Claude Connectors: What They Are and Which to Add

Updated October 31, 2026

Claude connectors are integrations that let Claude read your data and take actions in other apps: searching Google Drive, filing a Linear issue, drafting a Gmail reply. Each one is an MCP server underneath, and you add them from the Connectors directory at claude.ai/connectors or by pasting a server's URL as a custom connector.

Keep the list short. Every connector you switch on adds tools for Claude to choose between, and Anthropic's help pages suggest changing how tools load once 10 or more are active. So which three or four apps do you copy and paste out of every day? Start with those.

The three kinds

Anthropic's help center splits connectors into three groups:

• Web connectors are the ones in the directory. The vendor runs the server, you click Connect and sign in. They work for every user on Claude's web app, Cowork, Claude Desktop and the iOS and Android apps.
• Custom connectors are any remote MCP server you add by URL. They're on Free, Pro, Max, Ultra, Team and Enterprise plans, with Free limited to one.
• Desktop extensions are local servers packaged as .mcpb files. They only run inside Claude Desktop, on your own computer.

Some directory listings also carry an Interactive badge. Those draw live interfaces inside the chat instead of only returning text, and Anthropic's examples include dashboards, task boards and design tools.

Eight connectors worth adding first, by job

These all appear in Anthropic's own connector docs or in the vendor's docs as an official Claude connector. The order is opinion: start at the top of whichever group matches your day.

• Google Drive: search files you can already see and pull them into the conversation. If you only add one, add this.
• Microsoft 365: the same job if your company runs on Microsoft instead of Google.
• Gmail: for the "what did the client actually agree to?" questions you'd otherwise dig through your inbox for.
• Google Calendar: answers "am I free Thursday afternoon?" without another tab.
• Slack: read channels and send messages. It's great for catching up after a day off, and it's worth keeping write actions on approval so nothing gets posted in your name by surprise.
• Linear: turn a messy conversation into properly written issues.
• GitHub: questions about your code and its issues, without pasting files in.
• Stripe: look up customers, invoices and payments. Stripe's own docs point to its official connector in Claude's directory, and it asks you to confirm sensitive actions like refunds in the Stripe Dashboard.

If the app you need isn't listed (your own WordPress site, say), any public MCP server can go in as a custom connector. Kitepod is one example for WordPress, and the custom connector guide has the steps; the WordPress MCP overview compares the other WordPress options.

Adding one and switching it on

From a chat, click the + in the lower left of the message box (or type /), hover over Connectors, click Manage connectors, then the + next to Connectors. From settings, go to Customize → Connectors and click the same +. Pick a connector, read what it can read and write, click Connect or Install, and sign in when the service asks.

Adding it doesn't switch it on in every chat. In each conversation, open + → Connectors and toggle on the services you want Claude to use there. The Tool access setting in that menu defaults to Auto, and once you have 10 or more connectors active, Anthropic suggests On demand so the tool list doesn't crowd the conversation.

Connectors follow you. Anything you connect on the web or the desktop app is available in the iOS and Android apps the next time you log in. Installing connectors directly on mobile is still in beta.

Claude also inherits your permissions in each app. If you can't open a Drive folder yourself, the connector can't either.

On a Team or Enterprise plan

What you do as a member: go to Customize → Connectors, find the connector your admin enabled, click Connect and sign in with your own account. Claude sees what you can see in that app, not what the admin can see. If something you need isn't there, look for a request option.

What an Owner or Primary Owner does:

1. Go to Organization settings → Connectors.
2. Click Browse connectors at the bottom of the page.
3. Pick a connector and click Add to your team.

Owners also decide the rules. They can set each tool to Always allow, Needs approval or Blocked, and members can't override it. "Let members request connectors" is on by default for Team and off for Enterprise. Enterprise-managed auth, where an admin authorizes a connector once for everyone, is in beta. And on these plans, connectors only work in private projects.

What goes wrong

• Claude ignores a connector you added: it's toggled off in this chat. Check + → Connectors.
• Nothing can be added on a Team plan: the Owner hasn't enabled it, or member requests are off.
• A custom connector shows a familiar logo: connectors on a domain that matches a directory listing show that service's name and branding, but they still go to the URL that was typed in. Anthropic hasn't verified custom connectors, so check who added it.
• You stopped using one: disconnect it under Customize → Connectors. Anthropic's own advice is to drop anything you no longer use.

Finer points

How many connectors does Claude have?

Anthropic said the directory had over 75 connectors in December 2025, and hasn't published a newer count. Outside the directory, there were more than 10,000 active public MCP servers at the time, and any of them can be added as a custom connector.

Are Claude connectors free?

Directory connectors are available on every plan, including Free. Custom connectors are too, with Free capped at one. The connected app may charge separately.

Are connectors the same as MCP servers?

Yes, under the hood. A connector is a remote MCP server added to your account. The Claude MCP overview shows where connectors sit next to Claude Desktop, Claude Code and the API.

Do connectors work in Claude Code?

Yes. If you log in to Claude Code with your claude.ai account, the connectors you added on claude.ai show up there automatically.

The directory will keep getting longer, and your list of switched-on connectors probably shouldn't.