Rippling MCP Server: Tools, Setup and Security

The Rippling MCP lets an AI app look up people and reporting lines, check and request time off, start a draft hire and manage custom objects. Rippling publishes and hosts it as a "first-party Model Context Protocol (MCP) connection." It runs as the connected employee, within limits an admin sets in Rippling's MCP Gateway.

Checked against: Rippling's MCP overview on 28 October 2026. eSEOspace did not install or test this server.

At a glance

What it can do

Rippling's tools page explains that the server exposes one code tool. The model writes JavaScript against typed codemode.* functions, and the program runs in an isolated sandbox. Which functions you get depends on your permissions and Gateway policy.

The documented functions are:

• Rippling AI: ask_ai sends a plain-language question to Rippling's own assistant and returns a read-only answer.
• People and org chart (read): lookup_me, lookup_person, lookup_direct_reports, search_people, get_department_size, search_departments, search_teams, search_work_locations and search_legal_entities.
• Time off: lookup_absence, lookup_time_off_balance and search_leave_types read data. request_time_off creates a request that "follows the normal approval flow and shows as Pending."
• Hiring: create_draft_hire creates a draft "for a person to review and submit in Rippling."
• Custom objects: list, describe, search and look up records, plus write functions such as create_custom_record, update_custom_record, delete_custom_record and delete_custom_object. Deletes require confirmation.

Rippling also offers a separate developer tool, the Rippling SDK MCP, for exploring the REST API with an API token. Its docs say not to mix the two.

How to connect it

Rippling's setup guide has two parts.

Admins assign access:

1. Open the MCP Gateway and select Rippling MCP.
2. Select Access assignments, then Assign group or Assign individual.
3. Choose users. Group assignments use Supergroups.
4. Click Next, choose which tools those people can use and click Assign.

Employees connect a client:

• In Rippling: go to My IT, MCP connectors, search for Rippling MCP, click +, choose your AI client and sign in. If your client isn't listed, copy the Remote MCP server URL and add it as a custom server.
• In the AI tool: find Rippling MCP, click Connect and sign in.

If Connect is missing, Rippling says no tools have been assigned to you yet.

Security notes

Rippling's overview describes a layered model:

• Two permission layers. You need both the Gateway policy and normal Rippling permissions for an action.
• User identity. The AI never acts as "an unrestricted service account, global admin, or static API key."
• Redaction. SSNs, home addresses, personal email addresses and tax IDs are never exposed.
• Sandboxing. Code runs with "zero network egress," and credentials stay outside the sandbox.
• Lifecycle. Offboarding a worker revokes access automatically. Admins can revoke specific tools company-wide at any time.
• Rate limits. 50 function calls per 60 seconds per tool, per user; 5 new ask_ai runs per minute; 10 active ask_ai runs at once.

Custom-object delete functions can remove whole objects and their records, so assign them sparingly. See our guides to excessive permissions and resource exhaustion, and the MCP security center.

Alternatives

• Gusto, for small-business payroll and people data.
• Deel, for global contracts, payroll data and IT assets.

Browse the MCP server directory for more.

Next step

Rolling an HR MCP out to staff? Read MCP for IT Leaders: Governance, Logging and Access Control.

Frequently asked questions