# How to add MCP to ChatGPT There are two ways to add MCP to ChatGPT, and which one you use depends on where the server lives. On the web, you add a remote server as a plugin from chatgpt.com/plugins (plus button, Add custom MCP server, paste the URL). In the ChatGPT desktop app, you can also add a local server that runs on your own computer, under Settings → MCP servers. Most people only need the first. Hosted servers for GitHub, Stripe, Notion or a WordPress site all come as a URL, and a URL works everywhere. The desktop route matters when the server is a command, not an address: a Playwright browser, a script you wrote, anything installed with `npx` or `uv`. ChatGPT on the web can't start those. ## Check you have the button Open chatgpt.com/plugins and click the plus button. If Add custom MCP server is in the menu, your account can do this. If it isn't, it's your plan or your workspace admin, not something you did wrong. OpenAI's pages don't agree on which personal plans get it, so I won't guess. Who controls the switch, and what the "Elevated risk" label means, is covered in [ChatGPT developer mode](/learn/chatgpt-developer-mode). ## On the web: add a remote server as a plugin The server needs a public HTTPS address, usually ending in `/mcp`. Then: 1. Go to chatgpt.com/plugins. 2. Click the plus button, then Add custom MCP server. 3. Enter a name and, if you like, a description. Under Connection, paste the Server URL. 4. Choose the authentication the server expects: OAuth, No authentication, or OAuth or no authentication. 5. Read the risk warning and select I understand and want to continue. 6. Click Create as a plugin. ChatGPT connects, lists the tools it found, and sends you to sign in if the server uses OAuth. OpenAI lists two supported transports for this: SSE and streaming HTTP. Since July 9, 2026, everything you connect this way lives in the Plugins directory, next to the official plugins. Adding the server creates the plugin, but you still have to install it before a chat can use it. 1. Open your personal plugins at chatgpt.com/plugins. 2. Open the new one and click the plus button to install it. 3. Start a new conversation, type `@` and pick it. OpenAI's own quickstart runs its test in a Work chat, the mode ChatGPT added in July 2026 for longer tasks. Its MCP docs say installed plugins work in both Chat and Work. ## In the desktop app: local or remote The ChatGPT desktop app runs MCP servers the way Claude Desktop or Cursor do, including ones that start as a local process. 1. Open Settings, then MCP servers. 2. Click Add server. 3. Enter a name, choose STDIO (a command) or Streamable HTTP (a URL), and give it the command or the URL. 4. Save, then click Restart. If the server uses OAuth, the list shows it, and you click Authenticate to sign in. Type `/mcp` in the composer to see what's connected. The desktop app shares this setup with the Codex CLI and IDE extension through `~/.codex/config.toml`. Add a server in one and the others see it. A stdio entry there is just a command plus arguments: ```toml [mcp_servers.playwright] command = "npx" args = ["@playwright/mcp@latest"] ``` ChatGPT on the web doesn't read that file. A server you add on the desktop stays on the desktop. ## A worked example: a WordPress site Kitepod is a free remote MCP server for self-hosted WordPress (we make it), so it works on either route. The site side comes first: install the Kitepod plugin, click Connect in wp-admin, sign in and choose which WordPress user the AI will act as. On the web, the four steps are: 1. At chatgpt.com/plugins, click the plus button, then Add custom MCP server. 2. Name it Kitepod and paste `https://kitepod.com/mcp` as the Server URL. 3. Keep OAuth, tick the notice and click Create as a plugin. 4. Sign in to Kitepod and click Allow. Install the plugin, start a chat, type `@Kitepod`, and ask for something small: ```prompt Draft a post on my yoga studio's site announcing the new Sunday 9am class, and leave it as a draft so I can read it first. ``` The post lands in WordPress as a draft, written as the user you picked, so it has that user's permissions and no more. If you'd rather use the desktop app, add the same URL as a Streamable HTTP server and click Authenticate. There's more on this pairing in [ChatGPT for WordPress](/chatgpt-wordpress), and the other ways to connect a site are on the [WordPress MCP](/wordpress-mcp) page. ## When the server is private A server inside a company network, or on a laptop you want ChatGPT on the web to reach, needs a way in. OpenAI's answer is Secure MCP Tunnel. You run `tunnel-client` inside your network, it makes outbound HTTPS connections to OpenAI, and you pick Tunnel instead of a URL when you add the server. No inbound firewall ports. It's for private use and testing; a plugin listed in the public directory needs a stable public HTTPS endpoint. If it's your own laptop and you only use the desktop app, skip the tunnel and add the server as STDIO. ## What goes wrong **There's no Add custom MCP server option.** Plan or workspace settings. On Business and Enterprise an admin controls it, so ask before you spend an hour on it. **ChatGPT can't connect.** Check the URL includes the path (usually `/mcp`) and loads over HTTPS. OpenAI suggests the MCP Inspector (`npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector@latest`) to see the real error. **A desktop server shows up in Codex but not on chatgpt.com.** Expected. The web app doesn't read `config.toml`. Add it on the web as a plugin with a URL, or keep using it on the desktop. **The plugin doesn't get used.** Type `@` and pick it. If several plugins overlap, say which one: "use only Kitepod for this". OpenAI's docs suggest naming the tool too when it matters. **The server gained new tools and ChatGPT can't see them.** Open the plugin at chatgpt.com/plugins and click Refresh. ChatGPT doesn't pull in new tools, descriptions or server instructions until you do. **It stops working in voice.** In Simon Willison's July 2026 tests, MCP plugins weren't available as tools during Advanced Voice conversations. ## Finer points ### Can I add a local MCP server to ChatGPT? Yes, in the desktop app: Settings → MCP servers → Add server, then STDIO with the command that starts it. ChatGPT on the web only takes remote servers, or a private one through Secure MCP Tunnel. ### Can I add MCP to the ChatGPT mobile app? OpenAI's docs describe the web and desktop setups, not mobile. Add the server on one of those. ### What's the difference between a plugin and a connector in ChatGPT? Mostly naming. OpenAI used "connectors", then "apps", and since July 2026 they all live in the Plugins directory. A plugin can bundle an MCP server, skills or both, and connections made before the change kept working. ### Do I need to build anything to add MCP to ChatGPT? No. If a server already exists, you only need its URL or its start command. Building one is a different job, covered in [how to build an MCP server](/learn/build-mcp-server). A server you add on the desktop and a plugin you add on the web are two separate entries, so if you use both apps, you'll add a remote server twice.