# Connect ChatGPT > Add Government Context as a custom MCP server in the ChatGPT desktop app or on the web. ## Before you connect Create a free Government Context account first. Authentication uses a browser OAuth flow: do not create, copy, or paste an API key. ## Connect Custom MCP connectors are a **paid ChatGPT plan** feature (Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, or Edu), not part of the free ChatGPT tier. Your Government Context account can still be free. ChatGPT stores custom MCP servers per application: if you use both the desktop app and the web, add Government Context in each. There is no way to add it in the ChatGPT mobile app. ### In the ChatGPT desktop app 1. Open your account menu at the bottom of the sidebar and click **Settings**. ![ChatGPT desktop app account menu with Settings highlighted.](https://www.governmentcontext.com/guides/how-to-install-government-context/chatgpt/01-open-settings.png) 2. In the Settings sidebar, find the **Integrations** group and click **Plugins**. ![ChatGPT desktop settings sidebar with Plugins highlighted under the Integrations group.](https://www.governmentcontext.com/guides/how-to-install-government-context/chatgpt/02-open-plugins.png) 3. On the Plugins screen, open the **MCPs** tab. ![The Plugins screen in ChatGPT desktop with the MCPs tab highlighted.](https://www.governmentcontext.com/guides/how-to-install-government-context/chatgpt/03-mcps-tab.png) 4. Under the **Servers** heading, click **Add server**. ![The MCPs tab in ChatGPT desktop showing the list of servers and the Add server button highlighted.](https://www.governmentcontext.com/guides/how-to-install-government-context/chatgpt/04-add-server.png) 5. Fill in the “Connect to a custom MCP” form and click **Save**: name it `Government Context`, set the type to **Streamable HTTP** (not STDIO), and use `https://mcp.governmentcontext.com` as the URL. Leave the bearer token and header fields empty. ![The custom MCP form in ChatGPT desktop with the name set to Government Context, type set to Streamable HTTP, and the server URL entered.](https://www.governmentcontext.com/guides/how-to-install-government-context/chatgpt/05-connect-form.png) 6. The server appears in your list as `government_context`. Click **Authenticate** to sign in and approve access. ![The saved government_context server in the ChatGPT desktop MCP list with an Authenticate button highlighted.](https://www.governmentcontext.com/guides/how-to-install-government-context/chatgpt/06-authenticate.png) ### On the web at chatgpt.com The web keeps custom MCP connectors behind developer mode, so you turn that on first. On Business, Enterprise, and Edu workspaces, an admin may need to allow custom connectors before you can. 1. Open your account menu and click **Settings**. ![The ChatGPT account menu on chatgpt.com with Settings highlighted.](https://www.governmentcontext.com/guides/how-to-install-government-context/chatgpt-web/01-settings.png) 2. In the Settings sidebar, click **Security and login**. ![The ChatGPT web Settings screen with Security and login highlighted in the sidebar.](https://www.governmentcontext.com/guides/how-to-install-government-context/chatgpt-web/02-security.png) 3. Find **Developer mode** and turn it on. ChatGPT flags this as elevated risk because it lets you add connectors it has not reviewed, which is what you want here. ![The Security and login screen on chatgpt.com with the Developer mode toggle switched on.](https://www.governmentcontext.com/guides/how-to-install-government-context/chatgpt-web/03-developer-mode.png) 4. Open the **Plugins** section, then click **Browse plugins**. ![The Plugins screen in ChatGPT web settings with Browse plugins highlighted.](https://www.governmentcontext.com/guides/how-to-install-government-context/chatgpt-web/04-browse-plugins.png) 5. Click the **+** button next to the search box. ![The Plugins gallery on chatgpt.com with the add button highlighted next to the search box.](https://www.governmentcontext.com/guides/how-to-install-government-context/chatgpt-web/05-add-plugin.png) 6. Fill in the **New Plugin** form and click **Create**: name it `Government Context`, choose **Server URL** for the connection, paste `https://mcp.governmentcontext.com`, select **OAuth** for authentication, and check the acknowledgment about custom MCP servers. ![The New Plugin form in ChatGPT web with the name Government Context, the server URL entered, OAuth selected, and the risk acknowledgment checked.](https://www.governmentcontext.com/guides/how-to-install-government-context/chatgpt-web/06-create-mcp-server.png) 7. On the next screen, click **Sign in with Government Context**. Create the free account first if you do not have one yet. ![The Add Government Context to ChatGPT dialog on the web with the Sign in with Government Context button highlighted.](https://www.governmentcontext.com/guides/how-to-install-government-context/chatgpt-web/07-connect.png) 8. Sign in, then click **Allow access**. This runs over OAuth, so ChatGPT receives a scoped token and you never copy or paste one. ![The Government Context OAuth screen asking to give ChatGPT access, with the Allow access button highlighted.](https://www.governmentcontext.com/guides/how-to-install-government-context/chatgpt-web/08-allow-access.png) 9. The connector now shows as connected, with OAuth listed for authorization. ![The connected Government Context plugin in ChatGPT web settings, showing the server URL and OAuth authorization.](https://www.governmentcontext.com/guides/how-to-install-government-context/chatgpt-web/09-confirm-connection.png) 10. Start a new chat in **Work** mode and ask it something. The connector is only available in Work mode, not in a regular chat. ![A ChatGPT web chat answering a question about federal energy grants, with Government Context shown as the source.](https://www.governmentcontext.com/guides/how-to-install-government-context/chatgpt-web/10-test-in-work-mode.png) Full walkthrough with every screen: [How to install Government Context](https://www.governmentcontext.com/guides/how-to-install-government-context). ## Your first query Start with a research question that makes the server compose search, detail, and comment tools: > Which trade associations oppose the FMCSA broker-transparency rule, and what are their main arguments? If free-tier data is withheld, the tool result explains what is missing and which paid capability would add it. The agent should relay that note instead of retrying the same request. ## Troubleshooting - Use the bare hostname exactly as shown; do not append `/mcp`. - If authorization restarts, reconnect and confirm the intended organization. - If a tool is missing, confirm it is enabled in the client's connector controls. - Rate-limit responses include a retry time; wait rather than retrying immediately. --- Source: https://www.governmentcontext.com/docs/connect/chatgpt Every Government Context docs page is available as Markdown: add `.md` to its URL. Index of the docs, the guides, and every MCP tool: https://www.governmentcontext.com/llms.txt