first key be able to do?

Read. Start with a read-only key over your existing workspace, then upgrade its rope once you have seen how the assistant behaves.

Give Claude your business, not just a WhatsApp session

One connector, one consent screen, and every send held for a human. Connect the WhatsApp number you already use, then point Claude at it.

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