Skip to content

ChatGPT Desktop

ChatGPT Desktop's MCP support requires a remote endpoint. It doesn't support local stdio servers directly. Here's how to connect it.

The mcp package can expose a stdio server over SSE (Server-Sent Events):

.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m mcp.server.sse --port 8765 -- python server.py

Then in ChatGPT Desktop:

  1. Open Settings > Connected Apps > Add MCP Server
  2. Enter: http://localhost:8765/sse

This process must be running whenever you use ChatGPT Desktop with the brain.

Option B: Tunnel via ngrok

For access from other devices (e.g. ChatGPT mobile):

# 1. Install ngrok
winget install ngrok

# 2. Start the SSE proxy
.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m mcp.server.sse --port 8765 -- python server.py

# 3. Tunnel it
ngrok http 8765

# 4. Use the https://xxxx.ngrok.io/sse URL in ChatGPT Desktop

Auto-Capture Instructions

ChatGPT Desktop uses Custom Instructions for persistent behavior:

  1. Open Settings (gear icon) > Personalization > Custom Instructions
  2. Paste the contents of prompts/generic-system-prompt.md into the "What would you like ChatGPT to know?" field

This tells ChatGPT to silently capture and recall memories using the Open Brain tools.

v2 via SSE

To connect ChatGPT Desktop to brain_v2, run a second SSE proxy on a different port:

.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m mcp.server.sse --port 8766 -- python brain_v2/server.py

Then add http://localhost:8766/sse as a second MCP server in ChatGPT Desktop settings.