Guide
How to add a custom MCP server to ChatGPT (2026)
ChatGPT can call tools on any MCP server you add by URL, if your plan allows it. Here is who can, the steps on the web, what the sign-in and warnings mean, and what to check when the option or the tools don’t show up.
Plans and steps from OpenAI’s custom MCP help, checked October 19, 2026. OpenAI renames these menus often; if a step doesn’t match, its article wins.
Can your plan do it?
| Plan | Add a custom MCP server | Changes (write actions) | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | No | — | — |
| Plus | No | — | — |
| Pro | Yes | No, read-only | Web |
| Business | Admins and owners | Yes | Web |
| Enterprise, Edu | Admins, or members they allow | Yes | Web |
None of this works in the ChatGPT phone apps. If you need your tools on your phone, Claude’s mobile app supports custom connectors.
Add the server
- In ChatGPT on the web, open Plugins, select +, then Add custom MCP server.
- Give it a name and enter the server’s URL (it must be reachable over HTTPS from the internet; a server running only on your laptop won’t work).
- Choose the sign-in method the server uses, usually OAuth.
- Read the warning about custom servers, accept it, and create the server.
- Sign in when the server asks, and choose what to allow.
- In a new chat, type @, pick the server, and ask something whose answer you already know.
Older guides describe turning on developer mode first. If your settings still show that switch, the flow is the same once it’s on.
In a workspace
On Business, an admin or owner adds the server and tests it, then publishes it to the workspace so members can use it. On Enterprise and Edu, admins can let selected members add servers themselves. If a server’s tools change, refresh it in the same place so ChatGPT sees the new list.
Sign-in and access
Most remote MCP servers use OAuth: ChatGPT sends you to the server’s sign-in page, you approve, and ChatGPT gets a token for your account, not your password. The approval screen is where you choose read-only or read and write if the server offers both. Disconnecting later, from ChatGPT or from the server’s side, revokes it.
When it doesn’t work
- No option to add a server: plan or role (see the table). Personal Plus accounts don’t have it.
- Server added, no tools: the server didn’t answer ChatGPT’s tool list. Check the URL (often it ends in
/mcp), then refresh the server. - Sign-in loops or fails: sign out of the service in another tab and try again; check that pop-ups aren’t blocked.
- Works for the admin, not for members: it hasn’t been published to the workspace yet.
- “Unverified” warning: expected for any server OpenAI hasn’t reviewed. Only connect servers you trust.
- Behind a VPN or on localhost: ChatGPT connects from OpenAI’s servers, so the URL must be public.
Staying safe
A server can see what ChatGPT sends it and can return text that ChatGPT treats as context. Connect servers from companies you’d trust with that data, prefer read-only when you only need answers, and read write requests before approving them. For what to keep out of AI tools in general, see the AI memory privacy checklist.
A worked example
Cachejay is a memory server: it records your work on your Mac and lets AI apps search it. Its URL is https://cachejay.com/mcp, with OAuth sign-in by email. After adding it, a good first test is a question with a known answer: “What was decided about the launch date on my call with the design team last week? Quote the source and date.” The full walkthrough, with what each tool returns, is on the ChatGPT page. For what a memory server is, see what is an MCP memory server.