Dashbuilder has a built-in MCP server, the Builder assistant. Connect Claude or ChatGPT to it and you can set things up by describing them in a chat, for example "draft a dashboard of reps by region" or "set up next year's pay round". It builds definitions only: it never sees figures or personal details, and it can't delete anything. Setup takes about 10 minutes.
Before you start
- The assistant is switched on for your workspace. Open Settings › Assistants. If the tab is missing or says it's off, ask Lluminate to enable it.
- You're allowed to connect. By default only super admins can. The Assistants page says who may connect on your workspace; other users either don't see the tab or are told only super admins can connect.
- You have an AI account: Claude (web or desktop), Claude Code, or ChatGPT with developer mode.
- Your authenticator app is to hand, because you'll sign in to Dashbuilder with two-factor during setup.
Step 1: Copy the server address
Go to Settings › Assistants. Under How to connect, click Copy next to the server address. It ends in /mcp, e.g. https://yourunion.dashbuilder.io/mcp. The page also has setup tabs for Claude, ChatGPT and Other, matching the steps below.
Step 2a: Connect Claude
- In Claude, open Settings › Connectors and choose Add custom connector.
- Name it clearly, and paste the server address.
- Click Connect. A Dashbuilder sign-in page opens.
- Sign in with your email, password and two-factor code.
- On the Connect an assistant page, read what it will be able to do, then click Approve.
- Back in Claude, the connector shows as connected.
Step 2b: Connect ChatGPT
- In ChatGPT, turn on developer mode and create a new connector, following the ChatGPT tab on Settings › Assistants.
- Paste the server address and choose OAuth for authentication.
- Sign in to Dashbuilder with two-factor and Approve, as above.
The first time you connect a client, every admin gets a security alert and the connection is written to the audit log.
Step 3: Check the connection
Start a new chat, make sure the Dashbuilder connector is turned on for it, and ask:
Check the connection to Dashbuilder.
It should reply with your workspace name and your name and role. Then reload Settings › Assistants: your client appears under connected assistants, with when it connected and was last active.
Step 4: Your first session
Work through these prompts in order. Each builds on the last.
- See what's there: "What can I build from in Dashbuilder?" It lists your audiences, attributes, area tiers, metric formats, templates, block types, trackers and campaigns, with no figures.
- List dashboards: "List my dashboards and show me the blocks on Membership Overview."
- Draft a dashboard: "Draft a dashboard called Rep coverage, visible to Region and District, based on all members, with a KPI tile of reps and a bar chart of reps by region."
- Refine it: "Rename the bar chart to Reps by region and make it horizontal. Add filters for branch and phase."
- Check it: "Check the Rep coverage dashboard for problems." It reports each part as OK or explains what's wrong, without numbers. Ask it to fix anything it finds.
- Look at it yourself: open the builder link it gives you and check the figures in the app.
- Publish when you're happy, either in the app or by asking: "Publish Rep coverage."
More prompts to try
- "Make a dynamic audience of reps in London who also pledged to vote."
- "Add a markdown block explaining the dashboard, with a link to our website, and make it collapsible."
- "Put the KPI tile and the chart in a two-column container that starts closed."
- "Create a tracker about each branch called Branch visits: visit date (required), members met (number), follow-up needed (yes/no). Branch and District fill it in."
- "Add a tracker block for Branch campaign return to Rep coverage, showing only Members' meeting held and Attendance."
- "Set up the next round of Fair Pay 2026/27 as Fair Pay 2027/28."
- "Save a view on Fair Pay called London only, filtered to London, just for me."
What it can and can't do
Area | It can | It can't |
|---|---|---|
Reading | Describe your data model, list dashboards and their blocks, find areas, check a dashboard for errors | See any figures, counts, member names or tracker answers |
Dashboards | Create drafts; add, edit and move blocks, filters and metrics; duplicate; save views; publish, pin or archive when you ask | Remove blocks, filters or metrics from a published dashboard (it offers a draft copy instead); remove a metric a block still uses; delete a dashboard |
Published dashboards | Change them only after warning you and getting your confirmation | Change them silently |
Images | Use images already uploaded | Fetch images from the web |
Audiences | Create and edit dynamic audiences, saying only whether anyone matches | Say how many; upload files; delete audiences |
Trackers | Create drafts; edit while there are no answers; duplicate | Add questions once there are answers; publish; issue links; enter answers; delete |
Campaigns | Create drafts, add or remove members, duplicate for the next round | Take a campaign live or close it |
People and data | — | Manage users; upload data or images |
Keeping track of what it did
Everything the assistant does is recorded in Settings › Audit log, tagged as done through the assistant and acting as you. Use the link at the bottom of Settings › Assistants, or tick through an assistant in the audit log filters. When it drafts a dashboard, admins get a notification.
Staying connected and disconnecting
- Access refreshes automatically for up to 14 days of inactivity. After that, Claude or ChatGPT will ask you to reconnect.
- If your Dashbuilder role is removed, the connection stops working on its next request.
- To disconnect: Settings › Assistants lists each connected assistant with when it connected and was last active. Click Disconnect next to the client and confirm. This revokes its access straight away, and it has to reconnect before it can do anything.
Troubleshooting
Problem | Why | Fix |
|---|---|---|
No Assistants tab | The assistant isn't enabled for your workspace, or you're not an admin | Ask Lluminate to enable it |
Approval page refuses you | You're not in a role allowed to connect (default: super admins only) | Ask a super admin |
Connector checks fail when adding it | Address copied wrongly, or the server's security settings block it | Re-copy the address from Settings › Assistants; if it still fails, contact support |
"Check the connection" fails | The connection was disconnected or has expired | Reconnect from your AI client's connector settings |
It won't give numbers | By design: it never sees figures | Open the dashboard |
It asks you to confirm a change | The dashboard is published and people will see the change at once | Confirm only if you want the change live now |
It won't remove a block from a live dashboard | Removals are drafts only | Ask it to duplicate the dashboard as a draft and edit the copy |
It can't add an image | It can only use images already uploaded | Upload the image in the builder first |
It won't publish a tracker, issue links or take a campaign live | Those are for a person | Do them in Build › Trackers or Build › Campaigns |
It built something you didn't expect | Ambiguous request | Ask it to list my dashboards or show the blocks on X, then correct by name |
You want to undo its work | It can't delete | Delete drafts yourself in the app; check the audit log filtered to the assistant |
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