Setting Up the Turniir.ee MCP Connection with Claude

Setting Up the Turniir.ee MCP Connection with Claude

This guide explains, step by step, how to connect a turniir.ee account to Claude via MCP (Model Context Protocol), so Claude can work directly with tournaments, teams, groups, matches, and schedules.

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Before you start: request access from the turniir.ee system administrator

The MCP interface is not open to all accounts by default. The first step is to contact the turniir.ee system administrator and request:

1. Activation of the MCP/API service for your account or organization.
2. The MCP server address (URL) — typically in the form https://www.turniir.ee/mcp/v1, but confirm the exact, current address with the administrator.
3. Clarification of the authentication method — whether the connection uses:
   • OAuth (you log in with your turniir.ee account in Claude's settings and grant permission), or
   • An API key/token (the administrator gives you a fixed key, which you enter in Claude's connector settings).
4. What permissions/scope (e.g. specific tournaments, read-only vs. also editing) the MCP connection will grant the account.

Without this step, none of the following stages will work — Claude cannot "open up" access to turniir.ee on its own; it must be enabled by the system administrator first.

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Step 1: Check your Claude account

Custom MCP connectors can be added on Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise plans. The Free plan does not support this — the account will need to be upgraded first if necessary.

On Team/Enterprise accounts, only an Owner or Primary Owner can add a custom connector at the organization level; individual users can then enable it themselves afterward.

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Step 2: Add turniir.ee as a custom connector

1. In Claude, go to Settings → Connectors.
2. Click "+" and select "Add custom connector".
3. Enter the MCP server URL field — the address provided by the system administrator (e.g. https://www.turniir.ee/mcp/v1).
4. If the service uses OAuth, you don't need to fill in Advanced Settings (Claude will prompt you to log in during the next step). If the administrator gave you a separate OAuth Client ID / Client Secret, enter these under "Advanced settings".
5. If the service uses a fixed API key/token (instead of OAuth), add it under "Request headers" (e.g. Authorization: Bearer <key>) — the exact format will be provided by the administrator.
6. Click "Add".

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Step 3: Authorize the connection

• With OAuth: Claude will open a turniir.ee login window — sign in with your regular turniir.ee account and confirm granting access to Claude.
• With an API key: if the key was entered correctly, the connection is active immediately — no separate login is needed.

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Step 4: Enable the connector in your conversation

Adding the connector doesn't automatically turn it on for every conversation:

1. Click the "+" button in the bottom-left corner of the chat box.
2. Select "Connectors".
3. Toggle turniir.ee (Rae) on for that specific conversation.

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Step 5: Test the connection

Ask Claude a simple test question, for example:

• "Show me my list of tournaments on turniir.ee."
• "Show the group standings for tournament [name/ID]."

If Claude can retrieve the data, the connection is working. If you get an authentication error, use "Reconnect" to re-authenticate — often just refreshing the OAuth authorization is enough.

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Tips for more efficient use (less back-and-forth, better results)

• Give Claude the tournament ID or exact name right away — this avoids wrong lookups and saves round trips.
• When working with multiple age groups at once, name the class precisely (e.g. "2016y", "2019y") rather than "younger boys".
• For major changes (e.g. deletions, bulk imports), ask Claude to describe the plan first, before actually executing the command — this helps prevent accidentally deleting the wrong data.
• If the same type of work (e.g. schedule imports, venue setup) is repeated across several tournaments, give Claude all the necessary context at once (Excel file, venue list, rules) in a single message — this reduces clarifying questions.

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Security note

Custom MCP connectors are not separately verified by Anthropic — they are equivalent to a direct connection to the turniir.ee system. Only connect to an address confirmed by the system administrator, and only share API keys/tokens with trusted staff.

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Note: the exact steps on turniir.ee's own admin side (where to activate MCP and obtain the URL/key) may vary — these should be confirmed directly with the turniir.ee system administrator.