Claude Connectors

Connectors link Claude to the tools where your work already lives: file storage, inbox, calendar, chat, wiki or project board. With a connector, Claude can search and read there and, depending on the service, also create or send something. Without a connector, Claude only knows what you upload to the chat or put into project knowledge.

1.1 The three types

1.2 Who can use what

• Directory connectors: on all plans (Free, Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise).
• Desktop extensions: for all users of Claude Desktop.
• Custom connectors: one on the Free plan, without that limit on Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise.
• Team and Enterprise: an Owner enables connectors for the organization before members can connect (see chapter 4).

1.3 Upload, project knowledge or connector?

Claude reaches your content in three ways. The rule of thumb from the Claude driving licence course: one-off, then upload. Valid for a long time, then project knowledge. Changing or searchable, then connector.

1.4 What connectors are not

• A connector is not a skill. A skill describes a way of working, a connector provides data and actions.
• A connector is not a plugin. A plugin bundles skills, connectors and other building blocks into one package (see chapter 9).
• A connector is not a free pass. It opens no doors that are closed to you in the source system.

Connecting usually takes less than two minutes. The flow is the same for almost all directory connectors.

2.1 Via the settings

1. Open Customize in the left sidebar and choose Connectors.
2. Find the service in the directory and read the description: what can the connector do, read only or write as well?
3. Click Connect. The sign-in page of the service opens.
4. Sign in with your work account and check the requested permissions.
5. Back in Claude: the connector now appears in your list.

2.2 From inside the chat

Click + in the message box or type /, hover over Connectors and choose Manage connectors. You end up in the same place as via the settings.

2.3 The first test

After connecting, start with a harmless question. That shows you what Claude finds and how it cites the source, and you notice early if access is broader than expected.

Search Google Drive in the folder “Purchasing / Framework contracts” for the current framework contract with our packaging supplier and tell me the price adjustment clause. Give the file name and section.

A connected connector is not automatically active in every conversation. You decide per conversation which sources Claude may use.

3.1 Turning on per conversation

Click + in the message box or type /, then Connectors, and switch on the services you need. In a chat about supplier prices, Claude does not need access to your ticket system.

• Switch on only what the task really needs.
• Every active connector takes up room in the conversation. Fewer active connectors usually means faster and more precise answers.
• What you activate in a conversation applies only there.

3.2 Permissions per tool

Each connector consists of several tools, such as “search files”, “read file”, “send message”. For each tool you decide how Claude may use it:

3.3 Interactive connectors

Some connectors show small applications right in the conversation instead of returning text only, for example Asana, Slack, Figma, Canva or Box. They appear as a card in the chat or as a fullscreen view. In Team and Enterprise, Owners can switch off these interactive tool calls without blocking the connector itself.

Team and Enterprise plans add an organization layer. An Owner decides which connectors are available at all. Each member then signs in with their own account, so Claude works with that person's permissions.

4.1 Enabling a connector for the organization

1. As Owner or Primary Owner, open Organization settings and choose Connectors.
2. Click Browse connectors and select the service.
3. Choose Add to your team.
4. Members then find the connector under Customize → Connectors and connect it with their own account.

4.2 Who does what

4.3 Central sign-in via the identity provider

For some connectors, Team and Enterprise organizations can handle sign-in centrally through their identity provider. Members then get access automatically at first login, derived from their groups. Anyone deprovisioned in the identity provider loses access automatically. According to the Help Center this currently covers Asana, Atlassian, Canva, Figma, Linear, Notion and Slack among others, with Okta as the identity provider for now. Check the current status, the list is growing.

4.4 Work accounts only inside the organization (Enterprise)

Enterprise Owners can turn on Connector domain restriction under Organization settings → Organization and access. Personal Claude accounts can then no longer connect connectors such as Gmail, Google Drive, Microsoft 365, Slack or Notion with an address on your verified domain. Important: this only applies to new connections. Existing connections stay in place.

The Microsoft 365 connector links Claude to SharePoint, OneDrive, Outlook and Teams. It is available on all plans but needs a Microsoft Entra tenant with a Business plan. Personal accounts such as @outlook.com or @hotmail.com do not work.

5.1 What the connector can do

The read tools are on by default. The write tools need separate consent to the extended permissions and must be enabled in the organization.

5.2 Setup in three roles

1. Owner in Claude: Organization settings → Connectors, + Add, All available, find Microsoft 365 and choose Add to your team.
2. Entra Global Administrator: consent once. Either sign in directly via the connector in Claude and confirm the permissions on behalf of the whole organization, or add the service principals manually in Entra ID and open the admin consent URLs.
3. Members: Customize → Connectors, choose Microsoft 365 and sign in with the company account.

5.3 What you should know

• Claude works with delegated permissions, so on behalf of each person and only with their rights.
• Email search covers your own mailbox and shared mailboxes, not the separate Online Archive.
• SharePoint search cannot be limited to individual sites, it runs across the whole tenant (within the person's rights).
• Write tools send no attachments. Sending, forwarding and drafts with attachments are rejected.
• Emails sent by Claude carry a header marking them as agent-initiated, files and Teams messages currently do not.
• Admins can revoke individual Microsoft Graph permissions or limit access to specific groups.

For Google Workspace there are connectors for Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Drive. They are available to all users of Claude and Claude Desktop.

6.1 What the connectors can do

• Gmail: search and read email, create drafts, reply, forward, send, manage labels. Claude does not read the content of attachments.
• Google Calendar: view, create, change and delete events, find shared free time, respond to invitations.
• Google Drive: search files, read Docs, Sheets, Slides and PDFs, create folders, save, share and move files.

By default Claude asks before sending email, sharing or moving files. In Team and Enterprise, Owners can let certain actions run without repeated approval.

6.2 Setup

1. Team and Enterprise: an Owner or Primary Owner enables the connectors at organization level.
2. Google Workspace admin: allow Claude as a trusted app in the Google Admin Console under Security → API Controls. The change takes about 15 minutes.
3. Members: Customize → Connectors, choose the service, sign in with the Google account.

The directory holds many more services. For everyday office work in mid-sized companies these are especially common:

Exactly which tools a connector brings, for reading and writing, is listed on its page in the directory. Read it before connecting.

7.1 Claude directly in Slack

In addition to the Slack connector there is Claude Tag: Claude then works directly in your Slack channels, with access governed by admins. Claude Tag has been available for Team and Enterprise since June 23, 2026. The connector brings Slack to Claude, Claude Tag brings Claude to Slack.

If a system is not in the directory, you can connect it through your own remote MCP server. MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the open standard that the directory connectors also run on.

8.1 Adding as an individual (Pro, Max)

1. Open Customize → Connectors, choose + Add and Add custom connector.
2. Enter a name and the URL of the remote MCP server.
3. Choose the sign-in method and save.

8.2 Adding for the organization (Team, Enterprise)

1. As Owner: Organization settings → Connectors, Add, Custom, Web.
2. Enter name and server URL, review the authentication settings.
3. Choose the OAuth option: Claude's published identity (recommended), automatic registration or your own OAuth client credentials.
4. Optionally add request headers for API keys or bearer tokens.

8.3 Sign-in options

8.4 The most important limitation

8.5 Security for your own connections

• Only connect servers from organizations you trust. Your own connections are not reviewed by Anthropic.
• Check the requested OAuth permissions when signing in.
• Expect prompt injection: a malicious server can deliver hidden instructions.
• A shared API key in Team or Enterprise gives all users exactly the rights of that key.
• Editing is not possible directly: remove the custom connector and add it again with the new details.

A plugin is a ready-made package for a role, a team or a company. It bundles skills and commands, connectors, sub-agents and hooks so you do not have to set up every part separately. Plugins are available on the paid plans Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise.

9.1 Plugins as a user

1. Open Customize in the left sidebar, tab Plugins.
2. Browse under Discover and install with Add.
3. In the chat or in Cowork, call the plugin's skills with / or +.

Plugins sync across web, Claude Desktop, Cowork and Claude Code. Anthropic maintains a growing library for knowledge work, for example for sales, finance, legal, marketing, HR and operations.

9.2 Managing plugins in the organization

Owners in Team and Enterprise manage plugins under Organization settings → Plugins & skills. Cowork and Skills must be enabled in the organization first. For each plugin they decide how it is distributed:

Sources are Anthropic marketplaces, manually uploaded ZIP files (up to 200 MB) or a synced GitHub repository (GitLab in beta). In Enterprise, settings can be overridden per group.

A connector reaches as far as the account you connect it with. Go through these points before connecting a new connector.

1. Purpose: what exactly do you need the connector for? Would an upload or project knowledge be enough?
2. Your own rights: what can you see in the source system? Claude reaches exactly that far.
3. Data classes: what is in the source: uncritical, internal or sensitive (HR data, health data, applications)? For sensitive data, clear it with data protection and IT first.
4. Tools: read only, or also write, send, delete? Set writing tools to “Needs approval” or “Blocked”.
5. Provider: reviewed directory connector or your own connection? Your own connections belong in the hands of IT.
6. Place of processing: the connected service processes data on its own infrastructure and under its own terms, possibly outside the EU. Claude's inference settings do not apply there.
7. Account: connect only the work account, never mix personal accounts with company data.
8. Plan: use Team or Enterprise for company data. Content is not used for training there, and a data processing agreement (DPA) is standard.
9. Test: after connecting, ask an uncritical question first.
10. Review: every few months, check what is connected and disconnect unused connectors under Customize → Connectors.

Keep learning: the Anthropic Help Center at support.claude.com and the courses of the Anthropic Academy. How to use connectors in multi-step tasks is covered in the Claude Cowork Guide, matching project templates in the Claude Project Library.