Granola MCP Weekly Coaching Workflow with Claude

This module gets the connection working end to end: what you need before you start, the install command, and the two ways to connect Granola to Claude.

Before connecting Granola to Claude, you need a working Granola account with at least a few recorded meetings. Granola MCP exposes those meetings as a queryable data source — it does not transcribe in real time during the connection step, so your notes must already exist.

What you need:

• Granola desktop app installed and running on macOS (Windows support is in beta as of early 2026)
• At least one week of meeting notes synced to Granola
• Claude Desktop (the native app, not the browser) or Claude Code CLI installed
• An active Claude Pro or Team subscription — MCP connections require a paid plan

Install Granola MCP via Claude Code CLI:

claude mcp add granola --transport http https://mcp.granola.ai/mcp

This command writes the server entry into your Claude MCP config file. On macOS the config file lives at:

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Open that file and verify Granola appears under the mcpServers key before proceeding. If the key is missing, the install command did not complete — re-run it.

Required permissions: When you complete authentication, Granola requests read access to your meeting notes, attendee lists, and calendar metadata. It does not request write access. If your Granola account is on a Team plan, your admin may need to approve the OAuth scope before the connection succeeds.

In Claude Desktop:

1. Open Settings → Connectors.
2. Search for Granola and click Connect.
3. Complete the OAuth flow in the browser window that opens.
4. Return to Claude and verify Granola shows a green "Connected" status.

In Claude Code CLI:

claude mcp add granola --transport http https://mcp.granola.ai/mcp

After adding, restart Claude Code and run /mcp to confirm Granola appears in the active server list.

---

When Granola does not connect — or connects but Claude can't see your meetings — the cause is almost always one of three things. This module walks through each, in the order you should check them.

If the Granola connector shows "Failed" or does not appear:

1. Check the transport URL. The correct endpoint is https://mcp.granola.ai/mcp — the /mcp suffix is required. The bare domain without it will time out silently.
2. Confirm Granola Desktop is open. Some configurations require the local app to be running as a relay. Open Granola, wait 10 seconds, then retry the connection.
3. Check your network. Corporate VPNs and strict firewalls sometimes block the MCP websocket handshake. Test on a non-VPN connection to isolate this.
4. Re-add the server. Run claude mcp remove granola then re-add with the install command above.

If Claude responds with "I don't have access to any meetings" after connecting:

1. Open Granola Desktop and confirm meetings are synced — they should appear in the left-hand list with full notes, not just titles.
2. Meetings added to Granola but never AI-processed are returned as empty records. Open each meeting and click "Generate notes" if you see a blank transcript.
3. Check the date range. Granola MCP defaults to recent meetings. For meetings older than 90 days, explicitly state the date range in your prompt.

Granola MCP OAuth tokens expire after 30 days of inactivity. Signs of expiry: Claude stops seeing new meetings while old ones still appear, or you get a "401 Unauthorized" error.

To refresh: Settings → Connectors → Granola → Disconnect, then reconnect and complete the OAuth flow. You will not lose any meeting data.

---

With the connection working, this module sets up the weekly ritual itself — when to do it and the eight prompts that do the actual coaching.

Choose a consistent time each Friday. Friday afternoons work well because all major meetings for the week are complete.

Recommended schedule:

• Time: Friday 4:00 PM–4:30 PM
• Duration: 30 minutes maximum
• Calendar block: Add a recurring event titled "Weekly AI Coaching Session"

Use these prompts during your Friday session:

Prompt 1: Pattern Recognition

Review my meetings from this week in Granola. What communication patterns do you notice?
Focus on: topics I brought up repeatedly, questions I asked multiple times, and moments
where I seemed to redirect conversations.

Prompt 2: Commitment Tracking

Look through this week's meeting notes. List every commitment I made — things I said
I would do, follow up on, or deliver. Which ones appear in multiple meetings?

Prompt 3: Relationship Dynamics

Based on my meeting notes from this week, how did my communication style shift between
different people or contexts? Where did I seem most engaged versus most guarded?

Prompt 4: Recurring Friction Points

Scan my last 4 weeks of meeting notes. What topics or decisions keep coming up without
resolution? What questions am I still answering that I answered last month?

Prompt 5: Next Week Preparation

Based on my meeting patterns and open commitments, what are the 3 most important things
I should clarify or resolve before Monday? Which relationships need proactive attention?

Prompt 6: Find Dropped Commitments

Search my last 30 days of meeting notes. Find every instance where I said I would
follow up, send something, or loop back with someone. Cross-reference with my
recent meetings — which of those commitments have I not followed through on yet?

Prompt 7: Recurring Topics in 1:1s

Look at all my 1:1 meetings with [manager name] over the past 60 days. What topics
have come up in more than one meeting? Which have moved forward versus stayed stuck?
What am I not bringing up that I probably should?

Replace [manager name] with the exact name as it appears in your Granola meeting titles.

Prompt 8: Surface Avoidance Patterns

Read through my last two weeks of meeting transcripts. Find places where I used
vague language — phrases like "I'll look into that", "let me get back to you",
"good point", or "we should probably". How many times did those phrases appear,
and in what contexts? What was I avoiding committing to?

This prompt is uncomfortable, which is the point. Filler phrases in meeting notes are a reliable proxy for avoidance. Run it once a month.

---

The reflection is only half the loop. This module covers how to convert insights into immediate action, and why the whole approach works.

After running the prompts, spend 10 minutes closing the loop:

1. Copy one commitment gap into your task manager as a due-today task.
2. Write one behavior to reduce — one sentence, specific. "Talk less in standups" is too vague. "Let the full question land before responding" is not.
3. Add one calendar block for a follow-up you have been deferring.

The friction of acting immediately — before the browser tab closes — is the point. Insights that wait until Monday evaporate.

Traditional coaching requires scheduling, cost, and another person's time. The Granola MCP workflow replaces the "what happened this week?" conversation that opens every coaching session. Claude handles pattern detection across more data than any human coach reviews in a session. You focus on the reflection and decision — the part that requires you.

Weekly consistency matters more than depth. A 20-minute Friday session every week compounds faster than a 2-hour monthly review.