Setup guide

Connect Giraffe to Claude.

Claude works something out with you; Giraffe keeps what you landed on. Say “Save what we concluded to my Acme project” and it lands sorted: what’s true now, the decisions, the open questions and the notes. It’s still there in a new chat weeks later, and still readable in your browser with Claude closed.

See what a project looks like →

Set up Claude, step by step

Two different jobs, so pick the one you’re actually doing — they don’t share the same steps.

Which route applies to you

Giraffe is not in Claude's connectors directory yet, so you add it yourself as a custom connector. It takes about two minutes and works exactly the same way a listed connector does.

If Giraffe is listed in the directory later, you will be able to find it under Connectors and press Connect, with no address to paste.

Works on every Claude plan; Team and Enterprise need an owner to add it first. Who can connect

On a Team or Enterprise account, read this first

Only an owner can add Giraffe for the organisation, from Organisation settings, then Connectors. Click Add, hover "Custom", choose "Web", and enter the address. Everyone else then connects individually using the steps below. Enterprise owners can also set Giraffe's permission level per person: Always allow, Needs approval, or Blocked.

In a hurry

  1. In Claude, go to Customize, then Connectors.
  2. Click the + button and choose "Add custom connector".
  3. Paste https://mcp.withgiraffe.com/mcp and click Add.
  4. Approve the connection with your Giraffe account.
  5. In a chat, click + in the message box, choose Connectors, and turn Giraffe on.

Giraffe’s address

You’ll paste this in during setup.

Giraffe's connection address

https://mcp.withgiraffe.com/mcp

Setting up

  1. Open Customize, then Connectors

    Web

    In Claude on the web or in Claude Desktop, open Settings, choose Customize, then Connectors. Every tool you connect to Claude, Giraffe included, lives here.

    What you should see: A Connectors list, empty or showing tools you've already added, with a + button.

    Claude Desktop has the same Customize section, added in February 2026. The steps below are identical there.

    Claude settings: the Customize section — diagram, not a screenshot

  2. Choose "Add custom connector"

    Web

    Click the + button in the Connectors list, then choose Add custom connector, not one of the pre-built tools Claude already lists.

    What you should see: A dialog asking for the connector's URL.

    The Connectors list, opened to add a new one — diagram, not a screenshot

  3. Paste Giraffe's address

    Web

    Paste Giraffe's connection address into the URL field.

    What you should see: The URL sitting in the field, ready to submit.

    Giraffe's connection address

    https://mcp.withgiraffe.com/mcp

    Add custom connector dialog — diagram, not a screenshot

  4. Leave Advanced settings alone

    Web

    There's an optional Advanced settings section for an OAuth Client ID and Client Secret. Giraffe doesn't need either. Skip it.

    This field exists for connectors that require it. Giraffe's OAuth flow doesn't.

  5. Click Add, then Connect

    Web

    Click Add to save the connector, then Connect to start the sign-in.

  6. Approve the connection with your Giraffe account

    Web

    Claude opens Giraffe's sign-in. Approve the connection with the Giraffe account you want Claude to read and save to.

    What you should see: A confirmation that Giraffe is connected, back in Claude's Connectors list.

After you connect

Adding Giraffe isn’t the same as using it. This part is easy to miss and the reason a fresh connection can feel like it’s “not working.”

  1. Turn it on for this conversation

    Any platform

    Adding a connector isn't the same as using it. Claude only reaches for connectors you've enabled in the chat you're in. Click the + button at the lower left of the message box, choose Connectors, and turn Giraffe on.

    What you should see: Your connectors listed with switches; Giraffe now shows as on for this conversation.

    This is the step people skip. Adding Giraffe without turning it on here means Claude never touches it.

    The + menu inside a Claude conversation — diagram, not a screenshot

  2. Choose how much it can do without asking

    Any platform

    Under Tool access you can set Auto (Claude decides when to ask), Always available (no prompts), or On demand (asks each time). Auto is the default and a reasonable place to start.

    Tool access setting for a connector — diagram, not a screenshot

Giraffe is already in my Connectors list?

Then you don't need to add it again. Claude won't stop you adding a second copy. It just leaves you with two connectors pointing at the same place and no clue which one is live, so work with the one you have.

  1. Open Customize, then Connectors

    Web

    Same place you added it: Settings, then Customize, then Connectors. Find the existing Giraffe entry rather than adding a new one.

    What you should see: Giraffe already listed among your connectors.

    The Connectors list with an existing entry — diagram, not a screenshot

  2. Disconnect it, then connect it again

    Web

    On the existing Giraffe connector, disconnect and then connect. That is Claude's own documented fix when authentication fails, and it keeps the connector you already configured: the address stays as it is.

    Claude's docs describe disconnect-then-reconnect rather than a single Reconnect button, so trust what the connector's own row offers over any label we print here.

  3. Approve it with your Giraffe account

    Web

    Sign in and approve, exactly as you did the first time. A fresh row appears in Giraffe's own Settings under Connections once it succeeds.

    What you should see: Giraffe connected again in Claude, and a new connection dated today in Giraffe.

  4. Turn it back on in the conversation

    Any platform

    Reconnecting restores access, not use. In the chat you want it in, click + in the message box, choose Connectors, and switch Giraffe on again.

  5. Last resort: remove it, then add it again

    Web

    Only if that fails. Remove the existing Giraffe connector first. Claude has no way to edit a custom connector in place, so removing and re-adding with the address below is the documented way to change one.

    Giraffe's connection address

    https://mcp.withgiraffe.com/mcp

Who can connect

Custom connectors work on every Claude plan. Free allows one at a time. Team and Enterprise accounts need an owner to add it first, and it has to be added from the web or desktop app, not the phone.

Verified by Giraffe

  • Giraffe's own test: On 12 August 2026 we connected a real Claude Max account and ran the whole loop: listed projects, created one, saved to it, read it back and updated it, with the changes correctly attributed to Claude.

Per the provider's docs

  • Free: Supported, limited to one custom connector at a time. Claude Help Centre
  • Pro and Max: Supported on claude.ai and in Claude Desktop. Claude Help Centre
  • Team and Enterprise: An owner adds it once for the whole organisation; everyone else then connects individually. Members cannot add it themselves. Claude Help Centre
  • On a phone: You cannot add a connector from the Claude mobile app. Add it on the web or desktop and it becomes available on your phone afterwards. Use connectors to extend Claude's capabilities

Depends on your setup

  • Your workspace: On Team and Enterprise plans an administrator can restrict or block connectors, and can require approval before a tool runs.

If something’s not working

I added Giraffe but Claude never uses it.

Adding a connector and turning it on are two different steps. Open the + button in your conversation, choose Connectors, and switch Giraffe on for that chat. See "After you connect" above.

I'm on the Free plan and it won't let me add another connector.

Free is limited to one custom connector at a time. Remove an existing one from Customize, then Connectors, or upgrade to Pro.

I don't see Connectors in my Settings at all.

On a Team or Enterprise account, only an Owner or Primary Owner can add a custom connector for the organisation. Ask them to add it once. After that, you connect individually from Customize, then Connectors.

Can I set this up from my phone?

No, you can't add a custom connector from the Claude mobile app at all. Add Giraffe on the web or in Claude Desktop, and it becomes usable on your phone afterwards.

Claude asks me to approve every single save.

That's the Tool access setting: On demand asks every time. Switch it to Always available if you'd rather it not ask, or leave it on Auto and let Claude decide.

Last verified Aug 13, 2026, against Claude’s own documentation: Get started with custom connectors using remote MCP, Use connectors to extend Claude's capabilities, Manage Claude's tool access. Provider settings change without notice. If a step doesn’t match what you see, the underlying idea (add the address, then turn the connection on) still holds.

Start with Giraffe