Claude connectors
A connector lets Claude reach an app or service you use, read your data there and take actions, with the same permissions your own account has. Claude offers ready-made connectors in its Connectors Directory, and every plan can add custom connectors that point at a remote MCP server; the Free plan allows one.
What a connector does
A connector lets Claude access an app or service, retrieve your data and take actions in it. Claude inherits each person's permissions from the connected service, so a file, channel or record you can't open stays out of Claude's reach too. A custom connector that uses one shared credential, such as an API key, reaches whatever that credential can reach.1
Connectors work in Claude on the web, in Claude Desktop, in Claude Code and through the API, and you can use them in the mobile apps.1 Each connector talks to an MCP server; what an MCP server is explains the protocol.
Directory connectors and custom connectors
| Directory connector | Custom connector | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it comes from | Claude's Connectors Directory | Any remote MCP server whose address you add |
| Checked by Anthropic | Listed in Anthropic's directory | Not verified by Anthropic |
| Plans | Every plan | Every plan; the Free plan allows one |
| How it signs in | The service's own sign-in | OAuth, a key in a request header, or no sign-in |
The directory, the plans and the warning about unverified services come from Claude's connector guide;1 the sign-in options come from its custom connector guide.2
Add a connector from the directory
- In a chat, select + (or type /), hover over Connectors and choose Manage connectors. You can also go to Customize > Connectors.
- Select + next to Connectors, then pick a connector by category or from the full list.
- Read its description and capabilities, select Connect or Install, and sign in to the service.1
Each connector's directory page lists its use cases, what it can read and write, and where it is available. Installing connectors on the mobile apps is in beta, so the web and Claude Desktop are the main places to add them.1 Once you have ten or more connectors on, Claude suggests switching the Tool access setting from Auto to On demand, which leaves your conversations more room.1
Add a custom connector
On a Pro or Max plan:2
- Go to Customize > Connectors, select + Add, then Add custom connector.
- Name the connector and paste the remote MCP server's address.
- Choose how people sign in: now, when needed, or not at all. For a server that uses OAuth, Claude's published identity is the recommended client.
- If the server takes an API key or a bearer token, add it under Request headers, if your account shows that section: Anthropic says it is in beta for some organizations.8
- Select Add, then turn the connector on in a chat from + and Connectors.
On a Team plan, only Owners and Primary Owners add custom connectors, under Organization settings > Connectors. On an Enterprise plan, people with a custom role that includes Manage access to Libraries can add them too. Members then connect the connector themselves under Customize > Connectors.2
Claude reaches a custom connector's server from Anthropic's cloud, also when you use Claude Desktop, so the server has to be reachable from the public internet. A server on a private network needs Anthropic's IP ranges allowed through its firewall.2 To change a custom connector, remove it and add it again.2
Remote connectors and desktop extensions
A remote connector suits a cloud service you sign in to, and it works everywhere you use Claude. A desktop extension suits a tool on your own computer, such as local files or a database on localhost, and it runs only in Claude Desktop and Claude Code.3
Interactive connectors
Some connectors show a live interface in the chat, as a small card or a full-screen view, where you can filter data, check off tasks or confirm an action. The directory marks them with an Interactive badge. Amplitude, Asana, Box, Canva, Clay, Figma, Hex and Slack are among them.4
Controls for teams
- An Owner or Primary Owner turns a connector on for the organization, and each person still signs in to it.1
- Owners can set each tool, or each kind of tool, to Always allow, Needs approval or Blocked. Claude's guide gives the example of letting Claude search and summarize email while sending stays blocked.1
- With Enterprise-managed auth, an admin authorizes a connector once through the company's identity provider, and people get it on their first login, by role.5
- On an Enterprise plan, Owners can stop Claude accounts outside the organization from connecting services such as Gmail and Slack with an email address on the company's verified domains.6
What to check before you connect one
- Who runs the server. Anthropic asks you to connect only servers built by organizations you trust, because a connector can read and change data with your permissions.2
- What it asks for. Read the permissions the server requests when you sign in, and turn down any the job doesn't need.2
- Which tools can write. Choose Allow always only for a tool you trust to run without you. Research calls connector tools without asking again, so Anthropic suggests turning write tools off for it.2
- Prompt injection. A malicious server can hide instructions meant to steer Claude. Claude has protections against this, and Anthropic still asks you to watch tool inputs and outputs.2
- Where the data goes. A connected service processes data on its own servers under its own terms, which can be outside the United States, and Claude's own data location settings don't change that.1
Connect Conecto to Claude
Conecto, our product, gives Claude business tools through one connector, among them a CRM, an inbox on your business's own subdomain, a phone line and invoices. Add it as a custom connector with the address https://api.conecto.chat/v1/mcp, sign in with OAuth and tick the areas Claude may use.7 It fits the Free plan's one custom connector. The steps for Claude show where to paste it.
Questions
Are Claude connectors free?
Connectors are available on every Claude plan, and the Free plan allows one custom connector.1 The service you connect may charge for its own use; Conecto, for example, charges per call.7
Do connectors work in Claude Code?
Yes. Connectors work across Claude, Claude Desktop, Claude Code and the API.1
What's the difference between a connector and an MCP server?
A custom connector is how Claude connects to a remote MCP server: you give Claude the server's address, and the server supplies the tools.2
Can Claude use a connector without asking me?
That depends on each tool's setting: Always allow, Needs approval or Blocked.1 Research calls connector tools without asking again.2
Why won't my custom connector connect?
Claude reaches custom connectors from Anthropic's cloud, so a server behind a firewall, on a VPN or on a private network fails unless it allows Anthropic's IP ranges.2
Sources
We read these pages on . Each number in the guide links to the page behind that sentence.
- Use connectors to extend Claude's capabilities, Claude Help Center
- Get started with custom connectors using remote MCP, Claude Help Center
- When to use desktop and web connectors, Claude Help Center
- Use interactive connectors in Claude, Claude Help Center
- Authorize MCP connectors for your entire organization, Claude Help Center
- Restrict verified-domain connectors to your enterprise, Claude Help Center
- Conecto SKILL.md
- Add a connector that isn't listed, Claude Docs
Conecto publishes this guide and sells business tools for AI agents. How we write our guides. To report a mistake, write to hello@conecto.chat.
Written by Amelia Cardona Hernandez, Co-founder of Conecto. LinkedIn