list_customers
List customers in the organization. Optionally search by name or company.
What list_customers does
Returns a paginated list of customers from the organization, with optional filters (status, date range, customer, search term).
This tool is part of InvoiceCave's open MCP server — the most MCP-complete invoicing platform on the market with 102 tools covering invoices, customers, quotes, expenses, payments, recurring schedules, accounting, and reports. Every tool is callable from any MCP-compatible AI client without writing a single line of integration code.
How an AI uses list_customers
Use this when the AI needs to scan, count, or summarize customers — for example, "show me everything overdue this week" or "how many customers are open right now?". The AI can chain a list call with a follow-up get_* call to drill into a specific record.
You don't call this tool directly — you ask the AI in plain English and the MCP client decides which tool to invoke based on your request. The example prompts below were lifted from real Claude Desktop sessions, so you can use them verbatim or adapt them to your data.
Parameters
list_customers accepts 1 parameter. The AI fills these in from your natural-language prompt; you never write them by hand.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| search | string | optional | Search term to filter customers by name or company |
Request example
Under the hood, your AI client sends a JSON-RPC 2.0 tools/call request to InvoiceCave's MCP endpoint at https://www.invoicecave.com/api/mcp/mcp. Here's what a list_customers call looks like:
{
"jsonrpc": "2.0",
"id": 1,
"method": "tools/call",
"params": {
"name": "list_customers",
"arguments": {
"search": "Acme"
}
}
}You won't write this yourself — it's shown so developers can see exactly what the MCP client generates. The arguments object maps 1:1 to the parameters above. Authentication is handled by the Authorization: Bearer header with your API key.
Example AI prompts
Type any of these into Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or Cursor — InvoiceCave's MCP server will route them to list_customers automatically.
“List all my customers and tell me who has the highest outstanding balance.”
“Show me customers I haven't invoiced in the last 90 days.”
Use it in 30 seconds
Related tools
More from the Customers category.
create_customerCreate a new customer. Only displayName is required. Supports billing/shipping addresses, payment terms, and tax info.
edit_customerUpdate an existing customer's details. All fields optional — only provided fields are changed.
delete_customerDelete a customer. Warning: this also removes related data.
get_customerGet full details for a single customer by ID, including addresses, payment terms, tax info, and notes.
generate_customer_portal_linkGenerate (or return existing) public portal link for a customer. Uses Customer.portalToken; creates one if missing.
FAQ — list_customers
What is list_customers?▾
list_customers is one of 102 tools in InvoiceCave's MCP server. Returns a paginated list of customers from the organization, with optional filters (status, date range, customer, search term). It's invoked automatically when an AI client like Claude or Cursor decides the user's request maps to this action.
Which AI clients can call list_customers?▾
Any MCP-compatible client. We've tested it with Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and Codex. The MCP protocol is open, so any AI tool that speaks MCP can call this endpoint with a valid InvoiceCave API key.
Is calling list_customers secure?▾
Yes. Every call is authenticated by the API key you mint in the dashboard, scoped to a single organization, rate-limited per key, and recorded in the audit log with source='mcp'. Sensitive fields (SMTP passwords, encryption keys) are never returned to the AI client.
What parameters does list_customers take?▾
list_customers accepts 1 parameter, all optional. The AI populates these from your plain-English prompt — see the parameter table and request example above.
Does list_customers count against any quota?▾
MCP tool calls are unmetered on the free plan up to a generous monthly limit. Once you connect Stripe and start charging your customers, every call still counts against the same per-key rate limit but doesn't add to your bill.
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