Getting started

The Chat Thing MCP server lets your AI agent build and manage your bots for you. Instead of clicking around the dashboard, you connect a client like Claude Code or Cursor once and then ask it to create bots, add data sources, configure power-ups, set up channels and run tests - all through the same tools you use in the app.

MCP (the Model Context Protocol) is an open standard for connecting AI agents to external tools. Chat Thing exposes its capabilities as MCP tools, so any MCP-capable client can drive your account with the permissions you grant it.

What you need

• A Chat Thing account. If you do not have one yet, create one for free - access requires an account.
• An MCP client that supports the streamable HTTP transport, such as Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.

The endpoint

Every client connects to the same URL:

https://app.chatthing.ai/mcp

You do not paste a key to connect over OAuth - your client opens a browser window where you approve access. See Authentication for the full picture, including the API-key path for CI and headless agents.

Connect your client

Pick your client below. On first use the client opens a browser consent screen where you approve which team the agent can access - once you approve, you are connected.

Editors and CLI agents connect by adding a few lines to a config file. Desktop and web apps connect by pasting the endpoint into their connectors panel - jump to Desktop and web apps if that is you.

Claude Code

Run this in your terminal:

claude mcp add chatthing --transport http https://app.chatthing.ai/mcp

Codex CLI

Add the server to ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.chatthing]
url = "https://app.chatthing.ai/mcp"

Prefer the Codex desktop app? See Codex app below - it uses the same config under the hood but adds it from a settings screen.

Cursor

Add the server to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chatthing": {
      "url": "https://app.chatthing.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

Add the server to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chatthing": {
      "serverUrl": "https://app.chatthing.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

VS Code

Add the server to .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace:

{
  "servers": {
    "chatthing": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://app.chatthing.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Zed

Add the server to your Zed settings.json (open it with zed: open settings file):

{
  "context_servers": {
    "chatthing": {
      "url": "https://app.chatthing.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

When no Authorization header is set, Zed prompts you to sign in with the standard OAuth flow.

Cline

Add the server to Cline's MCP settings (cline_mcp_settings.json). Set type to streamableHttp so it uses the modern transport:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chatthing": {
      "type": "streamableHttp",
      "url": "https://app.chatthing.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Desktop and web apps

These clients do not use a config file - you add Chat Thing from a settings screen and approve access in the same window. Use the endpoint https://app.chatthing.ai/mcp wherever a URL is asked for.

Claude Desktop and Claude.ai

The Claude desktop app and Claude.ai both use the same connectors flow. This is Claude the app, which is separate from the Claude Code CLI above - you can use either or both.

1. Open Settings → Connectors.
2. Click Add and choose Add custom connector.
   
3. Name it Chat Thing, paste the URL https://app.chatthing.ai/mcp, and click Add. You can leave the Advanced settings (OAuth client ID and secret) blank - Chat Thing registers your client automatically.
   
4. Click Connect on the new connector. Claude opens the OAuth consent screen - approve the team you want the agent to act on, and you are connected.

Chat Thing then appears in the connectors list, and its tools are available to Claude in a new chat.

Codex app

The Codex desktop app adds MCP servers from its settings, and stores them in the same ~/.codex/config.toml as the Codex CLI.

1. Open Settings → Plugins, then select the MCPs tab and click Add server.
   
2. Name it Chat Thing, set Type to Streamable HTTP, and paste the URL https://app.chatthing.ai/mcp. Leave the bearer-token and header fields empty to connect over OAuth (fill in a bearer token only if you are using an API key). Click Save.
   
3. Restart the server if Codex prompts you, then approve access on the Chat Thing consent screen.

ChatGPT

ChatGPT is a different product from Codex, and it connects to MCP servers through its developer mode:

1. Open Settings → Apps & Connectors → Advanced settings and turn on Developer mode.
2. Back on Apps & Connectors, click Create to add a new connector.
3. Name it Chat Thing, paste the URL https://app.chatthing.ai/mcp, choose OAuth for authentication, and create it.
4. Approve access on the Chat Thing consent screen.

Your first request

Once connected, ask your agent to list what is in your account to confirm the connection works. For example:

List my Chat Thing bots.

Your agent will call the list_bots tool and show what it can see. From here you can ask it to build something - head to Build a bot for a guided walkthrough, or browse the full tool reference to see everything the agent can do.

Prefer to script it?

If you are connecting from CI, a script, or a client that cannot open a browser, use an API key instead of OAuth. See Authentication for how to generate a key and pass it as a bearer token.