How to connect QuickBooks Desktop to VS Code (MCP server setup)

To connect QuickBooks Desktop to VS Code, paste a conductor entry with the MCP server URL https://mcp.conductor.is/ into the Copilot Global file that MCP: Open User Configuration opens, then sign in to Conductor when the chat asks. Conductor connects QuickBooks Enterprise company files to VS Code the same way. You need QuickBooks Desktop and the Web Connector running on a Windows computer, a Conductor account, and VS Code with GitHub Copilot set up. The setup takes five steps and needs no API key.

Before you start

Before you add Conductor to VS Code, check these four things.

• A Windows computer runs QuickBooks Desktop and the QuickBooks Web Connector, and both must be running whenever VS Code sends a request. QuickBooks Desktop for Mac has no Web Connector, so it can't connect.

• The company file uses a supported edition: QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions of any version or year, or QuickBooks Premier (Plus), QuickBooks Desktop Pro (Plus), or QuickBooks Accountant Desktop (Plus) 2018 or later.

• The company file is connected to a Conductor account at dashboard.conductor.is. If it isn't yet, the QuickBooks user connects it once on the Windows computer: download Conductor's config file, open it in the Web Connector, and authenticate.

• GitHub Copilot is set up in VS Code. VS Code's setup guide recommends a GitHub account with a Copilot plan; without a plan, signing in enrolls an eligible account in Copilot Free. If your company manages Copilot, MCP server availability also depends on its organization policy.

Production use costs $49 per month for each established company file connection in use, with no platform fee and no monthly minimum. The free trial tier includes 1 connection for testing and development. Connections to QuickBooks sample company files and trial installations are free.

Add the Conductor MCP server to VS Code

Add the Conductor MCP server to VS Code by pasting one conductor entry into VS Code's Copilot Global config file and signing in from the chat. The company file must already be connected to Conductor. VS Code can run on any computer, but QuickBooks and the Web Connector must be running on the Windows computer you connected to Conductor. These steps work for the chat in VS Code.

1. In VS Code, click View > Command Palette in the menu bar.

2. Type MCP: Open User Configuration and press Enter. If VS Code asks which configuration to open, choose Copilot Global, which opens ~/.copilot/mcp-config.json.

3. Paste the config below, copied from the VS Code tab of Conductor's MCP setup guide, into the file that opens, replacing what's there, and click File > Save.

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "conductor": {
         "type": "http",
         "url": "https://mcp.conductor.is/",
         "tools": ["*"]
       }
     }
   }

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "conductor": {
         "type": "http",
         "url": "https://mcp.conductor.is/",
         "tools": ["*"]
       }
     }
   }

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "conductor": {
         "type": "http",
         "url": "https://mcp.conductor.is/",
         "tools": ["*"]
       }
     }
   }

   If the file already lists other servers, keep them and add only the conductor entry inside mcpServers, replacing any old conductor entry.

4. Open the chat and ask a question about your QuickBooks data. When the chat shows "MCP authentication required", click Authenticate. If VS Code asks which account to use, choose Sign in to another account.

5. Sign in to Conductor in the browser window that opens, pick your project, and click Allow.

Step 5 adds an "MCP (VS Code)" key to your Conductor project's API Keys page. The chat that showed the sign-in card finishes without Conductor, so start a new chat after you sign in. The entry has no headers field because the sign-in supplies the credential.

Read-only entry for VS Code

For read-only access, follow the same five steps but paste the entry below in step 3 instead.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "conductor": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.conductor.is/read-only",
      "tools": ["*"]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "conductor": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.conductor.is/read-only",
      "tools": ["*"]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "conductor": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.conductor.is/read-only",
      "tools": ["*"]
    }
  }
}

If you already added Conductor, replace its entry. The read-only connection's key is named "MCP (VS Code, read-only connection)" on your Conductor project's API Keys page.

Check that it works

To check that VS Code reaches your company file, start a new chat with the + at the top of the chat panel and send this prompt: Show the 5 most recent invoices using my most recently successful QuickBooks Desktop connection.

When VS Code asks Allow tool from conductor?, click Allow in this Session. If the chat answers with real invoices from your company file, the setup works. When the reply comes back without a tool call, choose Agent in the chat input and send the prompt again. A "connected" indicator proves only that the sign-in or config worked; Conductor checks the key on first use.

What this does and does not do

The chat in VS Code can read and write every QuickBooks company file connected to the Conductor project you picked at sign-in, so you can ask in plain English about overdue invoices or last month's sales. To limit VS Code to certain company files, connect it to a Conductor project that holds only those files' connections.

Use the full-access URL, https://mcp.conductor.is/, when the chat should enter or change records. The read-only URL, https://mcp.conductor.is/read-only, blocks creates, updates, and deletes before they reach QuickBooks. Read-only suits a trial, an accountant, or co-workers who should only read.

Conductor's docs state the limit: "Read-only mode is a guardrail, not a security boundary: anyone with the Conductor key can still write through the Conductor API." To test read-only mode, ask the chat to create a test customer. If it can't, read-only mode is on; if it can, the chat still has full access, so check the url in mcp-config.json.

QuickBooks Enterprise in any version or year and the Pro, Premier, and Accountant editions from 2018 or later all connect the same way. QuickBooks Desktop for Mac can't connect, because it has no Web Connector. Conductor does not connect to QuickBooks Online, which is a separate product. Intuit's own QuickBooks plugin for ChatGPT covers that product.

On Rightworks, requests reach the company file only while you are actively connected to your remote desktop session with QuickBooks open. Rightworks stops all background programs when you disconnect. Conductor's Rightworks guide covers the Web Connector setup there.

How this works

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open protocol that lets an AI tool call tools on a server, and the chat in VS Code uses it to reach your company file. Conductor's hosted MCP server at https://mcp.conductor.is/ connects QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Enterprise to VS Code.

Conductor's MCP server exposes two tools. search_docs searches the Conductor API documentation. execute runs code that the chat writes against Conductor's TypeScript SDK in an isolated sandbox with no web or filesystem access, then returns whatever that code returns or prints. When you ask for last month's unpaid invoices, the chat can look up the invoice fields with search_docs and then call execute with a short program that queries them.

Conductor passes each request from that code to the QuickBooks Web Connector, a program that ships with every version of QuickBooks Desktop and runs on the Windows computer that holds the company file. The QuickBooks user set up this connection once with Conductor's authentication flow, and VS Code reuses it. So adding VS Code needs no Web Connector changes. QuickBooks and the Web Connector still have to be running whenever you ask.

The sign-in in step 5 picked the Conductor project that VS Code can use and created the "MCP (VS Code)" key. Every request from VS Code runs under that key.

Revoke or share VS Code's access

To revoke VS Code's access, delete the "MCP (VS Code)" key on your project's API Keys page in the Conductor Dashboard.

Co-workers who use VS Code can each sign in to Conductor with their own account in step 5, which creates a separate key for each of them. They must be members of your Conductor organization; a teammate adds them on the Members page. Pricing is per company file, so a co-worker's own key adds nothing to the bill. An outside accountant who should only read can join the organization and use the read-only entry.

When someone leaves, remove them on the Members page, then delete the MCP keys they created on the project's API Keys page. The "Created by" column shows who created each key. Removing a member doesn't delete their keys.

If it does not work

When VS Code can't reach your company file, match the message or symptom you see to one of the four entries below, taken from Conductor's MCP troubleshooting docs.

Couldn't reach the MCP server

"Couldn't reach the MCP server" means the url in the conductor entry isn't https://mcp.conductor.is/ or https://mcp.conductor.is/read-only. Correct the url in mcp-config.json, click File > Save, and repeat steps 4 and 5.

Authorization with the MCP server failed

"Authorization with the MCP server failed" means the Conductor sign-in didn't finish. Sign in with the email your company uses for Conductor (on the Conductor page that opens, click Use a different account), or ask a teammate to add you on the Members page. Then repeat steps 4 and 5.

Requests to QuickBooks fail

Failed requests usually mean QuickBooks Desktop or the Web Connector isn't running on the computer you connected to Conductor. Make sure both are running there. On Rightworks, stay connected to the remote desktop session with QuickBooks open.

I see SEO tools, not QuickBooks (wrong Conductor)

VS Code is connected to the MCP server of an unrelated SEO company at conductor.com when its tools include ai_brand_insights and keyword_insights or it returns "couldn't identify the caller" errors. Remove that server's entry from mcp-config.json and add the conductor entry from step 3 instead. Conductor's server at conductor.is has only the execute and search_docs tools.

Frequently asked questions

Does this work with QuickBooks Enterprise?

Yes. QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions in any version or year connects to VS Code through the Web Connector, the same way as Pro and Premier. The Accountant, Contractor, Manufacturing and Wholesale, Nonprofit, Professional Services, and Retail editions of QuickBooks Enterprise are all supported.

Does QuickBooks Desktop need to be open?

Yes. QuickBooks Desktop and the Web Connector must be running on the Windows computer you connected to Conductor whenever VS Code sends a request. VS Code can run on a different computer.

Do I need to paste an API key into the config file?

No. The conductor entry holds only type, url, and tools. VS Code signs in to Conductor through your browser instead, which creates the "MCP (VS Code)" key on your project's API Keys page.

Can I give VS Code read-only access?

Yes. Set the url in the conductor entry to https://mcp.conductor.is/read-only to block creates, updates, and deletes before they reach QuickBooks. The URL limits the connection, not the Conductor key behind it.

What does it cost?

Conductor costs $49 per month for each established company file connection in use. The free trial tier covers 1 connection for testing and development. More co-workers, keys, or AI tools on the same company file cost nothing extra.

Connect QuickBooks Desktop to other AI tools

Each guide below connects the same Conductor MCP server to a different AI tool.

• Claude on claude.ai, Claude Desktop, and the Claude mobile apps.

• Claude Cowork for Cowork tasks.

• Claude Code in the terminal.

• ChatGPT as a plugin.

• Codex CLI in the terminal.

• Cursor for the agent in Cursor.

• Microsoft Copilot Studio for agents built in Copilot Studio.

• Compare every QuickBooks Desktop MCP server, including options from other vendors.

• See AI agent use cases for QuickBooks Desktop.