Connect AI assistants (MCP)

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that connects AI assistants to apps. When you connect Gistr, your assistant can search and read your library, save links, make files and help you study, from inside its own chat.

Illustration of a notebook connected to several chat windows

Connect an assistant

  1. In Gistr, open Settings, then MCP.
  2. Copy your connection URL. It is https://ai.gistr.so/mcp.
  3. Add the URL to your AI assistant as a custom connector.
  4. Approve access. A Gistr page opens and shows which app asks for access.
  5. Ask your assistant about your library.

You must have a verified Gistr account. Guest accounts cannot connect.

Setup by app

You can connect Claude (web, desktop and mobile), ChatGPT with Developer mode, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code and other apps that support remote MCP servers with sign-in.

In Claude Code, run this command. Then run /mcp and select Authenticate.

claude mcp add --transport http gistr https://ai.gistr.so/mcp/

In Cursor, VS Code and other apps that use a JSON file, add this entry to the MCP settings:

{ "mcpServers": { "gistr": { "type": "http", "url": "https://ai.gistr.so/mcp/" } } }

In Claude and ChatGPT, add a custom connector in the settings of the app, then paste the URL.

What your assistant can do

  • Find and read: search your threads, collections and notes. Read the full text of a source, for example a transcript or a PDF.
  • Save: capture a link to your inbox, make a thread from a link, add a source to a thread, and upload a file.
  • Write: add a formatted note to a thread, with links to the exact moment in a video or the exact page in a PDF.
  • Organize: make and rename collections, rename a thread, move a thread, and add pages.
  • Make files: turn the sources in a thread into a presentation, a document, a social post or a webpage, and export it.
  • Study: see what is due, make flashcards, quizzes, readings and plans, and practise them in the chat.

Try these requests:

  • "What do I know about spaced repetition? Check my Gistr."
  • "Save this link to my Gistr inbox."
  • "Make a quiz from my biology thread and test me."

When you study through an assistant, you give the answers and you rate the cards. The assistant must not do this for you.

Privacy, and how to disconnect

An assistant can only see your library after you approve access. It acts as you, so it can only see what your account can see.

  1. Open Settings, then MCP.
  2. Find the app in the Connected list. The list shows when you connected the app and when it was last used.
  3. Disconnect it. The app loses access to your library until you connect it again.

If you log out of Gistr on the web, apps that you connected with that session also disconnect.

Cost

Connecting is free. Reading and saving are free. AI features that Gistr runs for you, for example making a presentation, use AI credits from your plan, as they do inside Gistr. The free study model makes study material at no credit cost.

Frequently asked questions

Your session ended. This can happen when you log out of Gistr on the web. Connect the assistant again and approve access.

It can add to your library and rename or move threads. The MCP tools do not delete threads.

Reading and saving do not use credits. Features that Gistr runs, such as making a presentation, use credits from your plan.