Connecting AI Clients

This is the payoff — pointing Claude, Cursor or ChatGPT at your connection so it can call your tools. For most connections it's one URL and a browser login.

Everything you need is at Dashboard → Connect, which shows your MCP Server URL plus per-client setup steps.

Token Exchange connections can't use the clients on this page — they don't support interactive browser login. Integrate them programmatically instead — see Programmatic Integration.

Before you connect

Four things must be true, or the client will connect and show nothing:

  • [ ] Connection status is Active
  • [ ] Tools are published in the Tool Catalog
  • [ ] A role you hold has access to those tools
  • [ ] You're signed in as a member of the workspace

How it works

Same flow for every client:

  1. You add the MCP Server URL to the client.
  2. The client opens a browser for OAuth login.
  3. A secure access token is issued.
  4. The client fetches your tool list — only the tools your roles permit.
  5. You use them in any conversation.

No API keys to copy, no secrets in config files. The token belongs to the client and is refreshed automatically.

Claude Desktop

Recommended: Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector, and paste your MCP Server URL. Claude Desktop handles the OAuth login for you — no config file needed.

Alternative: edit claude_desktop_config.json directly. This path needs the mcp-remote bridge, since the config file format expects a local command rather than a URL. The Connect page shows the exact snippet.

Prefer the connector UI unless you have a specific reason not to — it's fewer moving parts.

Cursor / Windsurf

  1. Open .cursor/mcp.json in your project root.
  2. Add the snippet from the Connect page inside mcpServers.
  3. Restart Cursor / Windsurf.

Because the config is per project, each project you want tool access from needs the entry.

Claude (web)

  1. Go to Claude.ai → profile menu → Settings → Connectors.
  2. Click Add connector and paste your MCP Server URL.
  3. Complete the OAuth login.
  4. Start a new conversation — connectors attach at conversation start.

ChatGPT

  1. Go to ChatGPT → Settings → Connectors.
  2. Click + Add connector and enter your MCP Server URL.
  3. Complete the OAuth login.
  4. Use your tools in a conversation.

Rolling this out to your team

Send people the Connect page rather than these instructions — it carries their actual URL, so there's nothing to transcribe.

Sequence that avoids support tickets:

  1. Publish tools and grant role access first.
  2. Verify as a non-admin member — admins see everything, which hides the most common misconfiguration.
  3. Invite members with the right role already assigned.
  4. Point them at Connect.

Troubleshooting

SymptomCause
Client can't reach the serverConnection isn't Active — finish Step 5 of the wizard
Login failsNo member record. Check Inviting Members
Connected but no toolsNothing published, or no role access — the usual culprit
Fewer tools than expectedRole's tool access is narrower than assumed
Tools worked, now goneToken expired (reconnect), or access was changed
Tool list looks staleClient cached it for the session — reconnect
Wrong workspace's toolsWrong URL — each connection has its own
Client wants an API keyIt's pointed at something other than the MCP Server URL

Per-model detail: Identity Brokering · Token Exchange · Tenant Delegated.

Where to go next