Connectors

Anthropic-managed integrations you toggle on inside the Claude.ai web, desktop, and mobile apps.

What it is

A Connector is a remote MCP server exposed through the Claude.ai UI. Anthropic (or a vendor partner) hosts the server and handles OAuth so you don’t run anything yourself. You enable a connector once; it then appears as a toggle in the chat composer. Connectors inherit your permissions in the source system — Claude can only see what your account can.

Since March 2026 the Connectors directory lives at claude.ai/directory/connectors (alongside Skills and Plugins tabs in a unified Directory). The catalog spans productivity, design, finance, healthcare, legal, creative, and everyday-life categories. Anthropic’s own most-recent published count is “over 200” since the July 2025 launch, but the directory has grown rapidly: the April 28 2026 creative wave added 9 connectors (Blender, Adobe, Ableton, SketchUp, Splice, Affinity by Canva, …) and the May 12 2026 “Claude for Legal” push added 20+ more (DocuSign, LexisNexis, Westlaw, Everlaw, iManage, Harvey, Ironclad, Thomson Reuters CoCounsel) plus 12 practice-area plugins. Custom connectors are also supported: point Claude.ai at a remote MCP URL and it walks you through OAuth.

When to use it

  • You want a one-click integration inside Claude.ai chat (Google Drive, Slack, Notion, Microsoft 365, etc.).
  • You’re not using Claude Code and don’t want to manage a local MCP server.
  • You’re on Team or Enterprise and want admin-controlled, org-wide access.
  • You have a remote MCP server you want to expose to Claude.ai users.

How to install / enable

Open https://claude.ai/directory/connectors (or claude.ai/settings/connectors), browse the directory, click Connect, and complete OAuth. Inside a chat, click the + button (or type /) → Connectors to toggle which ones are active for that conversation.

Add a custom connector:

claude.ai → Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector
# Enter the remote MCP URL; optionally an OAuth client ID/secret.

On Team/Enterprise, an Owner enables the connector for the org first (Organization settings → Connectors), then each member authenticates individually.

Common pitfalls

  • Confusing connectors with Claude Code MCP servers. Same protocol underneath, different surface and install path.
  • Forgetting to toggle the connector on for the specific conversation.
  • Free-tier limit: one custom connector per account.
  • Adding a custom connector that hasn’t been vetted by Anthropic — review the source.
  • Org-level enable doesn’t grant access; each user still has to authenticate.
  • Looking for Intuit / PayPal / HubSpot / Canva / DocuSign / Google Workspace / Microsoft 365 connectors and not finding the workflow you expected — those are best bundled through the Claude for Small Business Cowork plugin (single-toggle install, 15 prebuilt workflows; launched 2026-05-13).

See also

Sources