This feature is in beta.

This guide shows you how to connect the Lokalise MCP Server to your tools or AI agents and start using it right away. The setup is simple, and you only need your Lokalise API token to get started.

What is the Lokalise MCP Server?

The Lokalise MCP Server lets MCP-compatible AI tools connect to Lokalise and perform supported actions using natural language.

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that allows AI assistants to work with external tools and services in a consistent way. With Lokalise MCP Server, you can connect tools such as Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, or other MCP-compatible clients to your Lokalise workspace.

Instead of switching to the Lokalise UI or writing custom API scripts, you can ask your AI assistant to complete supported Lokalise actions for you.

For example, you can ask it to:

check translation progress for a project
list untranslated keys
create a localization task
add target languages
retrieve key details
create or update glossary terms
work with screenshots for localization context

The Lokalise MCP Server is cloud-hosted and supports different toolkits depending on your workflow:

Project management toolkit — for project, task, contributor, language, file, key, and glossary workflows.
Software development toolkit — for developer-focused workflows, such as working with projects, tasks, keys, and screenshots from MCP-compatible development tools.

You can use the MCP Server to reduce context switching, automate common localization actions, and bring Lokalise workflows into the AI tools your team already uses.

How to set up the Lokalise MCP Server

Different MCP-compatible tools (AI agents, IDEs, orchestration platforms, etc.) have their own way of adding MCP servers, but the setup process is usually the same everywhere:

Find the place where the tool lets you add an MCP server or edit MCP configuration.
Create a new MCP server entry pointing to a Lokalise endpoint.
Add your Lokalise API token under the apikey header.
1. You can generate a new Lokalise API token in your Profile settings > API tokens.
Save the configuration so your tool/agent can detect the capabilities.

Below is the standard configuration you can use in any MCP-compatible environment.

Configurations

The Lokalise MCP Server provides two separate toolkits: Project management and Software development. You may need one or both, depending on which actions you want your agent to perform. Some actions require the PM toolkit, others require the SD toolkit.

A full table showing which action belongs to which toolkit is available below.

Project management toolkit configuration

With OAuth 2 (recommended approach):

"lokalise_pm": {
  "url": "https://mcp.lokalise.com/mcp/project-management"
}

With API key:

"lokalise_pm": {
  "type": "http",
  "url": "https://mcp.lokalise.com/mcp/project-management",
  "headers": {
    "apikey": "[Enter-your-API-key-here]",
    "accept": "application/json, text/event-stream"
  }
}

Replace [Enter-your-API-key-here] with your actual Lokalise API Key.

Alternatively, you can provide API key as Authorization: Bearer %apikey%.

Software development toolkit configuration

With OAuth 2 (recommended approach):

"lokalise_sd": {
  "url": "https://mcp.lokalise.com/mcp/software-development"
}

With API key:

"lokalise_sd": {
  "type": "http",
  "url": "https://mcp.lokalise.com/mcp/software-development",
  "headers": {
    "apikey": "[Enter-your-API-key-here]",
    "accept": "application/json, text/event-stream"
  }
}

Example: Setting up the MCP server in Cursor

Open Cursor Settings.
Go to Tools & MCP.
Find the MCP configuration (JSON file) section.
Add the configurations to your MCP JSON file.

Using the MCP server

After you save the configuration:

Open a new conversation with an agent.
Ask it to use the Lokalise MCP server.
The agent will automatically detect the available Lokalise tools and perform actions in Lokalise on your behalf.

No extra commands or setup needed; the agent understands everything from the MCP configuration.

Frequently asked questions

What is the MCP Server and why use it?

The Lokalise MCP Server lets MCP-compatible AI tools interact with Lokalise in a structured way.

Use it when you want to run supported Lokalise actions from an AI assistant or automation tool instead of switching to the Lokalise UI or writing custom API scripts. For example, you can ask an AI assistant to check project progress, list untranslated keys, create a task, add languages, or update glossary terms.

Who can use the Lokalise MCP server?

Any Lokalise team that’s on a plan with API access can use the MCP Server. If your team’s plan includes API access, you’re good to go!

What kind of API token do I need?

We recommend using OAuth 2.0 to connect the Lokalise MCP Server. OAuth 2.0 is the safer option because you do not need to manually create, copy, or store an API token in your MCP client configuration.

If you still want to use an API token, the token must match the actions you want the MCP Server to perform.

For read-only actions, such as listing projects or checking task progress, a read-only API token is enough.
For actions that create, update, or upload anything in Lokalise, such as creating projects, uploading files, adding tasks, updating keys, or creating glossary terms, you need a read/write API token.

Token permissions follow the user

API tokens in Lokalise always work in the context of the user who created them. It means:

If the user doesn’t have access to a project, the token won’t have access either.
If the user is not allowed to perform an action (like uploading files), the token also won’t be allowed.
If the user has limited project permissions, the token will inherit those limits.

So before using the MCP Server, make sure the user who generates the token has the right permissions for the tasks you want to automate. Learn more about permissions in the Contributors article.

Are there any limits?

Yes — the MCP Server uses the Lokalise API under the hood. This means all API rate limits and restrictions also apply to MCP.

What actions can I complete with the Lokalise MCP Server?

The Lokalise MCP Server currently provides two toolkits:

Project management
Software development

Different actions rely on different toolkits, so make sure you’ve enabled the right configuration(s) from the section above. These two toolkits cover most common automation tasks, and more (including translator-focused ones) will be added over time.

You don’t need to tell your agent which toolkit or action to use; it will automatically pick the correct one based on your prompt.

Projects

Description	Use case	Toolkit
List all projects	View all projects in the team, including their current status	`project-management`, `software-development`
Create a new project	Create a new localization project with its initial configuration	`project-management`
Get specific project details	Retrieve details for a specific project	`project-management`, `software-development`
Get project key count and statistics	Check project size and progress using key counts and statistics	`project-management`

Languages

Description	Use case	Toolkit
List project languages	View the base and target languages configured for a project	`project-management`
Add target languages	Add one or more target languages to a project	`project-management`

Contributors

Description	Use case	Toolkit
List project contributors	View users who have access to a project	`project-management`
Add project contributors	Add users to a project so they can work on localization tasks	`project-management`

Tasks

Description	Use case	Toolkit
List all tasks	View tasks in a project	`project-management`, `software-development`
Get task details and progress	Check task details, assignees, due dates, and progress	`project-management`, `software-development`
Update task due date and assignees	Change task scheduling or assignment details	`project-management`
Create a task	Create a new localization task	`project-management`, `software-development`

Keys

Description	Use case	Toolkit
List all keys	View keys in a project, optionally filtered by untranslated status, platform, filename, tags, or key name	`project-management`, `software-development`
Get specific key details	Retrieve details for a specific key, including its translations where available	`project-management`, `software-development`
Add one or multiple keys	Create one or more new keys in a project	`software-development`
Update key details	Update editable key details	`project-management`, `software-development`

Files

Description	Use case	Toolkit
Upload a file	Upload localization files to a project	`project-management`

Glossary

Description	Use case	Toolkit
List glossary terms	View glossary terms available in a project	`project-management`
Create glossary terms	Add new approved terminology to the glossary	`project-management`
Update glossary terms	Update existing glossary terminology	`project-management`
Get specific glossary term details	Retrieve details for a specific glossary term	`project-management`

Screenshots

Description	Use case	Toolkit
Create screenshots	Add screenshots to provide visual context for localization	`software-development`
List screenshots	View screenshots linked to a project	`software-development`
Retrieve a screenshot	Get details for a specific screenshot	`software-development`
Update a screenshot	Update screenshot details or associations	`software-development`
Delete a screenshot	Remove a screenshot from a project	`software-development`