# How to connect Ably to Claude ```json { "title": "How to connect Ably to Claude", "toolkit": "Ably", "toolkit_slug": "ably", "framework": "Claude Cowork", "framework_slug": "claude-cowork", "url": "https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/claude-cowork", "markdown_url": "https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/claude-cowork.md", "updated_at": "2026-10-04T17:14:52.995Z" } ``` ## Introduction Claude is Anthropic's AI assistant, available on the web, in the desktop app, and on mobile. Cowork is its agent for knowledge work, and it runs on all of those surfaces too. Connected to your apps, Claude can work with your files and services to accomplish complex tasks on your behalf. This guide walks you through the easiest and most secure way to connect your Ably account to Claude via Composio Connect, enabling it to list all active channels and their details, get message history from 'support-chat' channel, show presence history for 'live-event' channel, and more such actions on your behalf without compromising your account security. Setup is the same on Claude Web, Desktop, and Cowork, and you only need to do it once. The connector is tied to your account, so it's available in all three. ## Also integrate Ably with - [Claude Code](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/claude-code) - [OpenAI Agents SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/open-ai-agents-sdk) - [Claude Agent SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/claude-agents-sdk) - [Codex](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/codex) - [OpenClaw](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/openclaw) - [Hermes](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/hermes-agent) - [Atomic Agent](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/atomic-agent) - [Google ADK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/google-adk) - [LangChain](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/langchain) - [Vercel AI SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/ai-sdk) - [Mastra AI](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/mastra-ai) - [LlamaIndex](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/llama-index) - [CrewAI](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/crew-ai) - [Pydantic AI](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/pydantic-ai) - [AutoGen](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/autogen) ## Connect Ably to Claude Cowork ### Connecting Ably to Claude Web, Desktop, and Cowork Two ways to add the Composio connector. Pick whichever you prefer. ### 1. Add with one click Click the button. Claude opens with the Composio connector filled in. Click Add, then go to step 2. [Add to Claude](https://claude.ai/customize/connectors?modal=add-custom-connector&connectorName=Composio&connectorUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fconnect.composio.dev%2Fmcp) ### Add manually In Claude Desktop, click Customize in the left sidebar, then select Connectors and click the + icon at the top. Click Add custom connector and paste in the Composio MCP server URL: ```bash https://connect.composio.dev/mcp ``` ## What is the Ably MCP server, and what's possible with it? The Ably MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Ably account. It provides structured and secure access to your channels, messages, presence data, application statistics, and push notifications, so your agent can publish messages, inspect active channels, review channel history, monitor presence, and manage push notifications on your behalf. - Channel messaging: Have your agent publish a message to one channel or send batches of messages across multiple channels. - Channel activity and history: Let the agent list active channels, retrieve channel details, review message history, and inspect earlier versions of a message. - Presence monitoring: Direct your agent to check who is currently present in one or more channels and review past presence activity. - Push notification management: Instruct your agent to send individual or batch push notifications, manage channel subscriptions, and register, update, inspect, or unregister receiving devices. - Application insights: Have your agent retrieve Ably service time and review application usage statistics. ## Supported Tools | Tool slug | Name | Description | |---|---|---| | `ABLY_BATCH_PRESENCE` | Query Batch Presence | This tool enables querying the presence states of multiple channels in a single API request. The API retrieves the member presence details of the specified channels in parallel. | | `ABLY_BATCH_PRESENCE_HISTORY` | Query Batch Presence History | This tool enables querying presence history for multiple channels in a single API request. It uses the GET endpoint at https://rest.ably.io/presence to retrieve the member presence history details of the specified channels in parallel. | | `ABLY_DELETE_CHANNEL_SUBSCRIPTION` | Delete Channel Subscription | This tool allows you to unsubscribe devices or clients from push notifications for specific channels. The operation is asynchronous, so immediate requests after deletion may briefly still return the subscription. | | `ABLY_GET_CHANNEL_DETAILS` | Get Channel Details | This tool retrieves metadata and details for a specific channel in Ably. It returns a ChannelDetails object containing information about the channel's status, occupancy, and other metadata. The endpoint provides visibility into channel activity, including metrics such as connections, presence, publishers, and subscribers, and requires appropriate permissions. | | `ABLY_GET_CHANNEL_HISTORY` | Get Channel History | This tool retrieves the message history for a specified Ably channel. It uses the GET /channels/{channelId}/messages endpoint to return a paginated list of messages in chronological order, subject to parameters such as 'channelId', 'limit', 'direction', 'start', and 'end'. The tool is useful for auditing, recovering missed messages, analyzing channel activity, and debugging message flows. Authentication is required via basic or token authentication. | | `ABLY_GET_CHANNEL_PRESENCE` | Get Channel Presence | Tool to obtain the set of members currently present for a channel. Use when you need to check which clients are currently connected and active on a specific Ably channel. | | `ABLY_GET_MESSAGE_VERSIONS` | Get Message Versions | Tool to retrieve all historical versions of a specific message from an Ably channel. Use when you need to track message history, including the original message and all subsequent updates or delete operations. Each version includes metadata such as timestamp, action type, and client ID. | | `ABLY_GET_PRESENCE_HISTORY` | Get Channel Presence History | This tool retrieves the history of presence messages for a specified channel in Ably. It allows you to query presence events on a channel within a given time period. | | `ABLY_GET_PUSH_DEVICE` | Get Push Device Registration | Tool to get the full details of a device registration for push notifications. Use when you need to retrieve information about a specific device registered for push notifications, including its platform, state, recipient details, and metadata. Requires the device ID. | | `ABLY_GET_SERVICE_TIME` | Get Ably Service Time | This tool retrieves the current server time from Ably's service in milliseconds since the epoch. It is particularly useful for time synchronization and generating valid TokenRequest timestamps to prevent replay attacks. The endpoint supports multiple content types, handles HTTP errors, network issues, and is a fundamental tool for ensuring accurate timing in Ably applications. | | `ABLY_GET_STATS` | Get Application Stats | This tool retrieves your application's usage statistics from Ably. The stats endpoint returns a paginated list of your application's usage statistics by minute, hour, day, or month. It supports optional parameters such as start, end, direction, limit, and unit to filter and format the returned data. The stats include metrics for: - Message counts and data transferred - Connection counts - Channel usage - API request counts - Push notification metrics - Token request counts | | `ABLY_LIST_CHANNELS` | List Channels | Tool to enumerate all active channels in the Ably application. Use when you need to discover available channels or monitor channel activity. Returns paginated results and is heavily rate-limited. Can return either channel names only or full channel details with occupancy data. | | `ABLY_LIST_PUSH_CHANNELS` | List Push Channels | Tool to list all channels with at least one subscribed device. Use when you need to discover which channels have active push notification subscriptions in your Ably application. | | `ABLY_LIST_PUSH_CHANNEL_SUBSCRIPTIONS` | List Push Channel Subscriptions | This tool retrieves a list of all push notification channel subscriptions. It allows you to view all active push notification subscriptions for channels in your Ably application. Allows filtering by channel, deviceId, and clientId, supports pagination with limit parameter, and returns detailed push notification subscription information including channel, deviceId, and clientId. | | `ABLY_LIST_REGISTERED_PUSH_DEVICES` | List Registered Push Devices | Tool to list all devices registered for receiving push notifications in your Ably application. Use when you need to view, filter, or audit push notification device registrations. Supports filtering by deviceId and clientId, with pagination via limit parameter. | | `ABLY_PATCH_PUSH_DEVICE_REGISTRATION` | Patch Push Device Registration | Tool to partially update specific attributes of an existing device registration in Ably's push notification system. Use when you need to modify device properties like formFactor, clientId, platform, or push recipient details without replacing the entire registration. | | `ABLY_PUBLISH_BATCH_MESSAGES` | Batch Publish Messages | Tool to batch publish messages to multiple channels in parallel. Use when you need to send the same set of messages to multiple channels simultaneously for efficient broadcasting. | | `ABLY_PUBLISH_MESSAGE_TO_CHANNEL` | Publish Message to Channel | This tool will allow users to publish a message to a specified Ably channel using a POST request. It covers the essentials like channel name, message data, optional event name/type, and additional metadata for push notifications. It is an independent and fundamental operation within Ably's real-time messaging platform. | | `ABLY_PUBLISH_PUSH_NOTIFICATION` | Publish Push Notification | Tool to publish a push notification directly to device(s) via Ably's Push Notifications API. Use when you need to send push notifications to specific devices identified by device ID, client ID, or platform-specific tokens. The API returns HTTP 204 on success with no response body. | | `ABLY_PUBLISH_PUSH_NOTIFICATIONS_BATCH` | Batch Publish Push Notifications | Tool to batch publish push notifications directly to specific recipients. Use when you need to send multiple push notifications efficiently in a single request. Supports up to 10,000 notifications per batch. | | `ABLY_REGISTER_PUSH_DEVICE` | Register Push Device | Tool to register a device for receiving push notifications in Ably. Use when you need to enable push notifications for a specific device across various platforms including iOS (APNs), Android (FCM/GCM), and web browsers (Web Push). The device must be registered before it can receive push notifications through Ably's push notification system. | | `ABLY_REQUEST_ACCESS_TOKEN` | Request Access Token | Request an access token for Ably authentication. Use this when you need to generate a token with specific capabilities and client identifiers for secure authentication. The token can be used to authenticate clients with limited permissions and time-bound access. | | `ABLY_UNREGISTER_ALL_PUSH_DEVICES` | Unregister All Push Devices | Tool to unregister matching devices for push notifications. Use when you need to remove device registrations from Ably's push notification system. You can filter by deviceId or clientId, but not both simultaneously. | | `ABLY_UNREGISTER_PUSH_DEVICE` | Unregister Push Device | Tool to unregister a single device from push notifications in Ably. Use when you need to remove a device's push notification registration. This permanently removes the device from receiving push notifications until it is registered again. | | `ABLY_UPDATE_PUSH_DEVICE` | Update Push Device Registration | Tool to update (upsert) a device registration for push notifications in Ably. Use when registering a new device or updating an existing device's push notification configuration. This is an upsert operation - if the device doesn't exist, it will be created; if it exists, it will be updated. | ## Supported Triggers None listed. ## Troubleshooting ### 1. Why does Claude not use the Composio connector for Ably? The connector can show as connected, but Claude must use it in each Ably conversation. - Click + at the lower left of the chat, or type /. - Hover Connectors. - Turn on Composio. - Ask Claude to connect to Ably again. ### 2. Why does Claude show an MCP server error before Ably connects? Claude can show Couldn't reach the MCP server or Authorization with the MCP server failed when you add the connector for Ably. - Check that the connector URL is https://connect.composio.dev/mcp. - Connectors run from Anthropic's cloud, so your device network is usually not the problem. - Add the connector again from Customize > Connectors, then ask Claude to connect Ably. - If it fails again, send the error and the ofid_ reference id to support@composio.dev. ### 3. Why does the Ably authorization link not work? The Composio connector is one server. Your Ably account connects separately when Claude asks for it. - If the browser does not open, or the link expires, ask Claude to retry the Ably connection. - Composio creates a fresh Ably authorization link. - Open that link in your browser and finish the Ably sign-in. ### 4. Why do Ably actions fail after they worked before? The Ably connection can expire or lose permission. - Ask Claude to inspect the Ably connection. - If the connection is unhealthy, disconnect it when Claude prompts you. - Reconnect the Ably account and retry the action. - If Claude shows a permission prompt, approve it before Claude changes data in Ably. - If the action still fails with a permission error, check that the connected account has that permission in Ably itself. ### 5. How do I switch to a different Ably account? Claude can manage the Ably connection for you. - Ask Claude to disconnect or delete the current Ably account. - Ask Claude to connect Ably again. - Open the new Composio authorization link for Ably. - Sign in with the other Ably account in the browser. - After the account connects, ask Claude to retry the Ably task. ### 6. Why is my Ably connection missing in Claude Desktop or on a Team plan? The connector belongs to your Claude account, so your Ably connection works in Claude Web, Desktop, and Cowork. - In Claude Desktop, open Customize > Connectors. - Next to Composio, click ⋮ and click Clear cache. - If Ably tools still do not appear, click ⋮, disconnect, remove the connector, and add it again. - On Team or Enterprise, an Owner or Primary Owner must enable the connector before you can connect Ably. ## Creating MCP Server - Stand-alone vs Composio SDK The Ably MCP server connects Claude Web, Desktop, and Cowork to your Ably account through Composio. Once connected, Claude can use the available Ably tools and triggers to complete tasks on your behalf. ## Complete Code None listed. ## How to build Ably MCP Agent with another framework - [Claude Code](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/claude-code) - [OpenAI Agents SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/open-ai-agents-sdk) - [Claude Agent SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/claude-agents-sdk) - [Codex](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/codex) - [OpenClaw](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/openclaw) - [Hermes](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/hermes-agent) - [Atomic Agent](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/atomic-agent) - [Google ADK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/google-adk) - [LangChain](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/langchain) - [Vercel AI SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/ai-sdk) - [Mastra AI](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/mastra-ai) - [LlamaIndex](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/llama-index) - [CrewAI](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/crew-ai) - [Pydantic AI](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/pydantic-ai) - [AutoGen](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably/framework/autogen) ## Related Toolkits - [Supabase](https://composio.dev/toolkits/supabase) - Supabase is an open-source backend platform offering scalable Postgres databases, authentication, storage, and real-time APIs. It lets developers build modern apps without managing infrastructure. - [Codeinterpreter](https://composio.dev/toolkits/codeinterpreter) - Codeinterpreter is a Python-based coding environment with built-in data analysis and visualization. It lets you instantly run scripts, plot results, and prototype solutions inside supported platforms. - [GitHub](https://composio.dev/toolkits/github) - GitHub is a code hosting platform for version control and collaborative software development. It streamlines project management, code review, and team workflows in one place. - [1password](https://composio.dev/toolkits/_1password) - 1Password is a password manager and digital vault for storing logins, secrets, notes, and secure documents. It helps individuals and teams protect credentials, share access safely, and reduce password risk. - [Abuselpdb](https://composio.dev/toolkits/abuselpdb) - Abuselpdb is a central database for reporting and checking IPs linked to malicious online activity. 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Use it to discover, compare, and evaluate 30K+ AWS Marketplace listings faster. - [Azure Monitor Activity Log](https://composio.dev/toolkits/azure_monitor_activity_log) - Azure Monitor Activity Log is Azure's service that records management and control-plane events for a subscription. Use it to audit changes, troubleshoot issues, and track resource operations across your Azure resources. - [Backendless](https://composio.dev/toolkits/backendless) - Backendless is a backend-as-a-service platform for mobile and web apps, offering database, file storage, user authentication, and APIs. It helps developers ship scalable applications faster without managing server infrastructure. - [Baserow](https://composio.dev/toolkits/baserow) - Baserow is an open-source no-code database platform for building collaborative data apps. It makes it easy for teams to organize data and automate workflows without writing code. - [Bench](https://composio.dev/toolkits/bench) - Bench is a benchmarking tool for automated performance measurement and analysis. It helps you quickly evaluate, compare, and track your systems or workflows. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What are the differences in Tool Router MCP and Ably MCP? With a standalone Ably MCP server, the agents and LLMs can only access a fixed set of Ably tools tied to that server. However, with the Composio Tool Router, agents can dynamically load tools from Ably and many other apps based on the task at hand, all through a single MCP endpoint. ### Can I use Tool Router MCP with Claude Cowork? Yes, you can. Claude Cowork fully supports MCP integration. You get structured tool calling, message history handling, and model orchestration while Tool Router takes care of discovering and serving the right Ably tools. ### Can I manage the permissions and scopes for Ably while using Tool Router? Yes, absolutely. You can configure which Ably scopes and actions are allowed when connecting your account to Composio. You can also bring your own OAuth credentials or API configuration so you keep full control over what the agent can do. ### How safe is my data with Composio Tool Router? All sensitive data such as tokens, keys, and configuration is fully encrypted at rest and in transit. Composio is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant and follows strict security practices so your Ably data and credentials are handled as safely as possible. --- [See all toolkits](https://composio.dev/toolkits) · [Composio docs](https://docs.composio.dev/llms.txt)