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ChatGPT Connectors Not Showing: Fixes by Plan (2026)

Fix ChatGPT connectors not showing: the setting moved to Plugins. A plan-by-plan table from OpenAI's pages, each error with its fix, and a server to test.


Published · Updated · 7 min read

Cover image: The setting moved to Plugins

If your ChatGPT connectors are not showing, look under Plugins: you now add a custom MCP server at chatgpt.com/plugins, from the plus button.

When the option is missing there, OpenAI's pages point to two causes. Your plan or workspace role doesn't include it, or you are in a mobile app, and OpenAI says custom servers are web only.

We run Weir, an MCP server for public X (Twitter) data and our test server below. Paste its URL as the Server URL:

https://api.weirapp.io/mcp

The five fixes, in the order to try them:

  1. Open Plugins on the webchatgpt.com/plugins, plus button, Add custom MCP server.
  2. Check your plan and roleOpenAI names Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu.
  3. Match the messageEach one has its own fix.
  4. Install, refresh, mentionTools show only after all three.
  5. Test the server from outsideOne curl, no ChatGPT needed.

Fix 1: ChatGPT connectors not showing? Look in Plugins

The setting has a new name and a new home. OpenAI's developer guide, opened on 12 November 2026, gives one path:

  1. Go to chatgpt.com/plugins in a browser.
  2. Select the plus button, then Add custom MCP server.
  3. Enter a name and the server URL, including the /mcp path.
  4. Set up sign-in (OAuth, for a server like Weir's), review the risk warning and select I understand and want to continue.
  5. Select Create as a plugin, then install the plugin.

You don't need developer mode. OpenAI's help article, in its 3 November 2026 copy, says: "You don't need to turn on Developer Mode first."

Old guides point at the wrong menu because the name changed twice: connectors in 2025, then apps, now plugins. Some accounts still show Apps instead of Plugins, and OpenAI says to open whichever one you have.

Fix 2: Check which plans can add a custom connector

Your plan and your role decide whether the option appears. This is what OpenAI's help article names, in its 3 November 2026 copy:

Plan Custom MCP servers Who can add one Where
Free, Go Not named Not named Not named
Plus Not named Not named Not named
Pro Read and fetch tools only Pro users Plugins, plus button
Business Full MCP Admins and owners only Plugins, plus button
Enterprise, Edu Full MCP Admins, owners, granted members Plugins, once the role allows
Mobile apps None Nobody Web only

"Not named" means the article neither allows nor rules out that plan, and OpenAI's developer guides name no plan at all.

On Enterprise and Edu, admins grant a permission called Create plugins with MCPs, which OpenAI says is off by default on Enterprise. So if an admin must enable it, ask the admin. Nothing on this page gets around that.

Fix 3: Match the message when ChatGPT connectors are not working

Each message ChatGPT shows has one fix. These are the exact words in OpenAI's troubleshooting article, in its 29 October 2026 copy:

Message What to do
Not available on your plan Check the plan table above
Admin approval required Ask your workspace admin to review it
Requires workspace setup Ask a workspace admin to configure it
Requires a workspace Switch to an eligible managed workspace
Disabled by admin Ask an owner or admin to review it
All permissions are required Select Reconnect, approve every permission
Desktop only Use the desktop app

Two of these mislead. "Admin approval required" doesn't mean a request was sent, so you still have to ask. On a personal account, "Disabled by admin" doesn't prove an admin blocked anything: OpenAI says to check your plan, region and app version first.

If the whole list won't load, check the "Connectors/Apps" row on status.openai.com.

Fix 4: Tools not showing after the MCP connector connects

A connector can connect and still show no tools. Check four things:

  • The plugin isn't installed. OpenAI's guide says to install the plugin, then start a new conversation.
  • ChatGPT didn't pick it. In the new chat, type @ and select the plugin.
  • The tool list is stale. After a server changes its tools, open the connection at chatgpt.com/plugins and select Refresh.
  • A tool is switched off. Open the plugin's details and check that its tools are on.

Workspaces add a trap. Once an admin approves a server, OpenAI says ChatGPT uses a "frozen" snapshot of its tools. Later changes wait until an admin refreshes and publishes them, and nobody gets a prompt when a call fails.

Old advice to name your tools search and fetch is out of date. The help article says they "are no longer required".

Fix 5: Check ChatGPT custom connector OAuth from outside

One request shows whether a server is ready for ChatGPT's sign-in. Send it no credentials:

curl -i -X POST https://api.weirapp.io/mcp

We ran this on 12 November 2026. Weir answered with the challenge OpenAI's authentication guide describes:

HTTP/1.1 401 Unauthorized
Www-Authenticate: Bearer resource_metadata="https://api.weirapp.io/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource/mcp", scope="read:social usage:read monitors:read"

ChatGPT follows that header to the sign-in details. OpenAI's guide then requires three things:

  • A metadata file. Open the resource_metadata URL. It must list authorization_servers.
  • PKCE with S256. If the sign-in server's metadata doesn't list it, OpenAI calls the server "unsupported".
  • A way to register. Either a registration_endpoint, or client_id_metadata_document_supported set to true.

Weir's server passed all three that day. Two more results explain common failures:

  • A 404. We left off /mcp and got one. OpenAI's first check for "No tools listed" is the /mcp endpoint.
  • invalid_client on an old connection. The server lost the client ChatGPT registered. OpenAI's guide says to keep that client valid while the connection is in use.

ChatGPT also can't send an API key: OpenAI says it cannot "present custom API keys". A local address fails too, as our guide to remote MCP server URLs explains.

A ChatGPT MCP setup that is known to connect

Add a server that works, and you learn which side is broken. Use two, in this order:

  1. No sign-in. Add https://docs.weirapp.io/api/mcp with No authentication. It serves three read-only tools that search Weir's docs.
  2. Sign-in. Add https://api.weirapp.io/mcp with OAuth. There is no client ID to paste: sign in on Weir's consent screen.

If the first one won't add, the cause is on the ChatGPT side: your plan, role or workspace. If only the second fails, look at the sign-in step.

Then ask a free question, @Weir what's my Weir usage?, and ChatGPT should call get_usage. We ran that call through Weir's MCP server on 12 November 2026:

{
  "data": { "available": 20145, "tier": "free", "spendingPaused": false },
  "meta": { "creditsCharged": 0 }
}

Next, a paid one: "@Weir search X for what @OpenAIDevs posted about MCP. Top 10, no reposts." The call it maps to, and what came back:

→ search_x {"fromUsers": ["OpenAIDevs"], "query": "MCP -filter:nativeretweets",
            "onlyOriginal": true, "sort": "top", "limit": 10}
← 10 posts · 11 credits (1 + 1 × 10)
  2025-09-10  4,992 likes  …In developer mode, developers can create connectors…
  2025-10-06  2,504 likes  You can start building and testing apps in ChatGPT…
  2026-08-06  7,342 likes  Build a plugin once and use it across compatible agent clients…

Read in order, those three posts show the words changing: connectors, then apps, then plugins.

Connecting is free. A 10-post search costs 11 credits; 5,000 credits a month are free, and $5 buys 25,000 more. Rates are on pricing.

Caveats, and when not to use Weir

  • Our help-center facts are copies. help.openai.com returned a 403 to us on 12 November 2026, so those facts come from Wayback copies made 29 October to 3 November.
  • Your workspace says no. If an admin has turned custom servers off, only the admin can change that.
  • You want to post. Weir reads public X data and has no write tools for X.

Weir isn't licensed by X, so access can change.

FAQ

Why are my ChatGPT connectors not showing?

The menu is now called Plugins: open chatgpt.com/plugins on the web and press plus. If Add custom MCP server isn't there, your plan or role doesn't include it, and the mobile apps never show it.

Does ChatGPT Plus have custom connectors?

OpenAI doesn't say. Its help article, in the 3 November 2026 copy, names Business, Enterprise and Edu for full MCP, and Pro for read and fetch tools. Plus, Go and Free aren't named. Open chatgpt.com/plugins on your own account to see what the plus button offers.

Can I add a custom connector in the ChatGPT mobile app?

No. OpenAI's help article answers "Can I connect custom MCP servers on mobile?" with "No - web only." Add the server in a browser.

Sources

Opened on 12 November 2026. OpenAI's help center blocked our fetch, so its articles are Wayback copies, dated in brackets:

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