accountingqb-setup 0.1.0

Setup helper for the AccountingQB MCP server in Claude Desktop

accountingqb-setup

Setup helper for the AccountingQB MCP server in Claude Desktop.

Edits your claude_desktop_config.json safely: parses it as JSON (never regex), preserves your other MCP servers, makes a .bak before writing, validates the result round-trips, and gives you a clear restart instruction.

Install and run (end users)

uvx accountingqb-setup

You'll be prompted for your license key (input is hidden, never echoed). The helper detects your OS, finds your Claude Desktop config, shows you exactly what it's about to change, and asks for confirmation before writing.

After it finishes, fully quit Claude Desktop:

• macOS: Cmd+Q. Closing the window is not enough.
• Windows: Right-click the Claude tray icon -> Quit.

Then reopen Claude Desktop. Ask "What QuickBooks tools do you have?" to verify the connection.

Common flags

# Non-interactive (CI, scripts, retries)
accountingqb-setup --license-key LK-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX --yes

# See what would change without writing
accountingqb-setup --license-key LK-... --dry-run

# Check current state
accountingqb-setup --status

# Remove
accountingqb-setup --uninstall

# Test against a config file in a different location
accountingqb-setup --config /tmp/test_config.json

You can also pass the key via the QB_LICENSE_KEY environment variable instead of --license-key.

What gets written

The helper merges this entry into the mcpServers object in your Claude Desktop config:

"accountingqb": {
  "command": "uvx",
  "args": ["accountingqb"],
  "env": {
    "QB_LICENSE_KEY": "<your key>"
  }
}

If accountingqb is already configured, the helper compares the existing entry to the new one. If the license key has changed, it shows you the diff and confirms before updating. If the entry is identical, it exits with a "nothing to do" message.

Safety

• JSON-aware merge. The config is parsed as JSON, the entry is added, the result is serialized back. No regex edits. Existing servers, custom top-level keys (e.g. globalShortcut), and formatting preferences are all preserved structurally.
• Backup first. Before writing, the existing config is copied to claude_desktop_config.json.bak.
• Atomic write. The new config is written to a temp file in the same directory, then renamed over the original. A crash mid-write can't corrupt your config.
• Round-trip validation. After writing, the file is reloaded and compared to what we intended to write. Any mismatch raises an error (and the backup is still on disk).
• No license-key echoing. Keys entered interactively use getpass (no terminal echo). Keys are masked when shown in confirmation output.
• Refuses to repair invalid JSON. If your existing config is broken, the helper tells you to fix it manually rather than guessing.

Develop locally

git clone https://github.com/RCOLKITT/AccountingQB-MCP.git
cd AccountingQB-MCP/accountingqb-setup
uv venv
source .venv/bin/activate
uv pip install -e ".[dev]"
pytest

License

MIT