Most people open Claude, type a question, and get a text response. That is about 10% of what Claude can actually do. The other 90% unlocks when you connect Claude to the tools you already use every day.
Connectors let Claude build 3D models in Blender, find what's going viral with Sandcastles, search your Zoom recordings, design in Canva, apply to jobs on Indeed, compare hotels on Booking.com, manage your email, check your Stripe payments, and run your ads. Instead of copying and pasting between apps, you tell Claude what you want and it goes and does it.
There are two types of connectors, and this guide covers both. Native connectors are the ones listed in Claude's connector directory. Click Connect, authorize the app, and you're done. MCP (Model Context Protocol) connectors require pasting in a URL and logging into your account, but they open the door to hundreds of additional integrations that go far beyond what's built in.
Two types at a glance. Native = one click. MCP = paste a URL. Both take about 2 minutes to set up per connector.
The 4 Secret Connectors to Install First
These are the four from my video. Each one gives Claude a skill most people don't know it has.
Set up all four with one prompt
Paste this into Claude and it walks you through every step, one connector at a time.
I want to connect four tools to Claude: Blender, Sandcastles, Zoom and ChatGPT. Walk me through setting them up one at a time, in that order. For each one, tell me exactly what to click, wait for me to say "done" before moving to the next, and if something doesn't work, help me fix it before we continue. Start by asking whether I'm using the Claude desktop app, and whether I already have Blender installed, a Sandcastles account and an OpenAI API key.
1. Blender - Build real 3D models
Type a sentence and watch an actual 3D object assemble itself in Blender.
You need the Claude desktop app (this one doesn't work in the browser) and Blender 4.2 or later, free from blender.org.
- In Claude, go to Customize > Connectors, search for Blender, and click Add.
- Follow the link to the Blender MCP Server page and drag its install link into your Blender window. Allow Blender to add the extension repository, then drag the same link in again to install the add-on.
- In Blender, go to Edit > Preferences > Add-ons, find BlenderMCP, enable it and click to start the MCP server.
You only install the add-on once. Start the server in Blender each time you want Claude to build.
Build a low-poly cozy cabin in the woods in Blender: a wooden cabin with a chimney, three pine trees, a small path and warm lighting coming from the windows. Build it step by step and tell me what you're adding as you go.
2. Sandcastles - Find out what's going viral in your niche
Claude studies every viral video in your niche, so you can ask what's blowing up right now and what you should post next, and it answers with real data.
You need a Sandcastles Pro plan or higher.
- In Claude, go to Customize > Connectors, search for Sandcastles, and click Add.
- Sign in with your Sandcastles account and approve access.
If it doesn't show up in the directory, add it as a custom connector with this URL: https://mcp.sandcastles.ai/
Use Sandcastles to show me what's blowing up right now in [YOUR NICHE]. Find the top-performing videos from the last 30 days, tell me what the hooks and formats have in common, and give me 5 video ideas I should post next based on that data.
3. Zoom - Search everything ever said in your meetings
Ask Claude anything that was ever said in any meeting, and it already knows every action item you're on the hook for.
- In Claude, go to Customize > Connectors, search for Zoom, and click Connect.
- Sign in to Zoom and approve access.
Go through my Zoom meetings from the last 30 days and list every action item I'm on the hook for, who I owe it to and when it's due. Then tell me anything important that was said that I might have forgotten.
4. ChatGPT - Get two AIs to answer the same question
Yes, really. You can connect ChatGPT to Claude, have both answer the exact same question, and let Claude take the best from both.
There's no official ChatGPT connector yet, so this uses a free open-source connector and your own OpenAI API key. Get a key at platform.openai.com (API usage is billed by OpenAI, separately from your ChatGPT plan).
The easy way: open the Claude desktop app, choose Code, and paste this:
Install the open-source mcp-openai server (github.com/mzxrai/mcp-openai) as an MCP server in my Claude desktop app so Claude can ask ChatGPT questions. My OpenAI API key is [PASTE YOUR KEY]. Add it to my Claude desktop config, tell me when to restart Claude, and then test that it works.
Then, in a normal chat:
Ask ChatGPT this question and answer it yourself too: [YOUR QUESTION]. Show me both answers side by side, tell me where they agree and disagree, and then give me one final answer that takes the best from both.
Treat your API key like a password. Never paste it anywhere public.
Setting Up Native Connectors
Native connectors are the fastest way to supercharge Claude. Setup takes about 30 seconds per connector.
Step 1: Click Customize. On the left side of Claude, click the Customize button.
Step 2: Go to Connectors. Click the Connectors tab.
Step 3: Discover and connect. Open Discover to browse the directory. Search for the one you want, click Connect, and log in to authorize.
You can enable multiple connectors at once. Each one is independent, so turning on Canva won't affect your Zoom connection. Any Claude plan can use connectors. Some need a paid plan on the app's side, and some aren't available in every region yet. Free plans can add one custom (MCP) connector.
11 Native Connectors Worth Setting Up
The directory has a lot more than eleven connectors. These are the ones I'd start with. The first five are the ones from my video.
1. Canva - Design directly from Claude
Tell Claude what to create, give it your brand colors or templates, and it generates full Instagram carousels, presentations, thumbnails, and brand kits directly inside your Canva account. My Claude and Canva masterclass goes much deeper.
Create an Instagram carousel about 5 AI productivity tips. Use my brand colors (dark blue and gold). Make it 10 slides with a hook on the first slide and a CTA on the last. Style: clean, modern, minimal text per slide. Use bold headers with 1-2 sentences of supporting text.
2. Zoom - Search and summarize your meetings
Claude can pull from all of your past Zoom meetings. Search recordings, get summaries, extract action items, and draft follow-up emails.
Setup is in the 4 secret connectors section at the top.
Search my recent Zoom meetings for any discussion about [PROJECT NAME]. For each relevant meeting, give me: 1. Key decisions that were made 2. Action items and who owns them 3. Any deadlines mentioned 4. Unresolved questions Then draft a follow-up email summarizing the action items.
3. Indeed - Auto-apply to matching jobs
Connect Indeed, upload your resume, and Claude will pull every matching job posting and apply to them for you. It tailors each application to the job description. The Indeed connector finds the matching jobs, then Claude in Chrome opens each listing in your browser and applies for you.
Search Indeed for [JOB TITLE] roles in [LOCATION] posted in the last 7 days. Filter for: - Remote or hybrid options - Salary above [MINIMUM] - Companies with 50+ employees For the top 20 matches, show me the job title, company, salary range, and a match score vs. my resume. Then use Claude in Chrome to apply to any role with a match score above 75.
Always review what Claude submits before it goes out. Auto-applying is powerful, but you want to make sure the roles actually match.
4. Booking.com - Search and compare hotels in real time
Tell Claude where you want to go, your dates, and your budget. It searches Booking.com in real time and compares hotels by price, rating, location and amenities. When you find the one, you book it on Booking.com through the link Claude gives you. No sign-in needed for the search.
I'm traveling to [CITY] from [CHECK-IN DATE] to [CHECK-OUT DATE]. Find me the best hotel options: - Budget: under $[AMOUNT] per night - Must have: free WiFi, breakfast - Prefer: walkable to city center - Rating: 8.0+ on Booking.com Compare the top 5 options with price, rating, distance to center, standout features and the link to book.
5. Notion - Organize and search your workspace
Claude pulls from your Notion notes, docs, databases, and pages. It can organize messy notes, turn ideas into structured plans, and create new pages with proper formatting.
Search my Notion workspace for everything related to [PROJECT]. Then: 1. Create a project overview page with all relevant notes linked 2. Build a task database with deadlines I've mentioned 3. Identify any gaps or missing information I should fill in 4. Suggest a weekly planning template based on my workflow
6. Google Drive - Search and create files across your Drive
Claude can search every file in your Drive, pull data from spreadsheets, summarize long docs, and create new files with the formatting you want.
7. Gmail - Manage your inbox
Claude can read, sort, summarize, and draft replies across your entire inbox.
Look through my inbox from the last 3 days and categorize them into: 1. Urgent (needs reply today) 2. Important (reply this week) 3. FYI (no reply needed) 4. Can archive For the urgent ones, draft a short reply for each.
8. Google Calendar - Manage your schedule and events
Claude can create events, move meetings, find open slots, and schedule things based on natural-language requests. Combine with Gmail and Slack for automatic scheduling from messages.
9. Slack - Catch up and reply faster
Search my Slack for any messages from the last 24 hours that mention me or my projects. Summarize what I missed and flag anything that needs a response. Draft replies for the ones that are time-sensitive.
10. Shopify - Manage your store from Claude
Update products, check orders, review inventory, and pull sales insights without leaving Claude.
11. Stripe - Monitor payments and revenue
Pull my Stripe data for this month and give me: 1. Total revenue vs. last month 2. Number of new subscribers 3. Churn rate 4. Any failed payments I should follow up on 5. My top 3 products by revenue
Combine them. Slack + Google Calendar to auto-schedule meetings mentioned in messages. Notion + Gmail to turn email threads into organized project notes. Shopify + Stripe for a full picture of your store and payments together.
What Are MCP Connectors?
MCP (Model Context Protocol) connectors are external integrations you add to Claude by pasting in a remote server URL. They open the door to hundreds of tools that aren't built in natively, including Facebook Ads, Higgsfield, GitHub, Google Analytics, and more.
Setup takes about 2 minutes per connector. Go to Customize, click the Connectors tab, then + Add, then Add custom connector. Give it a name, paste the full URL (with https:// in front), click Continue, sign in to the service, then click Add. Free plans can add one custom connector; on Team and Enterprise an owner usually adds it first.
Custom connectors are made by third parties, so only add ones from a source you trust. The URLs below come from the tool providers. My 4 MCPs guide has more.
The Best MCP Connectors
1. Facebook Ads - Manage ad campaigns
Remote MCP server URL: https://mcp.facebook.com/ads
My Meta Ads connector guide covers it step by step.
Pull my Facebook Ads performance for the last 7 days. For each active campaign, show me: - Spend - CPA (cost per acquisition) - ROAS (return on ad spend) - CTR (click-through rate) Flag any campaigns with CPA above $[TARGET] or ROAS below 2x. Suggest budget reallocation from underperformers to top performers, and don't change anything until I approve.
2. Higgsfield - Generate AI videos from text
Remote MCP server URL: https://mcp.higgsfield.ai/mcp
Generate short cinematic AI videos directly from a Claude prompt. Great for hooks, ads, and social clips.
3. GitHub - Review pull requests and code
Remote MCP server URL: https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/
Look at the open pull requests in my [REPO NAME] repository. For each PR: 1. Summarize what changed 2. Flag any potential issues 3. Check if tests are passing 4. Suggest improvements Prioritize the ones that have been open the longest.
4. Google Analytics - Analyze your website traffic
Remote MCP server URL: https://mcp.portermetrics.com/mcp
Pull my Google Analytics for the last 30 days. Show me: 1. Total sessions and users 2. Where my traffic is coming from (organic, social, direct, email) 3. Which pages have the highest bounce rate 4. Any traffic spikes and what caused them Compare to the previous 30 days and highlight the biggest changes.
More Prompts for the 5 Connectors From the Video
Canva, Meta Ads, Booking.com, Higgsfield and Gmail are all covered above. Here are the additional prompts from the original five-connector video.
Canva: Instagram Carousel
Create a 10-slide Instagram carousel about 5 ways to use AI in marketing. Use my brand template. Bold headlines, minimal text per slide, and a CTA on the last slide.
Canva: Pitch Deck
Build a 15-slide pitch deck for my startup [name]. Include problem, solution, market size, business model, traction, team, and ask. Use a dark professional theme.
Canva: Weekly Social Posts
Design 5 social media posts for this week's content. Topics: [list]. Use my brand colors and fonts. 1080x1080 for Instagram feed.
Meta Ads: Review Active Campaigns
Show me all my active Meta Ads campaigns. Which have the best cost per result? Which should I pause?
Meta Ads: Analyze Performance
Analyze my ad performance over the last 30 days. What trends do you see? Which audiences are converting best? Give me 3 specific recommendations to improve ROAS.
Meta Ads: Create a Campaign
Create a new conversion campaign targeting women aged 25 to 40 in the US interested in fitness. Daily budget $20. Use my best-performing ad creative as the baseline. Show me the full setup and wait for my approval before you create or publish anything.
Booking.com: Find Hotels
Find me hotels in Tokyo for July 10 to 17. Budget under $150 per night. Must have free WiFi, 8+ reviews, and be within walking distance of a train station. Show the top 5 ranked by value.
Booking.com: Plan a Multi-City Trip
I'm planning a 10-day Europe trip: Paris 3 nights, Barcelona 3 nights, Rome 4 nights. Find the best hotel for each city under $120 per night. Compare them and show the total cost for the entire trip.
Higgsfield: Product Photo
Generate a product photo of a minimalist water bottle on a marble countertop. Soft natural lighting, clean background, slight angle. High-end e-commerce style.
Higgsfield: Video Ad
Create a 15-second video ad for my skincare brand. Show the product being applied in a bright bathroom setting. UGC style, natural and authentic, not overly produced.
Higgsfield: Social Images
Generate 5 different social media images for my fitness brand. Mix lifestyle shots, product close-ups, and motivational quote graphics. Keep a consistent color palette across all five.
Gmail: Triage Unread Emails
Show me all unread emails from the last 24 hours. Rank them by urgency: respond now, respond today, or can wait. For each urgent one, draft a reply.
Gmail: Review a Client Thread
Find all emails from [client name] in the last 30 days. Summarize the thread and tell me if there are any action items I have not addressed.
Gmail: Draft a Follow-Up
Draft a professional follow-up to [name] about [topic]. Reference our last conversation and include a soft deadline of Friday. Keep it under 100 words.
Gmail: Review Subscriptions and Newsletters
Go through my inbox and find all subscription and newsletter emails from the last month. List them and tell me which ones I have never opened so I can unsubscribe.
Connector Power Combos
Individual connectors are useful. Combined, they replace whole workflows.
The Content Creator Stack: Canva + Notion + Slack. Draft ideas in Notion, design in Canva, coordinate with your team in Slack, all from one Claude chat.
The Sales Ops Stack: Stripe + Gmail + Google Calendar. Pull revenue insights, draft follow-ups to failed payments, and schedule check-in calls with top customers.
The Ad Buyer Stack: Facebook Ads + Google Analytics + Higgsfield. Pull performance data, tie it to on-site behavior, and generate new video creative for the winners.
The Manager Stack: Slack + Zoom + Notion + Google Calendar. Claude catches you up on Slack, summarizes Zoom meetings, updates Notion project pages, and keeps your calendar aligned.
Start with two. Don't set up everything at once. Pick the two connectors that match your biggest daily workflow, connect them, and build from there.
The Best Prompt Formula
The best connector prompts follow a simple formula: name the tool, describe the data you want, specify the format, and tell Claude what to do with the results. "Check my Stripe for this month's revenue and compare it to last month" beats "how are my sales doing."
Quick Reference: Native Connector Setup
- Click Customize on the left side (5 sec)
- Click the Connectors tab (5 sec)
- Open Discover and search for the connector (10 sec)
- Click Connect and log in to authorize (15-30 sec)
Quick Reference: MCP Connector Setup
- Click Customize, then the Connectors tab
- Click + Add, then Add custom connector
- Name it and paste the remote MCP server URL
- Click Continue, sign in to the service, then click Add
Open Claude, click Customize, go to Connectors, and connect your first native connector. The whole process takes under a minute. Then come back here and try one of the prompts above.
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