Set up the Xero MCP server

The Xero MCP server gives AI agents access to Xero accounting data, including contacts, invoices, bank transactions, and financial reports. This guide covers creating a Xero app, configuring per-user OAuth or a Custom Connection, and adding the server from the MintMCP store.

Prerequisites

• A MintMCP admin account
• A Xero account (sign up at xero.com)

Set up Xero

Xero is pre-listed as a recommended server in the MintMCP MCP store. Pick an authentication method; each path first sets up credentials in the Xero developer portal, then installs and configures the connector in MintMCP.

Per-user OAuth (recommended)

Per-user OAuth authenticates each team member with their own Xero identity through a Web app you register on the Xero developer portal.

Create a Xero app

1. Go to developer.xero.com/app/manage and sign in with your Xero account. No separate developer account is needed.

2. Click New app.

3. Fill in the form:

   Field	Value
   App name	MintMCP
   Integration type	Web app
   Company or application URL	https://app.mintmcp.com

4. Under Redirect URIs, add https://app.mintmcp.com/oauth/callback.

5. Click Create app.

6. Open the Configuration tab, scroll down to Connection, copy the Client id, then click Generate a secret and copy the Client secret; it is not shown again after you navigate away.

Add Xero to MintMCP

1. In MintMCP, go to MCP store > Manage store.

2. Find Xero in the recommended servers list and click Install.

3. The Configure Xero dialog opens with Authentication Method set to OAuth and every field pre-filled except your app credentials, so enter those:

   Field	Value
   Client ID	Client id from your Xero app
   Client Secret	Client secret from your Xero app

4. Click Install.

When users first connect to the Xero MCP server through MintMCP, they are redirected to Xero to sign in with their own account. The offline_access scope enables automatic token refresh.

To give agents access to payroll data as well, add payroll.employees, payroll.timesheets, or payroll.settings to the Scopes field.

Custom Connection

Custom Connections use a machine-to-machine client credentials grant to access data from a single Xero organization without a per-user login flow. They are a paid add-on available for Xero organizations in AU, NZ, UK, and US.

Set up a Custom Connection

1. Go to developer.xero.com/app/manage and sign in with your Xero account.

2. Click New app, select Custom Connection as the integration type, and enter a name (for example, MintMCP).

3. Select the accounting scopes your team needs. A standard read-only accounting set:

   Scope	What it covers
   accounting.contacts	Contacts and suppliers
   accounting.settings	Organisation details and chart of accounts
   accounting.invoices	Invoices, quotes, and purchase orders
   accounting.banktransactions	Bank transactions and transfers
   accounting.reports.profitandloss.read	Profit and loss report

   Choose the scopes and the Authorised user under Authorisation on the Configuration tab.

   

4. Click Save and connect and authorize the connection to the Xero organisation you want to connect. Xero emails the authorised user a link to complete the connection; until they do, the app shows App is not connected.

   

   Opening the link from the email brings the authorised user to Xero's consent screen. Select the organisation to connect and click Allow access.

   

5. Once the app shows Connected, copy the Client id and Client secret from the Configuration tab on the app.

   

Add Xero to MintMCP

1. In MintMCP, go to MCP store > Manage store.
2. Find Xero in the recommended servers list and click Install.
3. In the Configure Xero dialog, set the environment variables:
   • XERO_CLIENT_ID: client id from your Custom Connection
   • XERO_CLIENT_SECRET: client secret from your Custom Connection
   • XERO_SCOPES (optional): space-separated scope list to override the server's defaults
4. Click Install.

Troubleshooting

• invalid_scope on connect: a scope in the list is not valid for your app type. Apps created on or after March 2, 2026 accept only granular scopes. Remove accounting.transactions, accounting.reports.read, or any other broad scope name.
• Blank redirect after Xero sign-in: the redirect URI https://app.mintmcp.com/oauth/callback is not in your Xero app's Redirect URIs list, or there is a trailing slash or protocol mismatch. Xero requires an exact match.
• Token refresh fails: the offline_access scope was omitted from the authorization request. Delete the connection in MintMCP, re-authorize with offline_access included, and reconnect.

Security considerations

• Keep the client secret secure; anyone with it can request tokens against your Xero organization.
• Per-user OAuth ties each API call to an individual Xero identity, giving you a clearer audit trail than a shared Custom Connection.
• Custom Connections grant organization-level access shared by all users on the connector.
• Rotating the client secret in Xero immediately invalidates all active tokens and requires users to re-authorize.

Next steps

• Tool customization: control which Xero tools are exposed to users
• MCP gateway administration: manage access and permissions