Claude Connectors: What They Are, Which Plans Allow Them and How to Add One

Claude connectors are add-ons that let Claude read data in another app and act there, such as in your email, calendar, files or CRM, with the permissions you already have in that app. You choose one from Anthropic's connectors directory or, for any service that offers a remote MCP server, add it yourself as a custom connector with a URL. Custom connectors work on every Claude plan, and Free allows one.

This guide explains the two kinds, which plans can add which, what six connectors for client work let Claude do (checked on 12 November 2026 against Anthropic's help center and the vendors' own pages), the permissions to set, and how to add a custom connector step by step. The worked example is Customermates, the open-source CRM that publishes this guide, because it works as a custom connector; for other CRMs see the Claude CRM guide.

What is a Claude connector?

Anthropic's help center puts it this way: "Connectors let Claude access your apps and services, retrieve your data, and take actions within connected services." In practice a connector hands Claude a list of tools from the other app. When you ask something like "find my last email thread with Sarah Lee and draft a reply", Claude picks the tools that fit (search, read, create a draft) and the app answers with whatever your account may see.

Under the hood, a custom connector is a remote MCP server that Claude talks to over the web. Three consequences matter before you connect anything:

• Claude inherits your permissions. If you cannot open a file or record in the app, Claude cannot either. Only a connector that runs on a shared credential gives everyone the same access.
• The tool list comes from the developer, not from Anthropic. Anthropic's listings say it "does not control which tools developers make available" and cannot verify that they will not change.
• What Claude reads becomes part of the conversation. The connected app processes your data under its own terms, so check them before you connect customer data.

How is a directory connector different from a custom connector?

The directory holds ready-made connectors; a custom connector is the one you add by URL when the app is not listed or you run your own instance.

The directory filters by type (Web, Desktop extension, Interactive) and by category, for example Productivity, Communication, Developer tools and Sales & marketing. Its listings are headed "Claude Marketplace", so searches for the Claude connector marketplace end up on the same pages. Interactive is a third type the filter offers, and Team and Enterprise Owners can disable the tool calls that render interactive connectors.

Which plans can use Claude connectors?

Every plan can use connectors. What changes is who adds them (Anthropic help center, checked on 12 November 2026):

On Team and Enterprise, enabling a connector for the organization makes it available but grants nobody access: every member signs in to the app themselves. Individual connectors add their own conditions. HubSpot's help article requires a paid Claude plan (Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise), and the Microsoft 365 connector takes personal accounts only on Free, Pro, Max and Ultra. Read the connector's own page before you plan a rollout.

Which Claude connectors are useful for client work?

Client work lives in four places: the inbox, the calendar, shared files and the CRM. This table shows what Anthropic and each vendor document for a connector in each place, checked on 12 November 2026 against the pages linked in the last column. We read the pages and did not run every connector, so a row shows what is documented, not a measurement.

The directory also lists, among others, Slack, Notion, Asana, Atlassian, Linear, monday.com and Box. For Close, Attio, Pipedrive, folk, Breakcold, Zoho CRM, Capsule and Salesforce, the Claude CRM guide compares what each CRM's connector lets Claude change. If you only want Gmail or Outlook mail attached to client records in a CRM, see Gmail CRM integration and Outlook CRM integration instead of a connector.

How do I add a custom connector in Claude?

The steps follow Anthropic's help article on custom connectors, checked on 12 November 2026. They are the same for any remote MCP server.

1. Check who can add it

   On Free, Pro, Max and Ultra you add it yourself, and Free allows one. On Team, an Owner or Primary Owner adds it under Organization settings › Connectors › Add, hovers over Custom and selects Web. On Enterprise, Owners and roles with Manage access to Libraries can do the same.

2. Open the form and enter the URL

   In Claude, open Customize › Connectors, click + Add and choose Add custom connector. Enter a name and the remote MCP server URL, then click Continue.

3. Review the authentication

   Claude shows the detected settings. Choose Sign in now, Sign in when needed or No sign in, and an OAuth client option; "Use Claude's published identity" is the recommended one. Fixed credentials such as an API key go under Request headers. Then click Add.

4. Connect and switch it on

   On Team and Enterprise, each member opens Customize › Connectors, finds the connector (it usually carries a Custom label) and clicks Connect. In a chat, use the + button at the lower left, then Connectors, to turn it on for that conversation.

Claude Code works with the same servers. It lists the connectors from your claude.ai account as MCP servers with the lowest precedence, and you can add a server directly. Run the command, then type /mcp inside Claude Code to finish the sign-in (Claude Code documentation, checked on 12 November 2026):

claude mcp add --transport http <name> <remote-mcp-url>

For a server that takes an API key instead of OAuth, Claude Code accepts --header; the CLI guide shows the Customermates version. Only connect servers built and hosted by organizations you trust: Anthropic warns that a malicious server can use prompt injection, and that the developer can change a tool's behavior later.

How do I connect Claude to Customermates as a custom connector?

Customermates includes a remote MCP server, so it connects through the custom connector route. Every workspace has its own URL, <BASE_URL>/api/v1/mcp/w/<WORKSPACE_ID>, where <BASE_URL> is the address you open Customermates at, in the cloud or on your own instance. You do not assemble it: the app shows it with a copy button. These are the steps of the connector guide; the steps inside Claude match Anthropic's article above.

1. Copy the workspace URL

   In Customermates, open Settings › API keys & connectors, click Add, choose Claude under Quick connections, then Claude account. The dialog shows the URL of your current workspace. Connecting needs Read access All on the API & Webhooks row of your role; the built-in Admin role has it.

2. Add the connector in Claude

   Open Customize › Connectors, click + Add, choose Add custom connector, name it and paste the URL. Leave authentication on OAuth: there is no key to copy. The Add to Claude button in the same dialog opens Claude's form with the URL filled in (Claude web and Team only).

3. Sign in and approve

   A Customermates window opens. Sign in, check that the consent screen names the connecting app and the Connection destination host, then click Approve. Click Deny for any connection you did not start yourself.

4. Confirm the tools and test one change

   Back in Claude, Customermates appears with its tools. Ask a read question first, then change one field on a test record and look for the change in the record's History panel, provided your role can read the audit log.

Each workspace defines its own lists and fields, so ask Claude to call discover_record_types and get_record_model before it writes. Three prompts to start with:

1. "Pull the last ten contacts I created. Any without an email address?" (read)
2. "Set the Status field on the Acme deal to Won and add a note that the contract was signed today." (update)
3. "Which client conversations are waiting for my reply? Draft an answer to the oldest one and save it as a draft." (needs a plan with messaging, Pro or higher in the cloud)

Add one connector per workspace; Claude refuses a second connector with a URL it already has, so on the Free plan, with its single custom connector, you can connect one workspace. To give Claude fewer tools, append ?toolsets=records,messaging to the URL, as the MCP reference explains. To try it on your own Claude account, start your 14-day trial. No credit card.

What permissions does a Claude connector get, and how do I limit them?

• Your permissions, not more. Per Anthropic, access is enforced at the user level: you sign in to the app, and Claude only reaches what your account may see. The exception is a connector that uses a shared API key: on Team and Enterprise it gives everyone the key's access.
• Tool permissions per connector. Each connector has Tool permissions where you choose between Always allow and Needs approval. Allow read tools; leave anything that writes, sends or deletes on Needs approval. On Team and Enterprise, Owners can set a permission to Always allow, Needs approval or Blocked for the whole organization, members cannot override it, and restricting a tool never grants more access than the app allows.
• Anthropic's own defaults. For Gmail, Calendar and Drive, sending, replying, forwarding, sharing, moving and trashing require your approval by default. For work or school Microsoft 365 accounts, Claude asks each time it sends or forwards an email or changes a calendar event, unless an admin set that tool to Always allow.
• Research mode. Anthropic notes that during Research Claude can call connector tools without further approval, so disable tools that write.
• Customermates. The server tells clients to confirm before they delete or send, but it does not enforce that: once Claude may call a tool, the call runs. What protects you is Tool permissions in Claude. A connection carries the permissions of the user who approved it, with no per-key scope, so for narrower access connect a separate user with a narrower role (it takes a seat) or use ?toolsets=. Sending is immediate, so ask Claude to save a draft and send it yourself from the inbox.
• Data. For the Google connectors, retrieved data stays with its chat, so deleting the chat deletes it. A connected service processes your data under its own terms, which Anthropic notes may be outside the United States.

When is a Claude connector the wrong choice?

• A one-off task on a few lines. Paste the text into the chat; there is nothing to authorize.
• Hundreds of records. A connector works record by record, and vendors cap bulk calls (HubSpot's connector changes 10 records at a time). Use the CRM's import instead.
• A server you do not control or trust. A custom connector can reach services Anthropic has not verified.
• Customermates, specifically. It is the wrong pick if Claude must book or change calendar events (its connected calendars are read-only, so use the Google Calendar or Microsoft 365 connector next to it), if you need a native Slack link (only n8n reaches Slack), or if you need a phone dialer or email sequences, which it does not have. If your team already runs HubSpot and is happy with it, use HubSpot's connector.

What if a Claude connector will not connect?

The connector guide has the full table for Customermates.

Frequently asked questions

Vendor details checked on 12 November 2026 against Anthropic's connector overview, Anthropic's custom connector guide, Anthropic's Google Workspace connectors article, Connect to Microsoft 365, the Microsoft 365 admin setup, the connectors directory, HubSpot's Claude connector article and Claude Code's MCP documentation.