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Connect your tunnel from Claude

This guide shows how to plug your MCP Gateway tunnel into claude.ai using the Connectors UI — no JSON config, no desktop app.

Prerequisites​

  • A running tunnel (see Quickstart and Examples).
  • A public URL in the form https://<TUNNEL_ID>.mcp-gateway.info/mcp.
  • A Claude account with access to Connectors (Pro / Team / Enterprise).

Step 1 — Open Settings​

In claude.ai, click your avatar in the bottom-left corner and pick Settings. You'll land on the General tab.

Settings → General in claude.ai

Step 2 — Go to Connectors​

In the Settings sidebar, choose Connectors. You'll see Anthropic's built-in integrations (GitHub, Gmail, Google Calendar, …) and, at the bottom, any custom connectors you've already added.

Connectors tab

If you see a banner saying "Connectors have moved to Customize" — that's Claude rolling the feature into the new Customize page. Both routes still work. Custom connectors live under the same dialog described below.

Step 3 — Add a custom connector​

Click Add custom connector at the bottom of the list. A modal opens with two fields:

  • Name — any label, e.g. MCP Gateway.
  • Remote MCP server URL — https://<TUNNEL_ID>.mcp-gateway.info/mcp

Leave Advanced settings alone — the Gateway tunnel doesn't need OAuth.

Add custom connector modal with Name and Remote MCP server URL fields

Click Add. Claude probes the URL, lists the tools your MCP server exposes, and the connector appears in the list with a Connect button. Hit Connect to enable it.

Step 4 — Use it in a chat​

Open a new chat. Click the tools icon below the prompt, toggle your custom connector on, and Claude will route tool calls through https://<TUNNEL_ID>.mcp-gateway.info/mcp for that conversation.

Troubleshooting​

  • "Failed to connect" — confirm the URL ends with /mcp and that mcp-gw create is still running on your machine. Hit the URL with curl to verify it's reachable.
  • No tools listed — your local MCP server probably crashed. Check the terminal running supergateway (or your native server).
  • 502 / 504 in claude.ai — same as in the main troubleshooting page; the agent is offline or the local server didn't respond in time.

Security notes​

  • Anyone who has your https://<TUNNEL_ID>.mcp-gateway.info/mcp URL can call your local MCP server. Treat it as a credential.
  • If a URL leaks, delete the tunnel with mcp-gw rm --id <TUNNEL_ID> and create a fresh one with mcp-gw create --new — the old URL stops working immediately.