Episode 1 - Set up MCP and configure Zoho Creator and Monday apps | Zoho Creator Academy

Episode 1 - Set up MCP and configure Zoho Creator and Monday apps

In this episode 

You will create an MCP server, add Zoho Creator and Monday.com as connected applications to the server, and configure application specific tools that need to be exposed to the GenAI assistants.
Notes
Note:  Invoking Zoho Creator tools through Zoho MCP consumes Developer API calls from your Creator account. You can monitor your Developer API calls usage and limit from the Billing section. Additionally, GenAI platforms such as Claude consumes tokens for processing prompts and responses as billed by the AI provider.   

Prerequisites 

  1. User account in Zoho MCP
  2. User account in Monday.com
  3. Admin permission in Zoho Creator
  4. Install Marketing Campaign app in Creator
  5. API key generation in Monday.com to authorize connections

Steps  to create and configure MCP server

  1. Open the Zoho MCP web application and click Create MCP server to build a custom MCP server.


  2. Enter a name for the MCP Server in the Create your MCP Server popup and click Create. Once the MCP Server is created, you will be redirected to its configuration page.


  3. Click Add Tools in the Tools section of the server configuration page. The Add Tools window will be displayed, allowing you to select a product to integrate with the MCP server.



  4. Select Zoho Creator from the list of Zoho products displayed in the Add Tools window. A list of tools specific for Creator will be displayed.


  5. Choose the tools that the AI client needs to be permitted to perform in Zoho Creator and click Add Now. You can add multiple tools at the same time for Zoho Creator application.


    Zoho Creator and its configured tools are listed in the Tools section of the server configuration page.
    Notes
    Note:  Make all Zoho Creator tools available to Claude, allowing it to perform a comprehensive range of operations across your Creator application.   
  6. Click add more tools and select Monday app from the list under Other Products Powered by Zoho Flow . Tools specific to Monday.com will be displayed.


  7. Choose a tool and click Add Now. You can only choose one tool at a time for this application.


    Once a tool is selected, you will be redirected to the authorization page of Monday.com
    Notes
    Note:  
    The following Monday.com tools must be configured and exposed through your MCP server for this tutorial:
    Create item, Create board, Update column values in items, Fetch board, Fetch item, Create update.   
  8. Paste the API key generated in Monday.com in the authorization page and  click authorize. On successful authorization, you will be directed back to Zoho MCP.

  9. Review the default values auto-filled for Workspace, Board, and other fields for the selected tool in Monday.com, then click Done.


    Monday app and its configured tool is listed in the Tools section of the server configuration page. You can click Add More Tools to add other tools for the Monday app. You must authorize each tool separately to add it in the MCP server.

  10. Navigate to the Connect section of the MCP server configuration page and copy the Server URL generated for your configured server. This URL will be provided as an input for the GenAI assistant to establish a connection with the Zoho MCP server.


    Notes
    Note:  
    You can regenerate the API key embedded in the server URL if the existing key expires or needs to be rotated for security reasons. After regenerating the key, update the server URL in the AI client to ensure uninterrupted connectivity.   
    You now have a fully configured the MCP server with connected applications, configured tools, and a server URL that can be used to establish a connection with GenAI assistant.

Interactive tutorial 


What's next
Previous
What's next
Continue to Episode 2 to connect the configured MCP server to an AI client, such as Claude, and configure tool permissions for AI interactions.
Previous
Before starting this episode, ensure that you have met all the prerequisites listed in the introduction to this tutorial series.