Cold Email from Claude Desktop with FoxReach MCP
Connect Claude Desktop to FoxReach in under 5 minutes. Ask Claude to draft a campaign, import leads, triage replies, or pull performance. Claude has 23 FoxReach tools available and knows which to chain. No code, no dashboard switching.
Usama Navid
Founder, FoxReach
What this unlocks
Claude Desktop is the closest thing to a real personal assistant most of us have on our laptops right now. With FoxReach connected, Claude can run your cold email operation in the same conversation where you read a contract, draft a memo, or triage your inbox. The tools are named, typed, and chainable - Claude picks which ones to call.
Under the hood, it is the FoxReach MCP server - 23 tools across leads, campaigns, sequences, templates, and email accounts. You do not write code. You do not parse tool schemas. You ask Claude to do the thing and Claude calls the right tools in the right order.
Prerequisites
Claude Desktop (Mac or Windows)
Download free from claude.ai/download. The native app, not the web chat - MCP is desktop-only today.
A FoxReach account
Free plan is enough to try this end-to-end. Sign up at foxreach.io and connect at least one sending inbox.
A FoxReach API key
Settings → API Keys → Generate. Prefix: fr_. Keep it secret - paste it only into your local claude_desktop_config.json.
Install in 5 minutes
Step 1: Open the config
In Claude Desktop, open Settings → Developer → Edit Config. This opens the claude_desktop_config.json file in your default editor. On first open it usually looks like this:
{
"mcpServers": {}
}Step 2: Add FoxReach
Add the FoxReach block inside mcpServers. Replace fr_your_key_here with your actual API key.
{
"mcpServers": {
"foxreach": {
"url": "https://api.foxreach.io/mcp",
"transport": "streamable_http",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer fr_your_key_here"
}
}
}
}Save the file. If you already had other MCP servers configured, paste FoxReach alongside them - this is additive, not replacing.
Step 3: Restart and verify
Fully quit Claude Desktop - Cmd+Q on Mac, File → Exit on Windows. Closing the window is not enough; Claude reads the config only at launch. Reopen the app.
Check the tool icon near the message input - FoxReach should appear in the list with 23 tools. Type a first prompt to verify the connection works:
List my FoxReach campaigns. Show me the name, status, and open rate for each.
Claude calls list_campaigns, summarizes the result in a table, and asks if you want to drill into any of them. If that works, every other FoxReach workflow does.
Prompts that work
Six prompts you can paste into Claude Desktop after connecting FoxReach. Each is designed to exercise a specific set of tools and give Claude enough context to chain calls cleanly.
Daily review
"Show me my active campaigns and their open + reply rates this week. Flag any under 30% open."
Draft a campaign
"Draft a campaign for SaaS founders. 3-step sequence, soft value-first opener, 3 days between steps. Leave it in draft."
Bulk lead import
"I'm pasting 40 leads. For each, create a lead in the 'SaaS Founders April' campaign with their email, first name, and company."
Reply triage
"Read my 10 most recent inbox replies. Classify each as hot, cold, or unsubscribe. For the hot ones, draft a reply to each."
Deliverability check
"Check warmup status on all my connected email accounts. Flag any with a reputation score below 80."
Performance deep-dive
"Pull campaign performance for the last 30 days. Which subject line patterns correlate with higher reply rates? Suggest two new variants to test."
A daily outreach workflow
How a founder or SDR actually uses Claude Desktop + FoxReach in a morning check-in. Five minutes, one conversation, everything done before the first coffee.
- Pull yesterday's performance. "Show me yesterday's campaign stats by campaign. Flag anything with a reply rate under 2%."
- Triage the inbox. "List unread inbox messages from the last 12 hours. Classify each as hot, cold, unsubscribe, or OOO. For hot replies, draft a response."
- Review the drafts. Claude shows you the drafted responses. You edit inline or tell Claude to rewrite with a different tone.
- Send. "Send the draft to Prospect A. Flag Prospect B for me to call personally."
- Queue new sends. "Import these 25 new leads into the SaaS Founders campaign. Start sending today."
The entire exchange is five to eight prompts. Claude chains list_inbox_messages → get_message → draft_reply → send_reply automatically. You describe the outcome, not the sequence.
Troubleshooting
"No FoxReach tools available" in Claude Desktop
Claude Desktop caches config on launch. Fully quit the app (Cmd+Q on Mac, not just close the window) and reopen. The tools appear in the tool menu within a few seconds of reopening.
Auth failed / 401 error
Regenerate your API key in FoxReach Settings → API Keys. Make sure the key starts with fr_ and you copied the entire string. Replace the old key in claude_desktop_config.json and fully quit + reopen Claude Desktop.
Tools appear but calls time out
Check your network - the MCP server is hosted at api.foxreach.io over HTTPS. Corporate proxies and VPNs occasionally block the streamable_http transport. Try from a different network to confirm.
Claude refuses to call a destructive tool
Claude Desktop asks for confirmation on destructive actions (delete_campaign, remove_lead) by design. Click Allow when the confirmation appears. If you want auto-approval for a session, toggle 'Allow once' vs 'Always allow for this session' in the dialog.
Config JSON is invalid
Claude Desktop silently ignores malformed config. Validate your claude_desktop_config.json with a JSON linter first. Most common mistake: trailing comma after the last tool entry.
Beyond Claude Desktop
Claude Desktop is the fastest on-ramp for conversational outreach. For code-first workflows, the same MCP server works with Claude Code (terminal-native), Cursor (IDE), and custom agents built on LangChain or CrewAI.
The API key you generated for Claude Desktop works in all of them. MCP config is shared conceptually across clients - the same api.foxreach.io/mcp URL, the same Bearer token, the same 23 tools.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a Claude Pro subscription to use FoxReach MCP?
No. The free Claude Desktop app supports MCP servers. A Pro subscription gives you higher message limits and priority access during peak times but MCP works on either tier.
Does this work on Claude.ai (the web version)?
Not currently. Claude.ai the web chat does not yet expose MCP server configuration in the UI. Claude Desktop (Mac and Windows) is where you connect FoxReach. Anthropic has signaled MCP support is coming to the web client - when it ships, the same FoxReach MCP URL works there too.
What is the difference between the MCP server and the Claude Code plugin?
Claude Desktop uses the hosted MCP server at api.foxreach.io/mcp - no local install, works in natural-language conversation. Claude Code is the terminal-native agent where the FoxReach plugin adds slash commands (/leads, /campaigns, /analytics) and context-aware workspace data. Many builders use both: MCP for conversational review, plugin for coding sessions.
Can I use FoxReach MCP on a team Claude Desktop?
Each team member connects with their own FoxReach API key. The keys are workspace-scoped, so one Claude Desktop instance sees exactly the leads, campaigns, and inbox that the authenticated user has access to in FoxReach. Admins can issue team members read-only keys for a safer default.
What are the rate limits?
FoxReach allows 100 requests per minute per workspace. Under normal Claude Desktop conversation, you will not hit this - each prompt typically produces 1-5 tool calls. Batch operations (bulk lead import, multi-campaign sweeps) benefit from the batch endpoints that Claude will find and prefer automatically.
See also
Run cold email from Claude Desktop
Free plan, no credit card. Five minutes from signup to first agent-managed campaign.