sagar0023/Expense-Tracker-Mcp-Server

Expense Tracker MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for tracking personal expenses, built with FastMCP. This server allows you to manage your expenses directly through Claude Desktop, making expense tracking conversational and intuitive.

Features

• ✅ Add, update, and delete expenses
• ✅ Categorize expenses with subcategories
• ✅ Search and filter expenses by date range, category, or notes
• ✅ Generate expense summaries and reports
• ✅ Export expenses to CSV format
• ✅ Bulk operations for expense management
• ✅ SQLite database for reliable data storage

Getting Started with Claude Desktop

Prerequisites

• Claude Desktop application installed on your computer
• Python 3.8 or higher
• Git (for cloning the repository)

Step 1: Install the MCP Server

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/sagar0023/Expense-Tracker-Mcp-Server.git
   cd Expense-Tracker-Mcp-Server
   

2. Install dependencies:

   pip install fastmcp
   

Step 2: Configure Claude Desktop

1. Open Claude Desktop on your computer

2. Access MCP Settings:

   • Click on your profile/settings (usually in the top-right corner)
   • Look for "MCP Servers" or "Model Context Protocol" settings

3. Add the Expense Tracker Server:

   • Click "Add Server" or similar button
   • Configure the server with these details:
     • Name: Expense Tracker
     • Command: python
     • Arguments: ["/full/path/to/your/main.py"]
       • Replace /full/path/to/your/ with the actual path to where you cloned this repository
       • Example: ["C:\\Users\\YourName\\Expense-Tracker-Mcp-Server\\main.py"] (Windows)
       • Example: ["/Users/YourName/Expense-Tracker-Mcp-Server/main.py"] (Mac/Linux)

4. Save and Restart:

   • Save the configuration
   • Restart Claude Desktop

Step 3: Verify Installation

1. Start a new conversation in Claude Desktop

2. Test the connection by asking Claude:

   Can you show me the available expense tracking tools?
   

3. Claude should respond with a list of available expense tracking functions like:

   • add_expense - Add a new expense
   • list_expenses - View expenses in a date range
   • summarize - Get expense summaries by category
   • And more...

How to Use

Adding Expenses

Ask Claude to add expenses naturally:

Add an expense: $25.50 for groceries on 2024-10-04, category "Food", note "Weekly shopping"

Viewing Expenses

Ask Claude to show your expenses:

Show me all expenses from October 1st to October 31st, 2024

Getting Summaries

Ask for spending summaries:

Summarize my expenses by category for this month

Searching Expenses

Search through your expenses:

Find all expenses with "coffee" in the notes

Exporting Data

Export your data:

Export all my expenses from January to December 2024 as CSV

Available Categories

The server comes with predefined categories in categories.json:

• Food & Dining
• Transportation
• Shopping
• Entertainment
• Bills & Utilities
• Healthcare
• Travel
• Education
• And more...

You can customize these categories by editing the categories.json file.

Data Storage

• Expenses are stored in a local SQLite database (expenses.db)
• Your data stays completely private on your computer
• The database is automatically created when you first run the server

Troubleshooting

Server Not Connecting

1. Check the file path in your Claude Desktop MCP configuration
2. Ensure Python is installed and accessible from command line
3. Verify FastMCP is installed: pip show fastmcp
4. Check file permissions - make sure main.py is executable

Database Issues

• The database file (expenses.db) is created automatically
• If you encounter database errors, try deleting expenses.db - it will be recreated
• Check that you have write permissions in the project directory

General Issues

1. Restart Claude Desktop after making configuration changes
2. Check the logs in Claude Desktop for error messages
3. Test the server independently:

   python main.py
   

Example Conversations

Here are some example ways to interact with your expense tracker through Claude:

Adding expenses:

• "Add a $15 lunch expense for today in the Food category"
• "I spent $120 on gas yesterday, add it to Transportation"

Viewing data:

• "What did I spend on groceries this week?"
• "Show me all my entertainment expenses from last month"

Analysis:

• "How much did I spend in total this month?"
• "What's my biggest expense category this year?"
• "Compare my spending between August and September"

Contributing

Feel free to fork this repository and submit pull requests for improvements!

License

This project is open source. Feel free to use and modify as needed.

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Need help? Open an issue on GitHub or ask Claude directly when using the expense tracker!