Build Program with MCP

If you've connected PaperFox to Claude Desktop or ChatGPT via MCP, you can build your entire conference program by chatting — describe what you want, let the AI draft it, then refine it the same way. The AI writes directly to your program in PaperFox, and you can always jump into the Program Builder to make manual adjustments.

Prompting Tips

A few small phrases in your opening prompt make a big difference in whether the AI uses the PaperFox tools correctly. Use these:

• "Use the PaperFox MCP tools directly to create the program in PaperFox." Without this, Claude sometimes builds a separate client-side artifact (a small in-chat "program builder" widget) instead of writing to your PaperFox program. The artifact looks impressive but doesn't actually save anything to PaperFox. Telling it to use the tools directly steers it to call import_program_draft.
• "Don't loop through submissions one at a time — use list_submissions in a single call." Older Claude sessions occasionally try to fetch papers individually with get_submission_info, which is slow and hits rate limits. Naming list_submissions explicitly avoids this.
• "Filter to accepted papers only." Otherwise the AI may include rejected or under-review papers in your draft.
• "Save it to PaperFox when you're done." Reinforces that the goal is a real program in the database, not a chat-only sketch.

A good opening prompt combines all four:

"Use the PaperFox MCP tools directly. Call list_submissions once with decision: ['ACCEPT', 'CONDITIONAL_ACCEPT'] to get all accepted papers for icai2025, then build a 3-day program with parallel sessions grouped by topic, and save it to PaperFox with import_program_draft. Don't build a separate widget."

How It Works

The AI uses a small set of tools to read your accepted papers, draft a program, and iteratively edit it. Your submissions are never modified — removing a paper from the program does not change its acceptance status.

1. Plan — AI reads all accepted submissions and the program schema
2. Draft — AI creates the initial program (days, sessions, items)
3. Refine — You chat with the AI to move papers, add keynotes, remove sessions, etc.
4. Polish — Open the Program Builder in PaperFox to fine-tune and publish

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Step 1: Ask the AI to Build Your Program

Open Claude or ChatGPT and describe what you want. The AI will automatically call list_submissions and get_program_schema to gather context, then propose a plan.

Example opening prompts:

"Build the program for icai2025. The conference is 3 days, 9am–5pm. Group papers by keyword into parallel sessions of 4 papers each. Add a keynote at 9am on day 1 and a coffee break at 10:30 every morning."

"Draft a single-day program for dsw2027. One main track, six paper sessions of 25 minutes each, with lunch 12–1."

The AI will typically:

1. Call list_submissions to see what papers need scheduling
2. Call get_program_schema to learn your conference dates, timezone, and valid session types
3. Propose a structure in chat for you to review
4. Call import_program_draft to create the program once you approve

After import, the AI will share a link to your Program Builder so you can see the result.

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Step 2: Refine Through Conversation

Once the draft exists, just tell the AI what to change. Under the hood it calls get_program_draft to see the current state (with stable IDs), then uses upsert_program_day, upsert_program_session, upsert_program_item, or delete_program_entity to apply changes.

Common edits you can ask for:

You can also ask the AI to summarize the current program ("Show me what day 2 looks like now") — it will call get_program_draft and read it back.

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Step 3: Polish in the Program Builder

Once the conversational draft is in good shape, open the Program Builder in the web app to:

• Drag and drop to reorder items visually
• Add rich descriptions (Tiptap editor) to sessions and items
• Upload session-level files (slides, handouts)
• Preview and publish when ready

Any manual edits you make in the builder are picked up the next time you ask the AI to read the program, so you can freely switch between chat and manual editing.

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What the AI Can and Cannot Do

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Example: End-to-End Session

Here's a realistic exchange to give you a feel for the workflow.

You:

Build the program for icai2025. We have 3 days (June 10–12, 2025). Main hall. Group papers by topic into 4-paper sessions of 100 minutes. Morning coffee at 10:30, lunch at 12:30, afternoon coffee at 15:30. Day 1 opens with a keynote at 9am by Prof. Fei-Fei Li.

AI: (calls list_submissions, get_program_schema, proposes a structure, then calls import_program_draft)

I created a draft with 3 days, 12 sessions, and 28 items. Day 1 opens with the Fei-Fei Li keynote, followed by parallel CV and NLP sessions. Review it at /conferences/icai2025/program.

You:

Can you move icai2025-14 to the NLP session on day 2 instead? And the Tuesday keynote is cancelled — please remove it.

AI: (calls get_program_draft, then upsert_program_item and delete_program_entity)

Done. icai2025-14 is now in the Day 2 NLP session, and the Tuesday keynote item has been removed.

You:

Perfect. Add a 30-minute panel on "Ethics in AI" at 4pm on day 3 with Dr. Bender, Dr. Mitchell, and Dr. Gebru as panelists.

AI: (calls upsert_program_item)

Added the panel as a DISCUSSION item at 16:00 on day 3 with all three panelists in the metadata.

When the draft looks right, open the Program Builder to publish it.

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Related

• MCP Setup → — Connect Claude Desktop or ChatGPT to PaperFox
• Program Management → — Manual Program Builder guide
• Chat with Program → — Let attendees ask questions about your published program