Universally MCP¶
Official MCP server for the Universally translation platform - search strings and their translations, add or switch languages, manage glossary rules and read translation analytics, from any assistant. Read-only until you explicitly allow changes.
Server type: Remote (Streamable HTTP at https://mcp.universally.com/platform)
Auth: OAuth sign-in per workspace (or an X-API-Key header for scripted clients)
Tools: workspace and plan reads; sites; languages; translations; glossary; analytics
Safety: read-only by default - changes require ticking Allow changes at sign-in; no tool can delete anything; every call is checked against your workspace role
Category: Business Operations
Built by: Universally (universally.com)
Why This Matters for Operators¶
A multilingual site accumulates translation work the way a garage accumulates boxes: strings waiting for review, languages switched on for a campaign and never cleaned up, a glossary that only one person knows. The operational questions - what is untranslated, what did the machine translate, what is actually being requested - normally take a dashboard tour.
Universally puts those questions in the assistant. "Which strings in the German site are still untranslated" or "switch French on for this site" is now a sentence, and the analytics read shows what visitors request in the last 24 hours. The permission model carries over from the platform: the assistant acts as you, within your role, and refuses changes unless you opted in at connection time.
Tools & Capabilities¶
| Area | What the assistant can do |
|---|---|
| Workspace | Read the workspace name, settings, plan, its limits and usage |
| Sites | List sites, read one site, create a site, read install steps for its platform |
| Languages | List a site's languages, add a language, switch one on or off |
| Translations | Search strings, read all translations for a string, edit, approve or unapprove, machine-translate |
| Glossary | List glossary rules; create or edit a rule |
| Analytics | Read requests, translation activity and most requested URLs for the last 24 hours |
Installation¶
claude mcp add --transport http universally https://mcp.universally.com/platform
Works with Claude (web and desktop), ChatGPT (developer mode), Cursor and VS Code; step-by-step guides are in the Universally docs. For scripted clients, create a workspace API key and send it as X-API-Key.
Configuration and Safety¶
- Each connection is tied to one workspace, chosen at sign-in; add a second connection for a second workspace.
- Leave Allow changes unticked for read-only, or tick it so the assistant can also edit; without it every write tool is refused regardless of role.
- The assistant cannot delete anything and never sees private API keys.
- Machine-translating a string replaces its current translation (including a human-written one) and consumes prepaid words; edits go live as cached pages refresh.
Business Relevance¶
- Localization owners see what is untranslated and what is being requested without dashboard tours.
- Marketing teams switch languages on for a launch and off afterwards from chat.
- Site operators keep glossary rules consistent by editing them where the discussion happens.
- Agencies run translation triage for client sites with role-scoped access.
Integration with CorpusIQ¶
Translation work only pays off if the market is arriving. Universally manages the strings; CorpusIQ reports the traffic, queries and conversions by market from GA4 and Search Console, so "is the German site earning its keep" gets answered with both halves: what was translated and what it did. Business numbers from Stripe or Shopify complete the picture per region.
Limitations¶
- Tied to the Universally platform and its plan limits (sites, prepaid words); it manages translations, it does not perform professional translation review.
- Machine translation replaces the current translation and is metered against prepaid words.
- Write access is opt-in per connection and constrained by workspace role.
- Newer connector; the tool set is young and evolving.
FAQ¶
Can the assistant make changes without my permission?¶
No. A connection is read-only by default; write tools stay refused until you tick Allow changes at sign-in, and even then they are checked against your workspace role.
Does it work with WordPress and Astro sites?¶
Yes. The docs describe WordPress and Astro setups, and the assistant reads the install steps for a site's platform when you create one.
Can the assistant delete a language or a translation?¶
No. There is no delete tool; deletion stays in the Universally dashboard.