Vander Labs

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Connect Vander Labs to ChatGPT

ChatGPT can connect to remote MCP servers that you add yourself. OpenAI has renamed this feature more than once: it launched as Developer mode with custom connectors, and as of October 2026 OpenAI's documentation describes adding a custom MCP server from the Plugins page. The steps below follow the current documentation and note the older names where your menus may differ.

Before you start

  • Plan: as of October 2026, OpenAI says account and workspace policies decide who can add custom MCP servers. Custom servers are not available on the Free plan. On Business, Enterprise and Edu workspaces an admin or owner has to allow them, and creating one may be limited to admins. For Plus and Pro, availability has changed during the rollout, so check your plan's current limits before you start.
  • Where: set it up in ChatGPT on the web. The connection belongs to your account.
  • Your URL: open Connect and copy your connector URL. Keep it private; anyone with it can use your library.

Steps

  1. In ChatGPT on the web, open Plugins from the sidebar. Your version may call this page Apps or Connectors. If you see a Developer mode switch under Settings (look under Apps and Connectors, or Connectors, then Advanced), turn it on first.
  2. Click the + button, then Add custom MCP server.
  3. Name it Vander Labs and add a short description, for example "Loads the skills saved in my Vander Labs library".
  4. Under Connection, paste your connector URL as the server URL.
  5. Under Authentication choose No authentication. Vander Labs uses the URL itself as the key; there is no account to sign into.
  6. Read the risk warning. It applies to any third-party server; Vander Labs only returns skill text and records the call. Confirm, then click Create as a plugin.
  7. ChatGPT lists the tools it found: list_my_skills, search_skills and load_skill. Install the plugin.
  8. Start a new chat and pick Vander Labs (type @ and choose it, or enable it in the chat's tools menu, depending on your version). Ask "What skills do I have in Vander Labs?" to test.

Using skills

Ask for the task normally. When your request matches a saved skill, ChatGPT loads the instructions with load_skill and follows them. If it does not, name the skill or ask it to check your Vander Labs library first. Some workspaces are set to ask you before a tool runs; that is normal, and you can approve it.

If something goes wrong

  • No Plugins page, or no option to add a custom server: your plan or workspace does not allow custom MCP servers. Ask your workspace admin, or check your plan's current limits.
  • Connection fails: check that the URL is complete. If you made a new URL on the Connect page, delete the old plugin and add the new URL.
  • ChatGPT never uses the plugin: make sure it is selected in the chat, and that the skill is saved in your Library.
  • Still stuck: write to us through the Contact page and say which ChatGPT plan you are on and which page names you saw.