Remote MCP for ChatGPT and Claude

Validated against official product documentation on 2026-09-03. Product UI, plan availability, and administrative policy may change; recheck the linked official pages before an organizational rollout.

IVOAI exposes a unified remote Streamable HTTP MCP endpoint at:

https://ai.example.com/mcp

The endpoint supports MCP initialize, tool discovery, JSON or SSE responses, and OAuth 2.1 authorization with PKCE. Do not put tokens in the URL. Create a bounded, one-time browser activation code on the server:

sudo ivoai server web-access create --ttl 10m

ChatGPT Web

OpenAI currently documents full MCP apps and developer mode for Business and Enterprise/Edu workspaces; Pro can connect read/fetch MCPs in developer mode. An admin enables developer mode, then an authorized user uses Settings → Apps → Create, provides the HTTPS MCP endpoint and authentication, selects Scan Tools, completes OAuth, and creates the draft app. When IVOAI's authorization page opens, review the requested scopes and enter the one-time activation code there. Select the app from the chat tools menu for the message that needs it. Admins/owners publish reviewed apps for a workspace.

ChatGPT connects to remote MCP servers. For a private/on-prem server that should not be publicly exposed, use OpenAI's supported Secure MCP Tunnel rather than an ad-hoc public bypass. See the official OpenAI developer-mode and MCP app guide.

To revoke access, disconnect/remove the app in ChatGPT and revoke the corresponding IVOAI grant:

sudo ivoai server web-access list
sudo ivoai server web-access revoke <id>

Claude Web

Anthropic currently documents custom remote MCP connectors for Free, Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise; Free is limited to one. For Team/Enterprise, an Owner or Primary Owner adds the remote URL under Organization settings → Connectors → Add → Custom → Web. Members then use Customize → Connectors and select Connect. For an individual plan, use Customize → Connectors → + → Add custom connector. Complete OAuth by reviewing the requested scopes and entering the one-time IVOAI activation code, then enable or disable the connector per conversation from the + menu.

Remote connector traffic originates from Anthropic's cloud. The endpoint therefore must be reachable from the documented network ranges, or the firewall must allow the current Anthropic IP ranges. See the official Anthropic custom connector guide.

Remove the connector under Customize → Connectors, and revoke its IVOAI grant. Do not configure a shared static bearer or provider API key.

Nginx Proxy Manager

The external reverse proxy terminates TLS and forwards the public /mcp endpoint to the IVOAI gateway according to Server. The documentation site is a separate HTTP listener:

Public docs host: docs.example.com
Forward scheme:  http
Forward host:    IVOAI_SERVER_LAN_IP
Forward port:    7780
WebSockets:      off
TLS:             terminated by Nginx Proxy Manager

Restrict the docs port at the firewall to the proxy network/IP when possible.

Conformance and troubleshooting

MCP POST requests use Content-Type: application/json and accept both application/json and text/event-stream. IVOAI parses media ranges, whitespace, q-values and valid content-type parameters rather than comparing literal strings. An HTTP 406 means the peer rejected content negotiation; confirm the exact /mcp endpoint, current client version, reverse-proxy header forwarding, and the dual Accept values. Never include Authorization values in diagnostics.

Run sudo ivoai server doctor and a safe read-only tool scan. Expected gates are initialize success, tools/list success, and a safe context_health or memory_status call. A 401 means authentication is missing. Scope denial on /mcp is returned as a standard MCP tool error; the enrolled client API uses HTTP 403 for an authenticated credential with insufficient scope. A 406 means transport negotiation is incompatible.