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Connect n8n, Make and Zapier

Automation platforms can connect to an external MCP server. As Senso MCP is a standard MCP server, n8n, Make and Zapier can use your site's tools in their workflows, with or without an AI agent.


Prepare the site

For automation, opt for the Joomla API token rather than OAuth: there is no consent screen and no token that needs to be renewed by a human.

  1. Create a dedicated Joomla user for the automation, in a group with only the permissions it needs (for example, Editor or Publisher for content). Do not reuse a Super User account.
  2. Check that this group has the API Login permission (Users → Groups → Users component permissions).
  3. In this user's profile, under the API Token tab, enable and copy the token.
  4. Make a note of the server URL: https://your-site.tld/api/index.php/v1/mcp.

n8n

n8n provides two nodes. The MCP Client Tool connects to an AI Agent node: the agent discovers all the tools on your site and decides for itself which ones to call. The MCP Client node is used without an agent, to call a specific tool in a conventional workflow, for example creating an article whenever a new row is added to a spreadsheet.

Configuration is the same in both cases:

  • Endpoint: the MCP server URL;
  • Transport: HTTP Streamable;
  • Authentication: Bearer Auth, using a credential containing the API token;
  • for the MCP Client node: choose the Execute Tool operation, then enter the tool name and its arguments as JSON.

Make

Make provides the MCP Client module for scenarios, as well as an Add MCP button in AI Agents. Create a connection using the server URL and token authentication (the Authorization: Bearer <token> header); your site's tools will then appear alongside the Make modules. In a scenario, the module lists the tools and calls one with the required arguments; in an agent, the model makes the decision.

Zapier

Zapier's MCP Client integration connects to a remote MCP server over streamable HTTP and exposes its tools as actions in a Zap. Add the MCP Client app, create a connection using the server URL and API token, then choose your site's tool as the action and map its arguments to the trigger data. Zapier still labels this integration as beta, so its interface may change.

Other platforms

Any platform with an HTTP Request module can call the server without an MCP client: MCP is simply JSON-RPC over HTTP. A POST request to the server URL, with the Authorization: Bearer <token> header and a tools/call body, is all that is required. Complete examples (listing tools and calling a tool) can be found in Connect another MCP client.

Best practices

  • use one account and one token per automation, so that one can be revoked without affecting the others;
  • keep Joomla permissions limited to the strict minimum required: ACL applies to token-based calls exactly as it does to assistants;
  • if in doubt, enable Senso MCP's read-only mode while testing the workflow;
  • store the token in the platform's encrypted credentials, never in plain text in a node.

Official documentation