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ChatGPT supports MCP servers via custom connectors (available in Plus, Pro, Team, Enterprise, and Edu plans at the time of writing). Connections authenticate against Metabind with OAuth: you paste the project URL, ChatGPT opens an authorization popup, you click Authorize, and ChatGPT holds the token from then on. There is no API key to copy or paste.

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Prerequisites

  • A ChatGPT plan that supports custom connectors.
  • A Metabind project with at least one published Type. See Your first MCP App.
  • A Metabind login with access to the project. The OAuth flow uses your Metabind session, so anyone who connects must be a member of the organization.

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Get the connection URL

In MCP App Studio:
  1. Open the project.
  2. On the Server tab, switch the endpoint dropdown to Production (for the published URL) or Draft (for the working copy).
  3. Copy the URL.
The URL takes the form: 
https://mcp.metabind.ai/<organizationId>/<projectId>
The Server tab in MCP App Studio with the Production/Draft endpoint dropdown open, exposing the connection URLs to copy

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Add the connector in ChatGPT

  1. Open ChatGPT → Settings → Connectors → Custom.
  2. Click Add custom connector.
  3. Paste the URL from MCP App Studio.
  4. ChatGPT opens a Metabind OAuth authorization popup. Sign in if you aren’t already, review the requested scopes, and click Authorize.
  5. Save.
The Metabind OAuth authorization page asking the user to authorize the host to access the project — read/modify project data, run MCP tools, and access settings
ChatGPT verifies the connection by calling tools/list. If the OAuth grant is valid and the project has at least one published tool, the connector is added and your tools appear in the connectors list.

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Verify the connection

Open a new ChatGPT conversation. Click the connectors menu in the composer and confirm your project is listed and enabled. Then ask the assistant to use a tool: 
You: Search the catalog for running shoes.
ChatGPT: [calls product_search, displays results]
If a tool fails, ChatGPT shows the error inline. For deeper debugging, check the MCP App Studio audit log — every call from any host is recorded there.

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Draft vs. production for ChatGPT

ChatGPT’s custom connectors are usually configured per-user, not per-workspace, but workspaces with org-level admin can configure shared connectors. Either way, treat draft and production as separate connectors:
  • Add the draft URL as one connector for development testing.
  • Add the production URL as a second connector for end-user use.
Each one is its own OAuth grant. Enable whichever you need for the current task.

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Connector descriptions and instructions

When you add a connector, ChatGPT shows the project’s tool list and any Instructions you’ve configured in MCP App Studio. Instructions are free-text guidance the AI reads alongside the tool schemas — use them to explain when to call which tool, not how to call them (the schemas handle that). Update Instructions in MCP App Studio → Project → Instructions. Changes are live without a republish.

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Sharing the connector with users

To let other users add your tools to their ChatGPT, share the project URL. Each user pastes it into ChatGPT’s custom-connector flow and runs through the same OAuth authorization with their own Metabind login. End users must be members of your Metabind organization to authorize. For public-visibility projects, anyone can authorize; for private projects, invite users to the organization first via Team management.

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Authorization management

OAuth grants are issued and revoked in two places:
  • ChatGPT side. Remove the connector in Settings → Connectors to drop the local token. Re-add and re-authorize whenever you want it back.
  • Metabind side. Open Settings → Authorized apps in MCP App Studio (organization scope) to see every active OAuth grant and revoke any of them. Revocation takes effect on the next request — ChatGPT’s connector will flip to a failed state until the user re-authorizes.
OAuth scopes follow the user’s Metabind role. A Viewer can authorize a connector to read tools and project data; a Developer can also run draft tools; an Admin can do everything the role allows. Removing a user from the organization invalidates every grant they issued.

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Tool annotations and ChatGPT behavior

ChatGPT honors several MCP tool annotations:
  • readOnlyHint: true — the tool is safe to call eagerly without confirmation.
  • openWorldHint: true — the tool reaches third-party services; ChatGPT may surface a “this tool calls external services” badge.
  • taskSupport — for long-running tools, ChatGPT polls for completion.
Configure these on the Type in MCP App Studio. They show up in the connector’s tool description on ChatGPT’s side.

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Troubleshooting

SymptomLikely cause
Connector fails to addOAuth popup blocked, or the user is not a member of the organization
Connect succeeds but tools failOAuth grant revoked on the Metabind side, or the user’s role doesn’t include the needed scope
ChatGPT doesn’t pick the right toolInstructions or tool descriptions need clarification — see Tools and Types
UI doesn’t render in ChatGPTChatGPT may use a non-MCP-UI rendering path for some tools — verify with Testing tools and the Live previews on a real device

Connect to Claude Desktop

Same OAuth flow, different host.

Custom MCP hosts

Connect any MCP-compatible client.

Draft and production

The two endpoints to point connectors at.