ChatGPT
Add Edison Watch to ChatGPT as a custom remote MCP connector via developer mode.
ChatGPT (chatgpt.com) connects to Edison Watch as a custom remote MCP connector through OpenAI's developer mode. Like claude.ai, ChatGPT runs in OpenAI's cloud, not on your laptop - so you add Edison to it by hand once, using Edison's public gateway URL.
When you add a custom connector, ChatGPT reaches your MCP server from OpenAI's cloud, not from your machine. Your connection URL must therefore point at Edison's public gateway (https://mcp.edison.watch/...) - a localhost URL from the desktop app's local injection will not work for ChatGPT.
Creating a custom connector requires developer mode, available on ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu on the web. On Business, Enterprise, and Edu it is admin-gated - a workspace admin must enable it first (see the Admin tab). ChatGPT Free cannot create custom connectors.
1. Get Your Edison Connection URL
Your personal connection URL embeds your API key. For ChatGPT, append ?client=chatgpt so Edison tags the session as ChatGPT in the dashboard:
https://mcp.edison.watch/mcp/<your-api-key>/?client=chatgptThe easiest way to get this URL is from the Edison Watch dashboard: open Settings, find the Api key / MCP URL section, click Get MCP URL, and pick ChatGPT from the list - the dialog gives you a ready-to-copy URL with the ?client=chatgpt tag already appended. (Alternatively, copy the base URL from the Edison Watch desktop app's Copy MCP URL menu and add ?client=chatgpt yourself.) Treat this URL like a password - anyone with it can call MCP tools as you (subject to your Access Control Levels and policies).
The host differs per environment - release is mcp.edison.watch, and demo/self-hosted deployments use their own gateway host. Always copy the URL from your own desktop app rather than hardcoding the host.
2. Enable Developer Mode
Custom MCP connectors live behind developer mode:
- Go to Settings > Apps & Connectors.
- Scroll to Advanced settings at the bottom of the page.
- Toggle Developer mode on.
OpenAI labels developer mode as powerful but risky - it grants ChatGPT full read/write access to whatever tools a connector exposes. Edison sits in front of those tools and enforces your organization's Access Control Levels and policy rules on every call, but you should still review the connectors you add.
3. Add the Custom Connector
How you add the connector depends on whether you're setting it up just for yourself or rolling Edison out across a team.
Add Edison as your own connector (web only; Plus, Pro, or an individual Business/Enterprise/Edu seat with developer mode enabled):
- Open Apps in the sidebar (under Settings > Apps & Connectors) and click Create to open the New App dialog.
- Enter a Name (e.g.
edison-gateway). The Icon and Description are optional. - Under Connection, keep Server URL selected and paste your connection URL from step 1, including the trailing slash and the
?client=chatgptsuffix. - Set Authentication to No Auth. Edison authenticates via the API key in your URL - it has no OAuth sign-in, so do not choose OAuth.
- ChatGPT warns that "Custom MCP servers introduce risk." Tick I understand and want to continue to acknowledge it.
- Click Create.
ChatGPT will connect and list Edison's tools. To use them in a chat, open the composer's Tools (the + / developer-mode menu) and enable the app for that conversation.
Do not add one shared Edison connector for the whole organization. Every Edison connection URL embeds a personal, per-user API key, and the gateway has no OAuth sign-in - the URL is the credential (which is why you select No Auth in ChatGPT). A single org-wide connector would authenticate and attribute every member's activity to the one account whose key is in the URL, collapsing per-user monitoring, attribution, and policy enforcement into a single identity.
To roll Edison out to a team:
- A workspace admin enables developer mode under Workspace Settings > Permissions & roles > Connected data > Developer mode / Create custom MCP connectors. On Business, only admins can use it; on Enterprise/Edu, admins and authorized developers can.
- Distribute the Edison Watch desktop app so each member can copy their own connection URL (step 1).
- Each member then follows the Personal steps above with their own URL and No authentication.
This keeps every member's traffic correctly attributed to them in the Edison dashboard, where admins get org-wide visibility across all of them.
ChatGPT treats self-added custom connectors as unverified and asks for confirmation before write actions by default. That is expected - Edison still enforces your Access Control Levels and policy rules on every call, including reads.