Claude is good at the kind of question a screen time dashboard makes you work for. “Why do my Thursdays fall apart?” is a thirty-second conversation if the assistant can see your numbers, and a twenty-minute squint at charts if it cannot. This guide connects Claude to your real Respite data, step by step, and shows what to ask once it is in place.

Respite is, to our knowledge, the first mobile screen time app with a built-in MCP server (November 2026), so there is no other app to compare setup steps with. The short version is below; the details, including the parts that go wrong, follow.

What do you need before you start?

  • A Respite account on Respite Plus. Reading your data through an AI is a Plus feature. You sign in with Google or Apple, the same as in the app.
  • At least one synced device. Claude reads what your devices sync to your account. If you have never turned on sync, there is nothing to read yet. Android, iPhone and the browser all sync once you are signed in.
  • A Claude plan that allows custom connectors. This varies by plan, and on team plans an owner may need to switch custom connectors on. Check Anthropic’s help for your plan.
  • The Respite address: https://respite-api.liveintently.app/mcp

If MCP is a new word, what an MCP server is, in plain English takes five minutes. You do not need it to follow the steps.

How do I connect Claude.ai or Claude Desktop?

Claude.ai (in the browser) and Claude Desktop use the same screen for remote servers.

  1. Open Settings, then Connectors.
  2. Choose Add custom connector.
  3. Name it Respite and paste https://respite-api.liveintently.app/mcp. Leave any advanced fields empty: Respite registers Claude automatically.
  4. Choose Add, then Connect. A Respite sign-in page opens.
  5. Sign in with Google or Apple, read the permission, decide whether to tick Also let it make my limits stricter (unticked by default), and choose Allow.
  6. Start a chat. In the connectors menu next to the message box, make sure Respite is switched on for this conversation.

A note for Claude Desktop users who have set up MCP servers before: remote servers like Respite are added in the Connectors screen, not in the claude_desktop_config.json file. That file is for local servers that run on your own computer. Respite runs on our side, so there is nothing to install.

Connectors you add on the web or desktop also appear in Claude’s mobile apps on most plans, but that can change, so treat it as something to try rather than a promise.

How do I connect Claude Code?

Claude Code is Anthropic’s coding assistant for the terminal. It speaks MCP over HTTP:

claude mcp add --transport http respite https://respite-api.liveintently.app/mcp

Add --scope user if you want Respite available in every project rather than just the current one. Then start Claude Code, type /mcp, select respite and choose to authenticate. Your browser opens the same Respite sign-in page. When it says you are connected, you can ask about your screen time from inside the terminal, which is a surprisingly natural place to do a weekly review if you already live there.

What happens when I sign in?

You land on a Respite page, choose Google or Apple, and see a consent screen. It asks for read access to your usage, insights and history, and shows one extra checkbox, “Also let it make my limits stricter”, unticked by default. Leave it unticked and Claude can only read. Tick it and Claude can lower limits and add schedules; it still cannot change pause messages or rules.

You can deny. If you do, nothing is connected. If you allow and later change your mind, disconnect in Claude and nothing more can be read.

What can Claude read?

These are the tools Claude sees. Claude chooses between them; you just ask.

Tool What it gives Claude
get_account Your plan, your devices and when Claude was connected. Works on a free account.
get_usage Minutes per app or per day for up to 92 days, merged across your devices, with opens and longest session where recorded.
get_insights A period compared with the one before: top apps, busiest and lightest day, limits kept, walk-aways, your first-week baseline.
list_limits Your per-app daily limits and blocking schedules.
list_events Individual sessions, or the moments Respite interrupted you at a limit and what you chose.
get_progress Acorns, XP, streak, streak freezes, quests and your league tier. Never other people.

Two resources, respite://today and respite://week, hold ready-made summaries. Resources only read. If a device did not record something, the answer leaves it out rather than inventing it, and Claude is told to say so.

What should I ask first?

Start with one broad question, then narrow:

How did my screen time this week compare with last week? Which three apps changed most, and on which days?

Claude should call get_insights, then maybe get_usage for the days. Then try the questions that dashboards bury:

  • “Did I stay inside my limits? Which limit do I break most, and is it a particular weekday?”
  • “When Respite paused me, how often did I walk away? Which app am I worst at?”
  • “Compare my Android and my iPhone for the last two weeks.”
  • “Look at my limits and schedules. Which look too loose compared with what I actually do?”
  • “I want my evenings back. Based on my data, what is the one change most likely to help?”

More of these are in 30 prompts to ask Claude or ChatGPT about your screen time. By default Claude gives advice rather than changes; if you opted in to stricter limits it can lower a limit or add a schedule for you, and for anything looser you change it in the app.

What does it not do yet?

Be clear-eyed about this, because other guides will not be:

  • It cannot loosen limits on its own. If you opted in, Claude can lower a limit or add a schedule and it applies at once. Raising or removing a limit, or removing a schedule, only becomes a request you approve in the Respite app (arriving in app updates), so a Claude that says it raised a limit for you is mistaken. If you did not opt in, it cannot change anything. See letting your AI change your limits.
  • It sees synced data only. An app you limit on a device that does not sync will not appear.
  • Times of day need care. Some timestamps are stored in UTC and Claude may need telling your time zone. Say “I am in London” and it will adjust.
  • It is as good as its prompt. Claude can be confidently wrong about causes. Treat “why” answers as hypotheses.

What are the privacy implications?

When Claude calls a Respite tool, the result becomes part of your conversation, so Anthropic processes it under its own terms and your account’s data settings. Respite runs no AI of its own and trains nothing on your data; it only answers the calls Claude makes, for the permission you allowed. The full picture, including what is and is not sent, is in is it safe to give an AI your screen time data?

Troubleshooting

  • Claude does not mention Respite. Check the connector is switched on in this chat, and say “use my Respite data” in your question.
  • “This needs Respite Plus.” The connection is fine; the plan is not. Upgrade in the app, then ask again.
  • “Does not have the permission.” Disconnect and reconnect. If you want Claude to make limits stricter, tick “Also let it make my limits stricter” on the approval page.
  • Empty or small numbers. Check sync is on and the device has synced recently. get_account shows each device and when it was last seen.
  • The sign-in page will not load. Use a normal browser window and allow cookies for the sign-in page.

Next step

Connect, ask the broad question above, and set one limit based on the answer. Download Respite if you do not have it yet, and see the hub for AI and screen time for the whole picture.