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Connecting Your AI

Connect MCPBundles to your preferred AI assistant to give it access to real-world tools and APIs.

Overview​

MCPBundles works with any AI that supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP):

  • Claude Desktop - Via .mcpb file download
  • ChatGPT - Via OpenAI Apps
  • Cursor - Via mcp.json configuration
  • VS Code (with Continue or other MCP extensions)
  • Microsoft Copilot Studio - Via MCP tool type (OAuth 2.0 Dynamic)
  • Any MCP-compatible AI

Choose your platform below for specific setup instructions.

Using local apps (Obsidian, Local Browser, Postgres on your laptop)? Install MCPBundles Desktop first, then connect your AI host to the server's MCP URL.

Quick Setup by Platform​

ChatGPT

OpenAI Apps

Time: 3-5 minutes

Requirements: Plus or Team account

Setup Guide →

Claude Desktop

.mcpb file installation

Time: 1-2 minutes

Requirements: Claude Desktop app

Setup Guide →

Cursor

mcp.json configuration

Time: 2-3 minutes

Requirements: Latest Cursor version

Setup Guide →

Universal

MCP URL for any client

Time: Varies by client

Requirements: MCP-compatible AI

Setup Guide →

Two Ways to Connect​

MCPBundles gives you two types of MCP endpoints:

Hub EndpointMCP server endpoint
URLhttps://mcp.mcpbundles.com/hub/https://mcp.mcpbundles.com/bundle/{slug}
ScopeAll enabled MCP serversSingle MCP server
ToolsEvery tool you've enabledOnly that MCP server's tools
ExecutionDynamic (discovery + code execution)Direct or Dynamic
Best forOne-URL setup, cross-service workflowsFocused, single-domain work

Recommendation: Start with the Hub endpoint. It gives you one URL that covers everything. Add individual MCP server URLs (same /bundle/... path) later if you need faster direct-mode access for a specific workflow.

Learn more about the Hub in The Hub Endpoint concept guide.

Before You Start​

1. Enable an MCP server​

  1. Log in to MCPBundles Dashboard
  2. Navigate to MCP Servers
  3. Open the MCP server you want to use (or create one)
  4. Make sure it's enabled

2. Configure Provider Credentials​

For tools to work, you need to add provider credentials:

  1. Go to MCP Servers
  2. Open your MCP server
  3. Scroll to the "Credentials" section
  4. Click "Add Credential" on each provider card that needs configuration
  5. Add credentials through the credential panel
  6. Select validation tool and click "Validate Now"

See Setting Up Credentials for detailed instructions.

Using the Hub Endpoint​

The Hub is the simplest way to connect — one URL for all your enabled tools.

Getting the Hub URL​

  1. Go to MCP Servers
  2. The Hub card at the top of the page shows your Hub URL
  3. Click Copy URL to copy it

Your Hub URL is always: https://mcp.mcpbundles.com/hub/

What Happens When You Connect​

When your AI connects to the Hub, it gets access to a small set of meta-tools:

  • discover_mcp_servers — Find MCP servers you can add
  • list_connected_mcp_servers — See which MCP servers are connected
  • describe_tool — Get a tool's full parameter schema
  • code_execution — Run tools programmatically in a Python sandbox

Your AI discovers MCP servers first, lists tools for the server it chooses, and executes those tools through code — keeping the conversation clean and context small, even with hundreds of tools enabled.

Platform-Specific Hub Setup​

The Hub URL works with every platform listed below. Use https://mcp.mcpbundles.com/hub/ wherever the instructions say to paste an MCP server URL.

ChatGPT Setup​

Requirements​

  • ChatGPT Plus or Team account (free tier doesn't support MCP)
  • An MCP server enabled in your MCPBundles dashboard
  • Provider credentials connected

Step 1: Get Your MCP server URL​

  1. Go to MCP Servers
  2. Open your MCP server
  3. Copy the MCP Server URL
    • Format: https://mcp.mcpbundles.com/bundle/YOUR-BUNDLE-ID

Step 2: Open ChatGPT Apps​

  1. Open ChatGPT
  2. Click your profile icon (bottom left)
  3. Select Settings
  4. Navigate to Apps in the left sidebar

Step 3: Enable Developer Mode​

  1. Scroll to Advanced settings section
  2. Click "Create app" button
  3. In the Developer mode section, toggle Developer mode to ON
  4. This allows adding custom MCP servers
info

Developer mode is required for external MCP servers. Without it, only pre-approved apps are available.

Step 4: Create a New App​

  1. Click "Create app" button (in Advanced settings or top right)
  2. Fill out the form:
    • Name: Your MCP server name (e.g., "Marketing Tools")
    • Description (optional): Brief description of what it does
    • MCP Server URL: Paste your MCP server URL from Step 1
    • Authentication: Select OAuth
  3. Check the box: "I understand and want to continue" (acknowledging the security warning)
  4. Click "Connect" or "Create"
Security Warning

ChatGPT will show a warning that OpenAI hasn't reviewed this MCP server. This is expected for custom MCP servers. Click "I understand and want to continue" to proceed.

Step 5: Test the Connection​

  1. Start a new chat in ChatGPT
  2. Ask: "What tools do you have access to?"
  3. ChatGPT should list all tools from your MCP server

Example response:

"I have access to the following tools from your Marketing Tools MCP server:

  • list_campaigns - Get all email campaigns
  • create_contact - Add a new contact ..."

Using Tools​

Simply ask ChatGPT to perform tasks that require the tools:

"Check my Smartlead campaigns and tell me which has the best reply rate"

"Add these people to HubSpot: John Doe (john@example.com), Jane Smith (jane@example.com)"

"List my GitHub repos and check for open PRs"

ChatGPT will automatically call the relevant tools and format results.

Claude Desktop Setup​

Requirements​

  • Claude Desktop app installed
  • An MCP server enabled in your MCPBundles dashboard
  • Provider credentials connected

Step 1: Download .mcpb File​

  1. Go to MCP Servers
  2. Open your MCP server
  3. Scroll to the "Quick Setup" section
  4. Click Download button (only available when the MCP server is operational)
  5. Save the file to your Downloads folder

Step 2: Install the MCP server​

  1. Double-click the downloaded .mcpb file
  2. Claude Desktop should open automatically
  3. Click Install when prompted
  4. Wait for installation to complete (5-10 seconds)
tip

If double-clicking doesn't work, you can manually install:

  • macOS: Open Claude Desktop → Settings → MCP → Add Server → Browse → Select .mcpb file
  • Windows: Same process, look for MCP settings in Claude Desktop

Step 3: Verify Installation​

  1. Start a new chat in Claude Desktop
  2. Ask: "What tools do you have?"
  3. Claude should list all tools from your MCP server

Using Tools​

Chat naturally with Claude, and it will use tools when appropriate:

"Can you check my email campaigns and summarize performance?"

"Create a contact in my CRM for Tony Lewis at tony@example.com"

"What GitHub repositories do I have access to?"

Cursor Setup​

Requirements​

  • Latest Cursor version (update to current release)
  • An MCP server enabled in your MCPBundles dashboard
  • Provider credentials connected

Step 1: Get Your MCP server URL​

  1. Go to MCP Servers
  2. Open your MCP server
  3. Copy the MCP Server URL

Step 2: Locate Your MCP Config File​

Cursor stores MCP configuration in .cursor/mcp.json:

macOS:

~/.cursor/mcp.json

Windows:

%USERPROFILE%\.cursor\mcp.json

Linux:

~/.cursor/mcp.json
note

If the file doesn't exist, create it.

Step 3: Edit the Config File​

If file is empty or doesn't exist:

Create a new file with this content:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "your-mcp-server-name": {
      "url": "https://mcp.mcpbundles.com/bundle/YOUR-BUNDLE-ID"
    }
  }
}

If file already has other MCP servers:

Add your MCP server to the existing mcpServers object:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "existing-server": {
      "url": "https://some-other-server.com"
    },
    "your-mcp-server-name": {
      "url": "https://mcp.mcpbundles.com/bundle/YOUR-BUNDLE-ID"
    }
  }
}

Replace:

  • your-mcp-server-name - Short identifier without spaces (e.g., marketing-automation)
  • YOUR-BUNDLE-ID - Your actual MCP server URL path segment from Step 1

Step 4: Save and Restart Cursor​

  1. Save the mcp.json file
  2. Quit Cursor completely (not just close the window)
  3. Reopen Cursor
  4. Wait 10-20 seconds for MCP servers to initialize

Step 5: Verify the Connection​

  1. Open Cursor command palette (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P)
  2. Type "MCP" and look for MCP-related commands
  3. Or ask the AI: "What tools do you have access to?"

Expected response:

"I have access to tools from the following MCP servers:

  • your-mcp-server-name: list_campaigns, create_contact, send_message..."

Using Tools​

Cursor will automatically use tools when relevant to your coding tasks:

"Get the latest campaign data from Smartlead and create a TypeScript interface for it"

"List my GitHub repos, find 'api-server', and check for open PRs"

"Fetch the latest 10 contacts from HubSpot and generate SQL for importing them"

Universal MCP URL​

For any MCP-compatible client not listed above, use the universal MCP URL approach.

Step 1: Get Your MCP server URL​

  1. Go to MCP Servers
  2. Open your MCP server
  3. Copy the MCP Server URL
    • Format: https://mcp.mcpbundles.com/bundle/YOUR-BUNDLE-ID

Step 2: Add to Your MCP client​

The exact steps vary by client, but generally:

  1. Find MCP server configuration in your client's settings
  2. Add a new MCP server
  3. Paste your MCP server URL
  4. Save and restart the client

Common Clients​

VS Code with Continue:

  1. Open Continue extension settings
  2. Add MCP server URL to configuration
  3. Restart VS Code

Zed:

  1. Open Zed settings
  2. Navigate to MCP configuration
  3. Add your MCP server URL
  4. Reload window

Other clients: Refer to your client's documentation for MCP server setup instructions.

Troubleshooting​

Connection Failed​

Cause: URL is unreachable or invalid.

Fix:

  • Verify URL includes https://
  • Check for extra spaces when pasting
  • Ensure the MCP server is enabled in the dashboard
  • Try copying URL again

Tools Don't Appear​

Cause: Client hasn't loaded MCP configuration.

Fix:

  1. Quit the AI client completely
  2. Wait 5 seconds
  3. Reopen the client
  4. Wait 20 seconds for initialization
  5. Try asking "What tools do you have?"

Authentication Required Error​

Cause: Provider credentials not connected.

Fix:

  1. Go to Settings → Credentials
  2. Find the provider for that tool
  3. Click Connect and complete OAuth or add API key
  4. Try the tool again

See Setting Up Credentials for details.

Tools Work But Return Empty Data​

Cause: Connected to wrong account or no data exists.

Fix:

  1. Settings → Credentials → select the provider
  2. Check which account is connected
  3. If wrong account, click Reconnect
  4. Verify data exists in the provider's app

MCP server shows "Setup Required" or "Connection Error"​

Cause: One or more providers not configured or have invalid credentials.

Fix:

  1. MCP Servers → [Your MCP server]
  2. Scroll to the "Credentials" section
  3. Find provider cards marked "Not configured" or showing "Error" badges
  4. Click "Add Credential" (or "Edit" if credential exists) on affected provider cards
  5. Add or update credentials in the credential panel
  6. Select validation tool and click "Validate Now"
  7. MCP server status should become "Ready" with "Credentials valid" subtext

Best Practices​

Naming MCP servers in client config​

Use descriptive, short names without spaces:

  • ✅ marketing-automation
  • ✅ dev-tools
  • ✅ crm-suite
  • ❌ my server with spaces
  • ❌ mcp-server-123-abc-xyz-really-long-name

Multiple MCP servers vs one composed MCP server​

Use multiple MCP servers when:

  • Different projects need different tools
  • You want to limit tool access per workspace

Use one composed MCP server when:

  • You use the same tools across all projects
  • Simpler configuration preferred

Testing new MCP servers​

Before adding to your main configuration:

  1. Test in a separate chat/window
  2. Verify tools work correctly
  3. Check credentials are valid
  4. Then add to main config

Platform Comparison​

FeatureChatGPTClaude DesktopCursorUniversal
Setup Time3-5 min1-2 min2-3 minVaries
Installation MethodApps UI.mcpb fileJSON configClient-specific
Multiple MCP serversOne per chatMultipleMultipleClient-specific
Tool VisibilityExpandable sectionsIn-chatCommand paletteClient-specific
Auto-updatesYesManualManualClient-specific
Requires SubscriptionYes (Plus/Team)NoNoVaries

Next Steps​

Need Help?​