How to connect Bamboohr to Claude Cowork

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Introduction

Cowork is Anthropic's AI agent for knowledge work. Think of it as Claude Code for everything else. It works autonomously with your computer, local files, and applications to accomplish complex tasks.

This guide walks you through the easiest and most secure way to connect your Bamboohr account to Cowork via Composio Connect, enabling it to add new dependent for employee John Doe, update direct deposit details for Sarah Smith, log overtime hours for marketing team members, and more such actions on your behalf without compromising your account security.

Also integrate Bamboohr with

Connecting Bamboohr to Claude Cowork

1. Open Customize

In Claude Desktop, click Customize in the left sidebar, then select Connectors and click the + icon at the top.

Claude Desktop connectors screen with Add custom connector selected

2. Add the Composio MCP server

Click Add custom connector and paste in the Composio MCP server URL:

bash
https://connect.composio.dev/mcp
Add custom connector dialog with Composio MCP server URL

3. Authorize in your browser

Click Connect. You'll be redirected to a browser window where you can authorize Composio to continue.

Composio authorization screen for Claude Cowork

4. Connect your Bamboohr account

Back in Cowork, ask the agent to connect to Bamboohr or give it any Bamboohr-related task.

For example, ask Cowork to:

  • "Add new dependent for employee John Doe"
  • "Update direct deposit details for Sarah Smith"
  • "Log overtime hours for marketing team members"

It will prompt you to authenticate and authorize access.

That's it. Composio's tools are now available in Cowork, and your Bamboohr account is ready to use.

What is Claude Cowork?

Claude Cowork is Anthropic's agent for general knowledge work. It can use your computer, files, and connected applications to complete longer-running tasks across your work tools.

With Composio Connect, Cowork can securely access apps like Bamboohr through MCP without you sharing account credentials directly with the agent.

What is the Bamboohr MCP server, and what's possible with it?

The BambooHR MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your BambooHR account. It provides structured and secure access to your HR data, so your agent can perform actions like managing employee benefits, updating payroll records, tracking time, and assisting with applicant management on your behalf.

  • Employee benefits administration: Automatically enroll employees in benefit groups, create or update benefit records, and manage company-wide benefit offerings with ease.
  • Payroll and direct deposit management: Enable your agent to create paystubs, add unpaid pay periods, and update employee direct deposit information for seamless payroll processing.
  • Dependent and tax record updates: Empower your agent to add employee dependents and modify withholding details, keeping employee records accurate and compliant.
  • Time tracking automation: Let your agent log new time tracking records for employees, ensuring precise attendance and overtime data for reporting and payroll.
  • Applicant and recruitment collaboration: Allow your agent to post comments on applicant records, streamlining feedback and communication during the hiring process.

Supported Tools & Triggers

Tools
Create Candidate ApplicationTool to create a candidate application.
Create Job OpeningTool to create a new job opening in BambooHR ATS.
List Job ApplicationsTool to list job applications with optional filters.
Get Benefit CoveragesTool to retrieve standard benefit coverage options.
Get Member Benefit EventsTool to list member benefit events.
Get Company EINsTool to retrieve company Employer Identification Numbers (EINs).
Get Company InformationTool to retrieve company information.
Create File CategoryTool to create new company file categories.
Create Time Off RequestTool to submit a new time off request.
List DatasetsTool to list available datasets via the Datasets API.
Create Employee DependentTool to add a dependent to an employee.
Get All Employee DependentsTool to retrieve all employee dependents.
Create EmployeeTool to create a new employee record.
Create Employee File CategoryTool to create new employee file categories.
Get Changed EmployeesTool to get employees inserted, updated, or deleted since a given timestamp.
List Company FilesTool to list company file categories and their files.
Upload Company FileTool to upload a new company file.
Get All EmployeesRetrieves all employees from the BambooHR employee directory including their basic information and status.
Get Applicant StatusesTool to retrieve applicant statuses.
Get Custom Employee FieldsTool to fetch custom employee field values.
Run Custom ReportTool to run a custom report by ID or ad-hoc fields.
Get EmployeeTool to retrieve detailed information for a specific employee.
Get Employee PhotoTool to retrieve an employee's profile photo by size.
Get Hiring LeadsTool to retrieve potential hiring leads (employees who can manage job openings) for use in creating a new job opening.
Get Job SummariesTool to retrieve a list of ATS job summaries.
Get Departments MetadataTool to list department metadata.
Get Meta DivisionsTool to list all division metadata.
List Employment Status MetadataTool to list all employment status metadata.
Get Meta Job TitlesTool to retrieve job title metadata.
Get Meta LocationsTool to list location metadata.
Get Time-Off Types MetadataTool to list time-off type metadata.
Get ReportTool to fetch a built-in or published report in JSON or other formats.
Get Time-Off BalancesTool to retrieve time-off balances for employees.
Get Time-Off RequestsTool to list time-off requests within a date range.
List Company ReportsTool to list all available company and custom reports.
Get Country OptionsTool to retrieve all available country options.
Get List Field DetailsTool to get details for all list fields.
Get Tabular Fields MetadataTool to list tabular table fields metadata.
Get UsersTool to list active users with basic info.
Update EmployeeTool to update fields on a specified employee record.
Update Time Off RequestTool to update the status of an existing time-off request.

How to build Bamboohr MCP Agent with another framework

FAQ

What are the differences in Tool Router MCP and Bamboohr MCP?

With a standalone Bamboohr MCP server, the agents and LLMs can only access a fixed set of Bamboohr tools tied to that server. However, with the Composio Tool Router, agents can dynamically load tools from Bamboohr 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 Bamboohr tools.

Can I manage the permissions and scopes for Bamboohr while using Tool Router?

Yes, absolutely. You can configure which Bamboohr 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 Bamboohr data and credentials are handled as safely as possible.

Used by agents from

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Agent.ai
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Context
Letta
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Agent.ai
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Entelligence
Rolai

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