ChatGPT setup guide

How to add an MCP server to ChatGPT in developer mode

To add an MCP server to ChatGPT, turn on developer mode, create an app from the server’s https URL with OAuth, sign in and approve, then switch the app on in a new chat. Writing needs ChatGPT Business, Enterprise or Edu.2

Last updated Oct 3, 2026

Last checked against OpenAI’s documentation on Oct 3, 2026 by [FOUNDER NAME]. Spot an error? Tell us

These steps work for any remote Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. Our example is Zyflow, a real server with sign-in and tools that change data, so you’ll see each screen ChatGPT shows. Zyflow is a lightweight small-business CRM your AI app keeps up to date (Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT Business, any MCP app). Every AI change is labeled. New to Zyflow? Start free.

To connect ChatGPT to a CRM, use the CRM’s plugin in ChatGPT’s directory if it has one, or add its MCP server in developer mode, as shown below. Older guides still point to Apps & Connectors, but ChatGPT has since moved the switch. The menus below follow OpenAI’s documentation as of the date above.

Step 0: check that your ChatGPT plan can add an MCP server

ChatGPT Business, Enterprise and Edu can read and write through an MCP server in developer mode, on the web. It’s in beta, and an admin switches it on. On ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Go and Free, writing to Zyflow isn’t supported today. Checked October 2026.

Which ChatGPT plans can write to Zyflow (checked October 2026)
Plan Write to Zyflow Who switches it on
ChatGPT Business Yes, in developer mode (beta, on the web) An owner or admin. If you’re the only person on the workspace, that’s you
ChatGPT Enterprise Yes, in developer mode (beta, on the web) Your admin, who chooses who gets access
ChatGPT Edu Yes, in developer mode (beta, on the web) Your admin, who chooses who gets access
ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Go, Free Not supported today Use Claude, which works on every plan

OpenAI’s own pages disagree on this. Its developer guide lists Plus and Pro among the plans with developer mode, while its help center limits full read and write to ChatGPT Business, Enterprise and Edu (both checked Oct 3, 2026). This table follows the help center until we’ve tested each plan ourselves.

On ChatGPT Plus or Free? Claude works on every plan, including Claude Free.

The same Zyflow link works in Claude. If you move to ChatGPT Business later, connect ChatGPT to the same workspace and your records are already there.

Step 1: copy your Zyflow link

Copy your Zyflow link from the box below. It’s the server URL ChatGPT connects to.

Any MCP server for ChatGPT needs a public https URL, including its path. Zyflow’s ends in /mcp. ChatGPT can’t reach localhost, so for a server on your own computer, OpenAI offers a Secure MCP Tunnel instead.

Step 2: create a free Zyflow account or log in

Create a free Zyflow account, or log in, before you add the app: ChatGPT’s sign-in window asks you to log in to Zyflow. After sign-up, you land on Zyflow’s Connect page with ChatGPT’s steps open and the line “Waiting for ChatGPT to connect. This page updates by itself.” The line changes as soon as step 4 works.

Get your Zyflow link

Free plan. No card.

Already have an account? Log in from the sign-up page and you land in the same place.

Step 3: turn on ChatGPT developer mode

ChatGPT developer mode is a beta setting that lets ChatGPT use the tools of an MCP server you add yourself, including tools that change data. It isn’t the “developer mode” jailbreak prompt shared on Reddit. OpenAI labels it elevated risk because it hasn’t reviewed the servers you add.

On your own account

In ChatGPT on the web, open Settings, then Security and login, and turn on Developer mode.

Don’t see the switch? OpenAI said on October 1, 2026 that eligible accounts no longer need an explicit developer mode. Skip to step 4 and look for the + button on the Plugins page.

In a ChatGPT Business, Enterprise or Edu workspace

Only owners and admins can switch it on. On ChatGPT Business, an admin creates the app in Workspace settings, then Apps, then Create, and publishes it to the workspace. On ChatGPT Enterprise and Edu, admins choose who can use developer mode with role-based access control (RBAC).

Not the admin?

Copy this note and send it to them.

Hi, could you add Zyflow, where we keep our customer records, to our ChatGPT workspace? In Workspace settings, open Apps and select Create. Name: Zyflow. Server URL: https://app.zyflowcrm.com/mcp. Authentication: OAuth, with any client ID fields left empty. Then publish it to the workspace. Each of us signs in with our own Zyflow login, ChatGPT asks us to confirm changes, and Zyflow labels every change “ChatGPT.” Full steps: https://zyflowcrm.com/docs/connect/chatgpt

Copy the note

Step 4: create the app with OAuth and approve one workspace

You create a ChatGPT app from your Zyflow link, choose OAuth, then approve one Zyflow workspace in the sign-in window that opens. OpenAI’s older pages call this a custom connector; ChatGPT now calls it an app.

  1. Go to ChatGPT’s Plugins page (chatgpt.com/plugins) and select the + button. ChatGPT Business admins start from Workspace settings, then Apps, then Create.

  2. Name it Zyflow and add a description, such as “Our customer records: contacts, deals, follow-ups and invoices.”

  3. For the connection, choose the public URL, not Tunnel, and paste your Zyflow link.

  4. For authentication, choose OAuth. If ChatGPT shows client ID or secret fields, leave them empty: Zyflow lets ChatGPT register itself.

  5. Check the box that says you understand the risk, then select Create.

  6. ChatGPT opens Zyflow’s sign-in. Log in, and the consent screen reads “ChatGPT wants to use your Zyflow.” Pick one workspace and select Approve. The request expires after 10 minutes; if it does, start again from ChatGPT.

  7. ChatGPT lists the tools it found: 32 tools, 13 that read and 19 that write. On Zyflow’s Connect page, the line changes to “ChatGPT is connected.” and History records “Connected ChatGPT (read and write).”

On ChatGPT Business, each teammate signs in with their own Zyflow login, so their changes carry their name, such as “ChatGPT for Dana.” Each person needs to be a member of your Zyflow workspace. Zyflow Free covers one person. Solo, Team and Pro cover up to 3, 10 and 30 people.

How the tools and sign-in work: MCP server overview.

Test a write, then a read

Start a new chat, switch Zyflow on from the tools menu (the + button), and ask for one change and one lookup. Naming the app in your prompt helps ChatGPT pick it.

Add Maya Chen at Northwind (maya@northwind.example) to Zyflow as a new customer.

What happens: ChatGPT shows the save and asks you to confirm. If Maya already exists, the save lands on her record, not a copy.

Log a call with Maya at Northwind: she wants the revised quote by Friday.

What happens: one change logs the call and sets the follow-up. ChatGPT reads back the date, such as Fri, 9 Oct.

Search Zyflow for Northwind.

What happens: a lookup. You get Maya, the call and the follow-up, each linked to its record.

Use Zyflow to tell me what we know about Maya at Northwind.

What happens: her details, the call and the follow-up in one answer.

Before ChatGPT changes anything through an MCP server, it shows what it will send and asks you to confirm. You can have it remember your choice for a tool for the rest of that conversation. After the change, Zyflow labels it “ChatGPT” in History, with an Undo.1 Lookups usually run without asking, because Zyflow marks its 13 read tools as read-only.

Live labels and Undo buttons appear in any open Zyflow tab. Every change is also in History.

After that, ask “What’s on my plate today?” any morning to see your follow-ups and what’s due.

Troubleshooting

Most problems come from the ChatGPT plan, an old chat or a workspace setting. Find what you see in the first column.

Troubleshooting ChatGPT and Zyflow
Symptom Why Fix
No Developer mode switch Your plan doesn’t offer it, you aren’t an admin on ChatGPT Business, or your account no longer needs it (OpenAI, Oct 1, 2026) Check step 0, then look for the + button on chatgpt.com/plugins. On Plus or Free, use Claude
“Disabled by admin” Your admin hasn’t allowed or published the app Send your admin the note in step 3
No “Apps & Connectors” menu Older guides show the 2025 menus Follow step 3
Sign-in says the request expired Zyflow’s consent request lasts 10 minutes Start again from ChatGPT
Connected to the wrong workspace Each connection reaches one workspace Disconnect on the Connect page, then reconnect and pick the right one
Zyflow is grayed out or “isn’t available” Older chats don’t pick up new apps Start a new chat and switch Zyflow on from the tools menu
ChatGPT asks to confirm every change ChatGPT confirms writes by default That’s expected. You can have it remember your choice for a tool for that conversation
Lookups work, saves fail Writing needs ChatGPT Business, Enterprise or Edu2 Check step 0, or use Claude
Not in the phone app or agent mode Developer-mode apps are web only, and agent mode doesn’t use them Use ChatGPT on the web, in a regular chat
New Zyflow tools don’t show ChatGPT keeps the tool list from when you added the app On chatgpt.com/plugins, open Zyflow, select Refresh and start a new chat
ChatGPT asks you to sign in again Sign-in lapses after 90 days without use, or when you leave the workspace Sign in and approve again. If you left the workspace, ask an owner or admin to add you back first

Disconnect or switch workspaces

To cut ChatGPT off, open Zyflow’s Connect page, find ChatGPT under Connected apps and select Disconnect. Every token it holds stops working at once, and History records the disconnect. Members can disconnect their own apps; owners and admins can disconnect anyone’s.

To switch workspaces, disconnect, then connect again from ChatGPT and pick the other workspace. A disconnect can’t be undone, so you reconnect instead. Turning off developer mode, or deleting the app in ChatGPT, also cuts access from ChatGPT’s side.

Questions about ChatGPT and MCP

Can I add an MCP server to ChatGPT on the Free or Plus plan?

Not one that writes to Zyflow today. Writing through an MCP server needs ChatGPT Business, Enterprise or Edu, in developer mode (checked October 2026). On Plus or Free, connect Zyflow to Claude instead. It works on every Claude plan, and Claude Free allows one custom connector. Read the Claude setup guide.

Is it risky to turn on developer mode?

The risk sits with the servers you add, because OpenAI hasn’t reviewed them, so add only servers you trust. With Zyflow, ChatGPT reaches the one workspace you approved, with your role, and never your password, billing, members or API keys. Zyflow gets only what ChatGPT sends to look something up or save it, not the rest of your chat. ChatGPT asks you to confirm writes, and Zyflow labels every change “ChatGPT,” with an Undo.1 Read the security page.

Zyflow has built-in defenses against prompt injection: hidden characters are stripped, and file text reaches your AI labeled as customer data, not instructions. These are mitigations, not guarantees.

How do I turn developer mode off?

Turn the same switch off in ChatGPT’s settings, under Security and login. To cut access from Zyflow’s side, disconnect ChatGPT on the Connect page.

Does it work on the ChatGPT phone app?

Not today. OpenAI says developer-mode apps work on the web only, and agent mode doesn’t use them. On your phone, open Zyflow’s web app in your browser instead.

Can I connect ChatGPT read-only?

Not from Zyflow’s consent screen, which grants read and write. ChatGPT asks you to confirm each write before it runs, so nothing changes without your OK. Read the MCP reference to see which tools write.

Does connecting ChatGPT cost extra?

No. ChatGPT’s calls to Zyflow are never billed, on any plan, and there are no AI credits.3 Your ChatGPT plan and its own limits still apply.

One workspace per connection

You sign in and approve, like “Sign in with Google”. Your AI app never gets your password, and it can’t touch billing, members or keys.

  1. 1 Undo works within your plan’s history window: 30 days on Free, up to 3 years on paid plans. Deleted items can be restored for 30 days on every plan. Settings changes, such as pipelines, custom fields and tag renames, are logged but can’t be undone. ↩
  2. 2 Writing to Zyflow from ChatGPT needs developer mode on a ChatGPT Business, Enterprise or Edu plan. It’s in beta, on the web, and an admin switches it on. Claude works on every plan. Checked October 2026. ↩
  3. 3 Your AI app’s calls to Zyflow, through MCP or the REST API, are never billed on any plan, and there are no AI credits. Short burst limits stop runaway scripts. Your AI app’s own subscription and usage limits still apply. ↩
  4. 4 Export gives you six CSV files, or one JSON file with your records, documents, change history (up to 100,000 changes) and links to every file. File contents download separately from Files. ↩

Last updated Oct 3, 2026

One link for any MCP app.

On ChatGPT Plus or Free? Claude works on every plan, including Claude Free.

Get your Zyflow link

Free plan. No card. Writing needs developer mode on Business, Enterprise or Edu.2