# Connecting an AI to IdealList **Use Claude. A free account is enough.** Sign in to IdealList, generate a token, paste one URL into Claude's connector settings. About two minutes. Once connected, the AI can save your recipes, plan your week, build your shopping list, and log what you ate — by doing it, rather than telling you where to click. | | Works? | Costs | | --- | --- | --- | | **Claude** | Yes — recommended | Custom connectors work on the **free** plan | | **Grok** | Yes, on a paid plan | Confirmed on a paid account; free is untested | | **ChatGPT** | Not supported | See the bottom of this page | --- ## Step 1 — get your connector URL You need an IdealList account first. If you don't have one, sign up at **https://ideall.ist** — the AI helping you can't do this part for you. Then: 1. Go to **https://ideall.ist** and sign in. 2. Click your **avatar** in the top right. 3. Choose **Manage account**. 4. In the left sidebar of the window that opens, click **Connect AI**. 5. Click **Generate token**. 6. You'll see two boxes. Copy the **Connector URL** — the long one that starts with `https://ideall.ist/api/mcp?token=`. > The token is shown **once**. If you close the box without copying it, that's > fine — generate another one and revoke the old one from the same page. --- ## Step 2 — paste it into Claude A **free** Claude account can add one custom connector, which is exactly one more than you need. Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise work too. 1. Go to **claude.ai** and sign in. 2. Open **Customize → Connectors**. 3. Click **+**, then **Add custom connector**. 4. **Name:** `IdealList` 5. **URL:** paste the Connector URL you copied. 6. Click **Add**. On Team or Enterprise, an owner adds the connector once under Organization Settings → Connectors, and members connect individually. ### Using Grok instead Same idea: go to **grok.com/connectors**, choose **New Connector → Custom**, and paste the same Connector URL. Grok finds the tools by itself. Confirmed working on a paid Grok account. Whether a **free** Grok account can add custom connectors, we genuinely don't know — the documentation is unclear and we haven't tested it. If you're on free Grok, try it; if the Custom option isn't there, that's your answer. Claude's free plan definitely works. ### Claude Desktop or Claude Code Claude Desktop uses the same connector settings as claude.ai. For Claude Code, use the **token only** box rather than the Connector URL — a header keeps the token out of your shell history: ```sh claude mcp add --transport http ideallist https://ideall.ist/api/mcp \ --header "Authorization: Bearer " ``` --- ## Step 3 — check that it worked Start a new conversation and ask: > List my foods in IdealList. - **A list comes back (even an empty one)** — you're connected. Now say *"help me set up my first week"* and let it take it from there. - **"I don't have access to that"** — the connector didn't load. Restart the app; connectors often only attach on startup. - **"Unauthorized" or a 401** — the URL is wrong, was revoked, or got cut off when pasted. Generate a new one and paste the whole thing, `?token=` and all. - **It answers about food in general without using a tool** — it didn't notice the connector. Say "use the IdealList tools" explicitly. --- ## Keeping it safe Your Connector URL is a key to your IdealList account. Anyone holding it can read and change your recipes, lists, and food log. - **The token is inside the URL.** That's why it works in apps with only a URL box — but it also makes the URL as sensitive as a password. Don't paste it into a chat message, a shared doc, or a screenshot. - **Revoke anything you're unsure about.** Same page you created it on: avatar → Manage account → Connect AI → **Revoke**. It takes effect immediately and breaks only that one connector. - **Use one token per app**, labelled (`claude`, `laptop`), so you can revoke one without disturbing the others. Signing in directly, with no token to copy at all, is the better design and it's built — but it depends on a setting we've deliberately left off for now, so the token is the supported path today. --- ## Why ChatGPT isn't supported right now ChatGPT can technically talk to IdealList, but getting there costs more than we're willing to ask of you: - It needs a **paid** ChatGPT plan — and reportedly one of the *expensive* ones. Custom MCP connectors appear to require Pro, Enterprise, or Edu; a Plus subscription may not offer the option at all. Claude does this on a free plan. - Even then, connectors are only available after enabling **Developer mode**, which ChatGPT itself flags as **elevated risk** — it permanently unlocks the ability to add unverified connectors that "could modify or erase data" to your whole ChatGPT account, not just for IdealList. That's a real change to your account's security posture, and it's a lot to ask so you can save a recipe. A free Claude account does the same job with a URL and no warnings. If you're already an experienced ChatGPT user who runs custom connectors and understands that toggle, the Connector URL above works there too — set Authentication to **None**, since the token is already in the URL. We just don't recommend it, and we don't test it. --- ## For agents: what to do after connecting Call `list_my_groups` and `list_foods` first. That confirms auth works and tells you whether this is a brand-new account. If `list_foods` comes back empty, don't present a menu of features. Call `get_help(topic: "first-week")` and start the interview — an empty account is the one situation where the person genuinely cannot tell you what they want yet.