This page shows how to ask about your Datafor data from Claude or ChatGPT in about ten minutes: which apps work, how to set each one up, and which questions to try first. Each question runs in Datafor as a governed query under your own account, so the AI app sees only the models and rows you can see in Datafor.

For every client, setting and administrator option, see the full reference Connect AI Clients (MCP).

This page applies to Datafor 10.00 and later.

1. Which apps work today

App	How it connects	Needs
Claude Desktop (Windows, macOS)	The Datafor extension datafor.mcpb	Node.js 18 or later
Claude Code	One claude mcp add command	—
ChatGPT desktop app	An MCP server under Settings › Plugins › MCP	—
claude.ai (also in the Claude desktop and mobile apps)	A custom connector; you sign in by pasting a personal token	A public HTTPS MCP address
ChatGPT on the web	An app in developer mode; you sign in by pasting a personal token	A ChatGPT Business, Enterprise or Edu workspace, and a public HTTPS MCP address

The first three run on your own computer and reach Datafor from there, so the MCP address only has to be reachable from that computer. claude.ai and ChatGPT on the web connect from Anthropic's and OpenAI's cloud: they work only when your administrator has published Datafor's MCP address on the internet over HTTPS (an address starting with https://, not 127.0.0.1 or a name that only resolves inside your network).

2. Before you start

You need two values. The steps below call them <MCP address> and <token>.

1. In the Datafor portal, open the account menu at the top right, choose My account, then the Personal tokens tab.
2. Copy the MCP address at the top of the page. The default http://127.0.0.1:38081/mcp only works on the computer where Datafor is installed. If your AI app runs on another computer, ask your administrator for the published address.
3. Click New token, name it after the app (for example Claude Desktop or ChatGPT), choose how long it stays valid and confirm.
4. Copy the token right away: it is shown once.

If the page says "Your administrator has not turned on personal tokens", ask your administrator to turn them on (see Turn on personal tokens).

Keep the token out of chats

The token stands for you and all your permissions. Paste it only into the app's settings or configuration file, or into the Datafor page that asks for it during a sign-in you started yourself; never into a conversation. Create one token per app and computer, so you can revoke one without breaking the others.

3. Set up Claude

Claude Desktop

1. Install Node.js 18 or later if it is not installed yet. The extension needs it to start.

2. Download datafor.mcpb. If you cannot download it, ask your administrator for the copy in the Datafor installation (bi-server/ai-agent/claude-extension/datafor.mcpb).

3. In Claude Desktop, open Settings › Extensions › Advanced settings › Install extension and choose the file, or drag the file into the Claude window.

4. Fill in the extension settings:

   Field	Value
   URL	<MCP address>
   Personal token	<token> (the token alone, without Bearer)
   npx path	Leave empty. Fill it in only if Claude reports that it cannot find npx.

5. Make sure the extension is enabled, then open a new conversation. Conversations that were already open do not load a new extension.

If you also add Datafor as a claude.ai custom connector (below), the connector is available in Claude Desktop too; keep only one of the two enabled, so Claude does not see the Datafor tools twice.

claude.ai custom connector

This works on claude.ai and, once added, in the Claude desktop and mobile apps as well. It needs a public HTTPS MCP address (section 1).

1. On claude.ai, open Customize › Connectors, click + Add, then Add custom connector. On a Team or Enterprise plan an owner adds it instead under Organization settings › Connectors (Add › Custom › Web) with the same settings, and each member then clicks Connect on it under Customize › Connectors.
2. Enter the name Datafor and <MCP address> as the URL, then click Continue.
3. Under Authentication, choose Sign in now. Under OAuth client, choose Register automatically: Datafor does not accept Use Claude's published identity. Leave Request headers empty.
4. Click Add. A Datafor page opens in your browser. Check that it names Claude, paste a personal token (create one named claude.ai) and click Connect.
5. In a conversation, click +, choose Connectors and turn on Datafor.

The connector keeps the token until the token expires. Claude then asks you to connect again: create a new token and paste it on the same page. To disconnect, revoke the token on My account › Personal tokens or remove the connector.

Claude Code

Run this in a terminal, with your two values filled in:

claude mcp add --transport http datafor "<MCP address>" --header "Authorization: Bearer <token>"

Then start a new Claude Code session. claude mcp list should show datafor as connected. A server added here does not appear in Claude Desktop, and the other way round.

4. Set up the ChatGPT desktop app

The ChatGPT desktop app keeps its MCP servers in the same local configuration as Codex. Servers added there are available to the desktop app's conversations on your computer, not to conversations on chatgpt.com or in the mobile apps.

Add Datafor in the settings

1. In the ChatGPT desktop app, open Settings, then Plugins under Integrations, and select the MCP tab.

2. Click Add at the top right and add an MCP server of type Streamable HTTP named Datafor. The type cannot be changed later; to change it, uninstall the server and add it again.

3. Fill in the form:

   Field	Value
   URL	<MCP address>
   Bearer token environment variable	Leave empty.
   Headers	Click Add header. Key: Authorization. Value: Bearer <token>.
   Headers from environment variables	Leave empty.

4. Click Save, quit the ChatGPT app completely and start it again, then open a new conversation.

Three details matter:

• Write Bearer, a space, then the token in the header value. Datafor also accepts the token alone, but refuses any other word in front of it.
• Leave the bearer token environment variable empty. When it names a variable, the app takes the token from that variable instead; a variable that is not set on your computer sends no token.
• Restart after every change. A conversation keeps the configuration it started with; asking again in the same conversation does not pick up a corrected token.

Allow slower answers

The app gives up on a tool call after 60 seconds by default, while a question with Datafor's written analysis can take about three minutes. The form has no field for this, so set it in the configuration file:

1. Quit the ChatGPT desktop app.
2. Open %USERPROFILE%\.codex\config.toml on Windows or ~/.codex/config.toml on macOS.
3. Find the section the app wrote for the server, for example [mcp_servers.datafor], and add tool_timeout_sec = 600 under its url line.
4. Save and start the app again.

Or write the whole entry in the configuration file

Instead of using the form, you can add the entry to config.toml directly. Keep everything else in the file; if a datafor section is already there, edit it instead of adding a second one.

[mcp_servers.datafor]
url = "<MCP address>"
tool_timeout_sec = 600

[mcp_servers.datafor.http_headers]
Authorization = "Bearer <token>"

Save the file and restart the app. The entry then also appears on the MCP tab of the settings.

5. Set up ChatGPT on the web

On chatgpt.com, Datafor is added as an app in developer mode. This is available in ChatGPT Business, Enterprise and Edu workspaces, and it needs a public HTTPS MCP address (section 1). OpenAI moves these menus from time to time; if a name below differs, see OpenAI's Developer mode and MCP apps in ChatGPT.

1. A workspace admin turns on developer mode in the workspace settings, under Permissions & Roles › Connected Data. On Enterprise and Edu, admins can allow it for selected members, who then turn it on in their own Apps settings.
2. In the settings, open Apps and click Create. Enter the name Datafor, <MCP address> as the MCP server URL, and choose OAuth as the authentication.
3. Click Scan Tools. A Datafor page opens: paste a personal token (create one named ChatGPT) and click Connect. When the scan has listed the four Datafor tools, click Create.
4. The app is now a draft, marked Dev in your own settings. To offer it to the workspace, an admin publishes it from Workspace settings › Apps. Every member then connects it and pastes their own token, so each one queries Datafor with their own permissions.

ChatGPT keeps the token until it expires and then asks you to connect again: create a new token and paste it. When Datafor's tools change after an upgrade, an admin clicks Refresh on the app so ChatGPT picks up the new list.

6. Try it

Ask these in order in a new conversation. Mentioning "Datafor" helps the app choose the Datafor tools.

1. Check the connection: "Use Datafor to list the analysis models I can access."
2. Get to know a model: "Use Datafor to show the metrics and dimensions of the model model name, and suggest three questions I could ask."
3. Ask a business question: "Use Datafor: a metric by a dimension for a period, for example last quarter."
4. Follow up: "Now break that down by month." The app continues the earlier analysis; you do not need to repeat the whole question.
5. Ask for Datafor's own analysis: "Ask Datafor for its written insight on that result." This takes longer, up to about three minutes.

When the first question returns your models, the connection works. On My account › Personal tokens, the token's Last used time updates.

If the app asks permission before it uses a Datafor tool, allow it. The tools only read: they run queries and change nothing in Datafor.

What to expect

• The app writes the answer from Datafor's rows. The numbers come from Datafor; the wording comes from Claude or ChatGPT, so it differs from the answer on the AI Agent page. If the app calculates something itself, it should say so.
• Notes are passed on. Assumptions, member mappings and truncation come back with the result, and the app should tell you each one.
• Datafor may ask back. When a model or member is ambiguous, the app shows the choices; pick one and the analysis continues.
• Some questions get split. A question that needs several dependent queries is answered one step at a time.
• "Datafor cannot answer this" is a result, not a fault. It means the question is outside what the model covers. Rephrase it or split it.

7. If it does not work

What you see	What to do
No Datafor tools in Claude Desktop	Open a new conversation and check that the extension is enabled and has a token. If Claude started before Datafor was running, turn the extension off and on under Settings › Extensions, or restart Claude.
Claude Desktop cannot find npx	Install Node.js 18 or later, or enter the full path to npx in the extension's npx path.
No Datafor tools in ChatGPT	Check that Datafor is listed and enabled on Settings › Plugins › MCP, then quit and restart the app.
Missing Datafor MCP authentication or Unsupported Authorization scheme	No usable token reached Datafor. In the ChatGPT desktop app, check that the header value is Bearer followed by the token and restart the app; in Claude Code, check the --header value.
401, or a sign-in failure on a tool call	The token has expired or was revoked. Create a new one and update the app.
Cannot connect, or the call times out at once	The MCP address is not reachable from your computer. The 127.0.0.1 address only works on the Datafor computer; ask your administrator for the published address.
claude.ai or ChatGPT cannot reach the server when you add Datafor	The MCP address is not reachable from the internet over HTTPS. Ask your administrator to publish it (Let cloud AI apps sign in).
claude.ai reports an error about the OAuth client	Remove the connector and add it again with Register automatically under OAuth client.
The Datafor page says the link is invalid or has expired	The page is valid for 15 minutes and works only in the browser it opened in. Start the connection again from Claude or ChatGPT.
The Datafor page says Datafor did not accept the token	The token was copied incompletely, has expired or was revoked. Create a new one and paste it.
The Datafor page says Datafor could not be reached	Datafor is down or restarting. Try again in a moment, or ask your administrator.
The connector or app asks you to connect again	The token you pasted has expired. Create a new one and paste it on the Datafor page.
The answer stops after about a minute	ChatGPT: add tool_timeout_sec = 600 (section 4, Allow slower answers). Other apps: raise their tool timeout.

More cases, the server logs and the administrator settings are in Connect AI Clients (MCP).

8. When you are done

• To stop an app from using Datafor, revoke its token on My account › Personal tokens. It stops working at once; an app that is connected can keep working for up to a minute.
• On a shared computer, also remove the extension (Claude Desktop), run claude mcp remove datafor (Claude Code), or uninstall Datafor on Settings › Plugins › MCP (ChatGPT desktop app).
• To remove Datafor from claude.ai, remove the connector under Customize › Connectors; in ChatGPT on the web, disconnect the app in your Apps settings.