Harvest Automation

Automate your Harvest time tracking operations directly from Claude Code. Log time entries, manage projects and clients, create tasks, and pull reporting data -- all without leaving your terminal.

Toolkit docs: composio.dev/toolkits/harvest

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Setup

1. Add the Rube MCP server to your Claude Code config with URL: https://rube.app/mcp
2. When prompted, authenticate your Harvest account through the connection link provided
3. Start automating your time tracking workflows with natural language

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Core Workflows

1. Log and Manage Time Entries

Create, list, update, and retrieve time entries for accurate billing and reporting.

Tools: HARVEST_CREATE_TIME_ENTRY, HARVEST_LIST_TIME_ENTRIES, HARVEST_GET_TIME_ENTRY, HARVEST_UPDATE_TIME_ENTRY

Log 3.5 hours of development work on project 12345, task 67890 for today

Key parameters for HARVEST_CREATE_TIME_ENTRY:

• project_id (required) -- the project to log against
• task_id (required) -- the task must be assigned to the project
• spent_date (required) -- date in YYYY-MM-DD format
• hours -- total hours (for duration-based accounts)
• started_time / ended_time -- for timestamp-based accounts
• notes -- description of work performed

Key parameters for HARVEST_LIST_TIME_ENTRIES:

• from_date / to -- date range filters (YYYY-MM-DD)
• project_id, client_id, task_id, user_id -- entity filters
• is_billed / is_running -- status filters
• page / per_page (max 2000) -- pagination

2. Manage Projects

Create new projects and list existing ones with client and billing configuration.

Tools: HARVEST_CREATE_PROJECT, HARVEST_LIST_PROJECTS, HARVEST_GET_PROJECT

Create a billable project called "Website Redesign" for client 456 with Tasks billing and project budget

Key parameters for HARVEST_CREATE_PROJECT:

• name, client_id, is_billable, bill_by, budget_by (all required)
• bill_by options: "Project", "Tasks", "People", "none"
• budget_by options: "project", "project_cost", "task", "task_fees", "person", "none"
• Optional: budget, hourly_rate, starts_on, ends_on, is_fixed_fee

3. Manage Clients

Create and list clients that projects are organized under.

Tools: HARVEST_CREATE_CLIENT, HARVEST_LIST_CLIENTS

List all active clients in our Harvest account

• HARVEST_CREATE_CLIENT requires name; accepts address, currency, is_active
• HARVEST_LIST_CLIENTS supports is_active filter and pagination (per_page max 2000)

4. Manage Tasks

Create and list reusable task types for time tracking.

Tools: HARVEST_CREATE_TASK, HARVEST_LIST_TASKS

Create a new billable task called "Code Review" with a default rate of $150/hr

• HARVEST_CREATE_TASK requires name; accepts billable_by_default, default_hourly_rate, is_active, is_default
• HARVEST_LIST_TASKS supports is_active, is_default filters and pagination (per_page max 100)
• Task names must be unique across all tasks (active and archived)

5. Time Entry Reporting

Pull time entries with date ranges and filters for billing summaries and utilization reports.

Tools: HARVEST_LIST_TIME_ENTRIES, HARVEST_GET_TIME_ENTRY

Show me all unbilled time entries for project 789 from January 2026

• Use from_date and to for date windowing
• Filter with is_billed: false for unbilled entries
• Combine project_id, user_id, client_id for cross-dimensional reporting
• Paginate with page and per_page to gather complete datasets

6. Update and Correct Time Entries

Modify existing time entries to fix hours, reassign projects, or update notes.

Tools: HARVEST_UPDATE_TIME_ENTRY

Update time entry 123456 to change the hours to 4.0 and add the note "Completed API integration"

• Requires time_entry_id
• Supports partial updates -- only include fields you want to change
• Can update hours, notes, project_id, task_id, spent_date, started_time, ended_time

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Known Pitfalls

• Task assignment matters: When creating time entries, the task_id must correspond to a task that is actually assigned to the specified project_id. Use project task assignments endpoint to verify, not just HARVEST_LIST_TASKS (which returns global tasks).
• Duration vs. timestamp tracking: Harvest accounts are configured for either duration-based or timestamp-based tracking. hours is ignored on timestamp accounts; started_time/ended_time are ignored on duration accounts.
• Pagination limits vary: HARVEST_LIST_TIME_ENTRIES and HARVEST_LIST_CLIENTS support up to 2000 per page, but HARVEST_LIST_PROJECTS and HARVEST_LIST_TASKS cap at 100 per page.
• Date format consistency: All date parameters must use YYYY-MM-DD format. ISO 8601 with timezone is used for updated_since filters.
• Required fields for projects: HARVEST_CREATE_PROJECT requires five fields: name, client_id, is_billable, bill_by, and budget_by. Missing any will cause a validation error.

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Quick Reference

Tool Slug	Description
HARVEST_LIST_TIME_ENTRIES	List time entries with date, project, client, user filters
HARVEST_CREATE_TIME_ENTRY	Log a new time entry (requires project_id, task_id, spent_date)
HARVEST_GET_TIME_ENTRY	Retrieve a specific time entry by ID
HARVEST_UPDATE_TIME_ENTRY	Update an existing time entry (requires time_entry_id)
HARVEST_LIST_PROJECTS	List projects with optional client filter
HARVEST_CREATE_PROJECT	Create a new project with billing config
HARVEST_GET_PROJECT	Retrieve a specific project by ID
HARVEST_LIST_CLIENTS	List clients with active/inactive filter
HARVEST_CREATE_CLIENT	Create a new client (requires name)
HARVEST_LIST_TASKS	List reusable task types
HARVEST_CREATE_TASK	Create a new task type (requires name)

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