# Use BuildBase in ChatGPT

Add BuildBase to ChatGPT as a custom MCP server, sign in as yourself with OAuth, and read or change your organization from a chat on the web.

This page is part of **BuildBase in your AI tools**: it connects ChatGPT to BuildBase's own MCP server so you can manage your BuildBase organization from a chat. ChatGPT signs in as you and never sees your organization's secrets.

> **Note:**
  Want your own app to be agent-ready? See [Let your users connect ChatGPT to
  your app](/agents/clients/chatgpt), in **Agent-ready apps**.

## What you need

- ChatGPT Business, Enterprise or Edu, on ChatGPT on the web. On Business only admins and owners add a custom MCP server; on Enterprise and Edu, access is granted by your workspace's roles. Pro connects custom MCP servers with read and fetch permissions only, according to OpenAI's help center.
- A BuildBase console account. ChatGPT signs in on BuildBase's sign-in page with your console email address, whichever way you sign in to the console.
- An organization whose **AI agents** setting is not **Off** ([choose what agents may do](/console/ai-agents#choose-what-agents-may-do)). Agents can read by default.

## Add the server

ChatGPT adds a remote server as a plugin; there is no install link.

1. On chatgpt.com, open **Plugins** and choose the **+** button, then **Add custom MCP server**.
2. Enter a name, such as `BuildBase`, and a short description.
3. Under **Connection**, enter the server URL:

   ```text
   https://api.console.buildbase.app/mcp
   ```

4. Choose **OAuth** for authentication, review the warning, then create it.

## Sign in

ChatGPT registers its own OAuth client with BuildBase, then opens BuildBase's sign-in page.

1. Sign in with your console account and your usual second step.
2. Read the consent screen: it names ChatGPT and the scopes it asks for, `console:read` and `console:write` to start. Approve it.

ChatGPT tries a client metadata document first and falls back to registering a client. BuildBase's server takes the second, so the fallback is what signs you in; nothing is needed on your side. When a task needs more, such as an export or a delete, ChatGPT is told which scope is missing ([what an agent asks for](/console/ai-agents#what-an-agent-asks-for-at-sign-in)).

## What you see when you connect

Once you have signed in, BuildBase shows the consent screen in your browser. It names the tool, lists the scopes it asks for and the server the access is for, and changes nothing until you choose **Allow access**. Here it is for a tool that registered itself:

![BuildBase's consent screen for a tool that registered itself, here Example Agent: a warning that the app gave itself its name and nobody has checked it, what it may do as you, console:read and offline_access, the access to use at https://api.console.buildbase.app/mcp, and Allow access and Deny ringed](/images/console/ai-agents/hosted-consent.webp)

## Use it in a chat

In a chat, type `@` and pick the BuildBase server, then ask, for example:

- "Which BuildBase organizations am I in, and what may agents do in each?"
- "In Acme, which plans do we sell and what does each include?"
- "Create a feature flag `new-editor`, off, in staging."

More, with what each one asks you to approve: [example prompts](/console/ai-agents#example-prompts).

## What differs in ChatGPT

- **Web only, from OpenAI's servers.** ChatGPT connects to public HTTPS servers from its own servers, so it reaches BuildBase from anywhere.
- **Workspace rules.** On Business and Enterprise an admin may need to allow custom MCP servers first, and decides who may add them.
- **Approvals of a change.** Where ChatGPT can ask you a question itself, the change BuildBase wants to make is shown to you and nothing happens unless you approve it. Otherwise ChatGPT states the change and confirms it with a one-time code ([what stays with you](/console/ai-agents#what-stays-with-you)).
- **Read only on Pro.** If your plan allows read and fetch only, ask for reads, and make changes in the console or from a tool that allows them.

## If something goes wrong

| What you see                                          | Why                                                                                                          | What to do                                                                     |
| ----------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| No **Add custom MCP server** option                   | Your plan or your workspace role does not allow it                                                           | Ask a workspace admin or owner to add it or to allow custom MCP servers        |
| The tools look out of date after a change on our side | ChatGPT keeps the tool list from when it connected                                                           | Choose **Refresh** on the plugin, then start a new conversation                |
| ChatGPT says the organization does not let agents in  | Its **AI agents** setting is **Off**, or your agent is blocked there                                         | An owner or admin changes it under **Security**, **AI agents**                 |
| ChatGPT can read but every change is refused          | The organization is **Read only**, you did not grant `console:write`, or your ChatGPT plan allows reads only | An owner or admin sets **Read and change**; approve `console:write` when asked |
| ChatGPT asks for the same scope again and again       | Your role or the organization refuses it, which a scope cannot get past                                      | Do it in the console, or ask an owner or admin                                 |

To disconnect, remove the plugin in ChatGPT and [disconnect the agent](/console/ai-agents#disconnect-an-agent) in BuildBase, which ends its session at once.

## Related

- [BuildBase in your AI tools](/console/ai-agents): the server, its tools, and what stays with you.
- [Use BuildBase in Claude](/console/ai-agents/claude) and [Use BuildBase in Codex](/console/ai-agents/codex).
- [Let your users connect ChatGPT to your app](/agents/clients/chatgpt): the same client in **Agent-ready apps**.
- OpenAI's own guide: [connect from ChatGPT](https://developers.openai.com/apps-sdk/deploy/connect-chatgpt).

## Frequently asked questions

### Which ChatGPT plans can add BuildBase?

According to OpenAI's help center, full custom MCP servers are for ChatGPT Business, Enterprise and Edu, on ChatGPT on the web. Pro can connect custom MCP servers with read and fetch permissions only. On Business only admins and owners create one.

### Does ChatGPT see my API keys or payment credentials?

No. BuildBase's MCP server never hands a secret to an agent, even one it creates. ChatGPT acts with your role and reads what you can see in the console, minus credentials and sign-in settings.

### Do I need to register an OAuth client for ChatGPT?

No. ChatGPT registers its own client with BuildBase the first time it connects, then sends you to BuildBase's sign-in page.