Xanaplan - Planning Assistant

Ask planning questions alongside Anaplan, using the current page, selections and your business definitions. Xanaplan runs as a local Chrome side-panel extension with read-only access to enabled Anaplan models.

Version 0.9.5 · Setup guide · Changelog · Apache 2.0 license

What it does

• Follows the current tab’s enabled app and published board or worksheet, or stays pinned to a page you choose.
• Greets you with starter questions based on verified page cards and selections, generated locally without another AI request.
• Answers through the OpenAI or Claude connection saved in Admin, with model sources, effective filters and basic Markdown formatting.
• Shows live activity through Understanding the ask, Finding the data, Working through it and Wrapping up. The send arrow becomes a square Stop icon while answering.
• Keeps a running answer on its original page and selections when you navigate elsewhere. The answer remains visible, with a choice of context for follow-ups.
• Saves completed conversations locally. Reopen them from History and continue on the current page or with the saved page and selections.
• Uses a compact page menu, right-aligned question bubbles and a subtle blue, lavender and cream theme drawn from the supplied logo.

Quick start

The setup guide covers installation from a fresh checkout, AI sign-in, Chrome’s Anaplan sign-in, MCP authorization, updates and troubleshooting.

You need Google Chrome 116+, a supported Node.js version, one supported AI CLI, Anaplan access with an OAuth client ID configured for device authorization, and a built anaplan-mcp checkout. Only the CLI for your chosen provider is required. See prerequisites for the tested macOS environment and compatible versions.

1. Clone Xanaplan and build anaplan-mcp in a sibling directory. Repository access is required for private checkouts.

2. Sign in using codex login for OpenAI or claude auth login for Claude.

3. In the Xanaplan directory, install development dependencies and start the helper:

   npm ci
   npm start

4. In Chrome, open chrome://extensions, enable Developer mode, choose Load unpacked, and select Xanaplan’s extension folder. Pin its toolbar icon and open the side panel.

5. Sign in to Anaplan in Chrome. In ☰ → Admin settings, configure AI access and complete Anaplan access. Use Add app, choose Tenant → App, add business context, and select Save & enable.

6. Open ☰ → Assistant beside a published Anaplan page. Confirm the detected page and selections, then ask a question.

Leave the helper terminal running. It generates the local extension pairing file and listens on 127.0.0.1:8766. Xanaplan starts its own MCP subprocess; you do not need to run another MCP server separately.

Using the assistant

Choose context

The compact row below the header shows the page and its mode: Live, Chosen or Saved. Click it to open the page menu, refresh, select another app/page, or choose Follow current tab. The menu overlays the conversation and closes after a successful page choice, an outside click or Escape.

Following the tab matches its origin and app ID to exactly one enabled app. Manual app/page choices and saved contexts remain pinned until you resume following. Unmatched apps require enablement or a manual selection. None of these controls navigates Anaplan or changes its selectors.

A question uses a frozen, verified page/model/selection snapshot. Navigation changes the available context for the next question; it does not cancel a running answer or relabel its sources. Explicit Stop and closing the panel still cancel the request.

When either Anaplan connection needs sign-in, the Assistant shows one Connect to Anaplan card with separate Browser session and Model access statuses. Browser recovery offers Open Anaplan; model recovery shows Authorize model access and its sign-in code. Complete the affected sign-in, return to your Anaplan page and select Check connection. Page controls, starter prompts and the idle composer return after fresh page verification. Saved answers, History and unsent drafts remain available, and a running answer keeps its Stop control. Recovery stays in the Assistant and never resends a question automatically.

Ask and continue

• Enter sends; Alt+Enter inserts a new line.
• Starter questions fill an editable draft. They do not submit automatically.
• Live activity reports actual provider and Anaplan operations, elapsed time and connection status. It is not a completion estimate.
• Copy answer copies the response. Expand sources to inspect the page, model, reads, filters and limits.
• New chat starts a separate conversation. ☰ → History finds earlier chats by question, app or page.
• Continue on this page uses freshly verified current context; Use saved page & selections re-verifies the original context. Earlier answers keep their sources. Unknown saved selections remain unknown and may require clarification for numeric reads.

Admin

AI access stores one provider and optional model for all enabled apps. An empty model uses the provider default. Checking an unsaved choice does not activate it; select Save settings to apply it. Provider errors do not trigger a fallback to another provider.

Anaplan access handles MCP authorization separately from Chrome’s Anaplan sign-in. Xanaplan currently uses OAuth device authorization for model access. Add app discovers connected models and verifies access before saving business context. Models are included automatically. Context can be typed or imported from UTF-8 TXT, Markdown, CSV or JSON, up to 60 KB. Removing an app disables it locally.

Supported scope and limits

Area	Current behavior
Pages	Published boards and worksheets, including worksheet main grids and insight cards. Reports and edit/draft pages are unavailable.
Model reads	Verified page sources and relevant formula dependencies. One verified source model per question.
Custom cards	Underlying module evidence is available; exact displayed totals require supported filters and sufficient data.
Complex selections	Advanced, scoped, multi-select, runtime pivot and some line-item contexts remain limited. Unknown selections are never guessed.
Changes to Anaplan	Read-only. No cell/list writes, imports, exports, process runs or model administration.
Deployment	Local, single-person use. Shared administration and hosted deployment are deferred.

Anaplan app/page discovery uses internal web-service contracts observed in its public clients. These can change. Automated checks establish local behavior; live schema compatibility and answer accuracy still need validation against your Anaplan app. See page coverage and discovery evidence.

Updating

Wait for a running answer to finish and stop the helper with Ctrl+C. If the update also requires a newer anaplan-mcp, update and rebuild that checkout first. Then run from Xanaplan:

git pull --ff-only
npm ci
npm start

Reload Xanaplan at chrome://extensions and reopen its panel. Keep .local/ to preserve settings and saved chats. Helper changes require a restart; extension changes require a reload. See update instructions, including how to rebuild the MCP and check the connections afterward.

Data and local state

• .local/settings.json stores enabled apps, business context, AI choices and local pairing settings.
• .local/conversations/ stores completed messages, source details and saved page snapshots.
• extension/local-config.js is generated by npm start and contains the local pairing token.
• Model authorization links and codes are held in memory for recovery, cleared after successful authorization, and excluded from saved chats and local storage.
• Chrome keeps tenant and app discovery lists in the extension’s local storage. Network refresh failures retain the previous list and its original update date; sign-in or access failures clear the cache.

Local settings and pairing files are ignored by Git. Do not share them or serve the repository with a generic web server. The helper checks pairing, Host and Origin and binds only to loopback.

Questions, business context and relevant retrieved data are sent through your configured AI connection. Chrome Anaplan sign-in, MCP authorization and AI CLI sign-in are separate. Saved chats survive helper restarts; unsent drafts and interrupted answers are not persisted. See local data and backups.

Development and verification

npm ci
npm test
npm run check

The locked test dependencies require Node.js 22.x from 22.22.2, 24.x from 24.15.0, or 26+. The helper has no package runtime dependencies of its own; it uses the built sibling MCP and its SDK.

Tests use synthetic Chrome, MCP and AI adapters with temporary settings. Coverage includes streamed answers, explicit cancellation, navigation during answers, automatic app matching, saved-context recovery, local save failures, read restrictions and scope/revision checks. Syntax, module links, service-worker imports, extension assets and package/manifest versions are checked separately. Live validation is covered in the page acceptance checklist.

npm run test:ui serves a synthetic harness at http://127.0.0.1:8768/; open that URL in a browser for development checks. It uses fixtures and makes no live Anaplan or AI calls. Install the actual extension using Quick start.

Project and documentation

Path	Purpose
extension/	Chrome side panel, UI, discovery and page tracking.
server/	Paired local API, storage, AI providers and MCP bridge.
tests/	Automated tests and the synthetic UI harness.
scripts/	Syntax, module, asset and version checks.
Setup guide	Fresh installation, sign-in, daily use, updates and troubleshooting.
Architecture	Module responsibilities and request flow.
Product design	Implemented Assistant and Admin behavior.
Saved conversations	Persistence and both continuation choices.
Page assistant	Page coverage, context rules and live acceptance checks.
Discovery evidence	Anaplan request contracts and verification limits.
Visual theme	Shared logo palette and UI conventions.
Flow review	Remaining improvements and investigation notes.
Future shared administration	Deferred multi-user and hosted requirements.
Changelog	Version history.

Update the README and relevant guides with setup, UI, behavior or configuration changes. Keep versions aligned between package and manifest, record user-visible changes in the changelog, and distinguish automated, synthetic and live verification.

Disclaimer

Xanaplan is an unofficial, independent project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or supported by Anaplan.

Anaplan is a trademark of Anaplan, Inc. The name is used here to identify the platform Xanaplan integrates with. All third-party names and trademarks belong to their respective owners; see Anaplan’s trademark and proprietary-rights statement.

License

Copyright 2026 Lara Srinath. Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See NOTICE for attribution. Dependencies retain their own licenses.