Add Claude as an MCP Connector

HelpGuides natively supports Model Context Protocol (MCP), which means you can connect your documentation directly to Claude as a custom connector. Once connected, Claude can search, retrieve, and reference your documentation in real time — without crawling or indexing.

What you'll need

• A HelpGuides project with Enable Model Context Protocol turned on
• Your project's MCP URL
• A Claude account. Custom connectors work on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans. Free plans are limited to one custom connector, so remove any other one before adding HelpGuides.

Finding your MCP URL

Your MCP URL is unique to your HelpGuides project. It's your site's domain followed by /mcp:

To copy your exact URL, open your project, click AI Settings and look on the Model Context Protocol tab. See AI Settings.

Add a custom connector to Claude

1. Sign in to claude.ai.
2. Go to Customize, then Connectors.
3. Click +, then Add custom connector.

4. Enter a descriptive name (e.g. My Documentation).

5. Paste your MCP URL into the remote MCP server URL field.
6. Click Add.
7. Click Connect next to your new connector. Sign in to HelpGuides if asked, then click Approve to give Claude access.

Once connected, Claude can query your documentation directly from any conversation.

Team and Enterprise plans: An owner adds the connector for the organization first. In Organization settings, then Connectors, they click Add, hover over Custom, select Web, enter the MCP URL and click Add. Each member then finds it in Customize, then Connectors, and clicks Connect.

Adding HelpGuides to Claude Code

If you use Claude Code, MCP servers are configured via the CLI rather than the connector UI. Run the following command in your terminal:

Then open a Claude Code session and run /mcp to trigger the OAuth authentication flow. Once authenticated, your HelpGuides documentation tools will be available in all Claude Code sessions.

To verify the server was added successfully:

By default, the server is only available in the current project directory. Add --scope user to make it available in all your projects:

Adding HelpGuides to Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop uses the connectors on your Claude account. Add HelpGuides as a custom connector using the steps above and it's available in Claude Desktop too, with nothing else to configure.

The claude_desktop_config.json file is for local MCP servers, and Claude Desktop won't connect to a remote URL placed in it directly. If you do need to configure HelpGuides in the file, run it through the mcp-remote bridge, which needs Node.js and signs you in with OAuth on first use:

The config file is located at:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Save the file and restart Claude Desktop.

Enabling the connector in a conversation

1. Open a new conversation in Claude
2. Click the + button in the lower-left of the chat interface
3. Hover over Connectors
4. Toggle on your HelpGuides connector

Claude will now have access to your documentation for the duration of that conversation.

What Claude can do with your documentation

Once connected, Claude can use every MCP tool your HelpGuides project exposes, including:

• search and get_article: find and read your articles
• create_article: draft new articles
• update_article and update_article_blocks: edit articles, saved as a working copy for you to review
• publish_article: publish or schedule an article
• get_categories, set_category, create_category and update_category: organize articles
• create_image_upload, finish_image_upload and add_image_to_article: add screenshots and other images
• build_links: link related published articles to an article
• list_agent_comments, get_comments and resolve_comment: act on review comments left in the editor
• get_stale_articles: find articles that are due for review

This lets you search for existing coverage, draft new articles and update content without leaving your conversation. For every tool and its parameters, see Model Context Protocol Endpoints.

Try these prompts

Once your connector is enabled, here are some prompts to get started:

• "Search my documentation for articles about [topic]" — find existing coverage before writing anything new
• "Create a draft article about [topic] and link to related articles" — generate a new article with internal links
• "Review this article URL and suggest improvements" — get feedback on existing content
• "Update the article at [URL] to include [new information]" — edit an article by passing its URL directly

Claude will search your docs, draft content, and push updates as drafts for your review — you always have the final say before anything is published.

Revoking access

To disconnect HelpGuides from Claude at any time:

• claude.ai and Claude Desktop: Go to Customize, then Connectors, open the menu next to your HelpGuides connector and remove it.
• Claude Code: Run claude mcp remove helpguides in your terminal.
• Claude Desktop with mcp-remote: Remove the helpguides entry from claude_desktop_config.json and restart Claude Desktop.

You can reconnect at any time by following the setup steps above. To cut off every AI assistant at once, turn off Enable Model Context Protocol in AI Settings.

Troubleshooting

The connector shows as disconnected

Re-authenticate by clicking Connect next to the connector in Customize, then Connectors, or run /mcp in Claude Code to start the OAuth flow again.

The connector was added mid-session and isn't showing tools

MCP connectors are loaded at session start. Start a new conversation and enable the connector from the + menu.

OAuth errors during authentication

Make sure Enable Model Context Protocol is on in AI Settings; when it's off, the MCP URL doesn't respond. Sign in to HelpGuides with an account that has access to the project, and click Approve. If Claude reports that the token isn't authorized for this project, you approved access with a different HelpGuides account: remove the connector and connect again with the right one. Contact support if the problem continues.

For more on how HelpGuides implements MCP, see Model Context Protocol and Using LLMS.txt.