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 said the directory passed 950 MCP servers as of 2026-07-28 (up from “over 200” a year prior), driven by waves like the April 28 2026 creative push (Blender, Adobe, Ableton, SketchUp, Splice, Affinity by Canva, …) and the May 12 2026 “Claude for Legal” push (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