How to Connect Your API to ChatGPT, Claude and Cursor

"Does it work with ChatGPT?" is now a question on sales calls and in support tickets. Customers want to ask their assistant to pull a report, create a record or send a message in your product, without switching tabs.

You don't need a separate integration for each assistant. You need one MCP server for your API, and a short page that tells users how to add it. This guide covers both.

Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code and most other assistants can connect to remote MCP servers. The user pastes a URL, signs in to your product, and the assistant can then search your docs and call your API on their behalf.

So "working with AI assistants" comes down to three things you provide:

1. An MCP URL for your API.
2. Sign-in, so each call runs as the user, with their permissions.
3. Clear tool names and descriptions, so the assistant picks the right action.

If you don't have an MCP server yet, see How to Turn Your API into an MCP Server. With DocStar, every published API collection already has one at https://mcp.docstar.io/connector/<your-slug>.

Copy this section into your own docs as a "Use [Product] with AI" page. Replace acme with your slug or your custom MCP domain.

1. Open Settings, then Connectors.
2. Choose Add custom connector.
3. Paste https://mcp.docstar.io/connector/acme and save.
4. Start a chat, ask for something in Acme, and sign in when prompted.

claude mcp add --transport http acme https://mcp.docstar.io/connector/acme

Add this to .cursor/mcp.json in the project, or to the global MCP settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "acme": {
      "url": "https://mcp.docstar.io/connector/acme"
    }
  }
}

Use the same url in the client's MCP configuration. DocStar's MCP tab generates the exact snippet for each client.

ChatGPT supports custom MCP connectors on plans and workspaces where they are enabled. Add a new connector, paste the same URL and sign in. Menu names change often, so link to OpenAI's current help page from your docs instead of copying screenshots.

A user who connects and then gets a wrong answer rarely tries again. Four things make the first call land:

• Name tools the way users ask. create_invoice beats postV2InvoiceResource. In DocStar, give your top 5 to 10 endpoints dedicated tools with plain names.
• Describe when to use each action, not just what it is. The assistant reads these words on every request.
• Separate reads from writes. DocStar's server uses a read-only tool for GET requests and a separate tool for changes, so assistants that ask for approval only interrupt on writes.
• Write a skill. A short guide with your main workflows ("to refund an order, first find it with List Orders") stops the assistant from guessing the order of calls.

• Sign-in per user. Add your OAuth details once. Users sign in as themselves and the assistant never sees their token.
• API keys without pasting. For key-based APIs, the server's key tool stores the user's key for later calls, so it doesn't sit in chat history.
• Private by default if you need it. Turn on Require sign-in when connecting for internal APIs.

Details in Securing Your DocStar MCP Server.

An MCP server nobody knows about doesn't help. Once it works:

• Add a "Use with AI" page to your docs with the steps above.
• Put the MCP URL in your API reference header and onboarding emails.
• Show a 30-second clip of an assistant doing a real task in your product.
• Publish an llms.txt so assistants that read the web find your docs. DocStar generates one for every site. See Is Your Documentation Readable by AI?

Do I need a different integration for each assistant? No. One remote MCP server works across clients that support MCP.

Can users connect without an account in my product? Only to read public docs, if you allow it. Calling the API requires sign-in.

What if my API changes? With DocStar, update and publish the docs. The MCP server serves the published version, so there is nothing to redeploy.

Can I use my own domain? Yes. Point mcp.yourcompany.com at DocStar and the old URL keeps working.

Publish your API on DocStar and your MCP URL is ready to share the same day.