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The Norm plugin layers a full pathway-engineering workflow on top of the Bland MCP server: /norm:* slash commands, specialized agents, and a file-based pathway workspace you edit like code. If you only want the raw toolset, adding the MCP server is enough. Install the plugin when you want the complete Bland development experience in Claude Code. Norm is also built into the Bland dashboard. See Norm for the in-app version.

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Prerequisites

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Install

1

Add the marketplace and install the plugin

Inside a Claude Code session, run:
The installer prompts for your Bland API key. The key is masked on entry, stored encrypted in your OS keychain, and used only to authenticate the MCP connection. It never appears in files or chat.You can also install from your terminal:
2

Desktop app only: enter your key

Installing from the desktop app’s plugin browser does not prompt for configuration. Enter your key in-session with:
3

Restart and verify

Restart your session so the MCP client connects, then check the connection:
For a full self-test of the connection, config, and every read surface, run /norm:smoke.
Never paste your API key into the chat. The interactive prompt and the --config flag keep it out of the model context and in your OS keychain. If the plugin is already installed, claude plugin install --config is a no-op. Run /plugin configure norm@bland to set, fix, or rotate the key.

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The flow

From first prompt to production:
  1. Build it. /norm:norm build me a booking flow that collects name, callback number, and a time, then confirms it back. Norm designs the pathway, validates it with the real compiler, and saves it.
  2. Give it tools. /norm:tools build a tool that checks availability in our booking API. Norm builds the tool, test-runs it against the real endpoint, and attaches it to the node that needs it.
  3. Prove it works. /norm:loop <pathway_id> --goal 'caller books an appointment and gets it confirmed back'. Norm simulates the customer, grades every outcome with evidence, fixes what fails, and repeats until the call passes.
  4. Define what to measure. /norm:analytics define an outcome schema: booked yes/no, appointment time, reason if not booked. Verified on real calls before you trust it.
  5. Score every call. /norm:evals build a scorecard for this pathway and attach it to calls. Every production call auto-scores after it ends.
  6. Watch it. /norm:analytics build me an ops dashboard. A live board in the Bland UI: volume, completion, outcomes, score trends.
  7. Iterate from reality. /norm:review <call_id> shows the exact turn a call broke. /norm:loop <pathway_id> --from-call <call_id> fixes the flow against that real call.

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Edit an existing pathway

Norm turns a pathway into local files you can read and edit: prompts as Markdown, configuration as YAML.
Committing saves a new working version. Production is unchanged until you publish. Ask Norm to publish when you want the new version on live traffic.

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Command reference

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Safety

  • Reads are free. Anything that mutates state, costs money, or dials a phone asks for confirmation first.
  • Norm never invents numbers or verdicts. Every claim is backed by a query, a read-back, or a transcript quote.
  • Your API key stays in the OS keychain and flows only to the MCP connection.
Advanced: /norm:config can point the plugin at a non-production API URL, for example a staging server. The MCP transport requires https, so expose local servers through a tunnel.

Bland MCP Server

The hosted MCP endpoint behind the plugin.

Tool reference

Every tool the server exposes to Norm.

Norm

The in-app version of Norm in the Bland dashboard.

Conversational Pathways

The flow graph Norm builds and edits.
Docs for agents: llms.txt