# How to Connect ChatGPT dots to xCloud MCP

> Connect your ChatGPT dot to xCloud through the shared MCP plugin, then let an always-on agent watch, back up, update and fix your servers and sites on a timer.

A ChatGPT dot is OpenAI's always-on agent inside ChatGPT: it has its own cloud computer, works across the apps you connect, keeps context between conversations and runs scheduled tasks. Connected to xCloud through the MCP plugin you add in ChatGPT, your dot checks, backs up, updates and diagnoses your servers and sites on request or on a schedule, and asks before it creates, deploys, updates, reboots or deletes anything.

This guide covers the connection only. For what ChatGPT dots can do once it is connected, with one guide per hosting job, see the [ChatGPT dots and xCloud guide](/agents/chatgpt-dots/). The xCloud side is free with every account, including the free plan.

## What you need

- An xCloud account. If you do not have one yet, [sign up for free](https://app.xcloud.host/register).
- A ChatGPT dot, created in the ChatGPT desktop app or on desktop web, on a plan that includes dots.
- A browser for the OAuth sign-in. No API key is needed for the MCP connection.

The xCloud MCP server lives at one endpoint, `https://app.xcloud.host/mcp`, over the MCP Streamable HTTP transport. The same setup also lives in your dashboard under **Settings → Developers → MCP**.

## Step 1: Create the xCloud MCP plugin in ChatGPT

Plugins are shared across your dot, ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work and Codex, so you set xCloud up once. In ChatGPT on the web, turn on Developer mode under Settings, Security and login, open the Plugins page, select the plus button and create an app named xcloud with this MCP server URL and OAuth as the authentication. Sign in with xCloud, tick the teams and choose Read-only or Full access. Then open your personal Plugins page, open xcloud and select the plus button to install it; until it is installed, your dot cannot see it. If ChatGPT already has the xcloud plugin installed, skip this step. That path is for a personal account. In a Business, Enterprise or Edu workspace the controls sit under Apps instead. On Business only an admin or owner can use Developer mode: they turn it on while creating the app from Workspace settings, Apps, Create, and publish it from Workspace settings, Apps. On Enterprise and Edu an admin or owner can also toggle Developer mode under Settings, Apps, Advanced settings, and a member granted developer access under Permissions and Roles turns it on there too and can create and test the app from their own Settings, Apps, Create, but only an admin or owner can publish it. An ordinary member cannot do this, so ask an admin to publish the xcloud app; then open Settings, Plugins, select xcloud, install it if offered and choose Connect, sign in to xCloud and pick the teams and access level, and only then start at the next step.

```url
https://app.xcloud.host/mcp
```

## Step 2: Check the plugin is connected for your dot

Open your dot's profile, then Customize and Plugins, and make sure xcloud is connected. The screen uses the shared ChatGPT plugin settings, so a plugin connected in ChatGPT appears here too. Then give your dot a first task that names xCloud.

```text
Using xcloud, who am I on xCloud, and which servers and sites do I have?
```

## Step 3: Add a custom rule for hosting changes

Under Customize, Custom rules, describe the action and choose Ask before taking action. Pre-approved means you asked for the action in your prompt. xCloud stops for confirmation on its own before it creates, deploys, updates, reboots or deletes anything, but a rule keeps the approval visible in your conversation and stops a scheduled task from proposing changes you did not ask for.

```text
Ask before taking action: anything that creates, deploys, updates, reboots or deletes a server or site on xCloud.
```

## Approve access in your browser

The first time ChatGPT dots reaches for an xCloud tool, your browser opens on the xCloud authorization screen. Tick the teams the connection may act on and choose **Read-only** or **Full access**. You sign in with xCloud once in ChatGPT and approve the teams and the access level, and your dot uses that same connection. xCloud supports dynamic client registration, so there is no client ID or token to paste.

![The xCloud authorization screen: the signed-in account, the teams to tick, and the choice between Full access and Read-only](/_landing/docs/how-to-connect-xcloud-mcp-to-ai-agent-oauth-teams.png)

Every connection is listed with your [API keys](https://app.xcloud.host/user/api-tokens), so you can revoke it at any time. Read-only is enough for reports and checks; choose Full access when you want the agent to deploy, update or change things. With Full access, routine actions such as a backup, a cache purge or a service restart run without an xCloud prompt, while creating, deploying, updating, rebooting, deleting or buying still waits for your confirmation.

## Check it worked

Ask ChatGPT dots:

```text
Using xcloud, who am I on xCloud?
```

It should answer with your real account name, email and teams, not a guess. If it says it has no xCloud tools, re-check the step above and restart the client.

## What ChatGPT dots can do on xCloud

On the xCloud side, reads run straight away, and anything that creates, deploys, updates, reboots, deletes or buys is previewed first and waits for your confirmation. ChatGPT dots's own approval prompts, where it has them, apply on top of that. A few prompts to start with:

```text
Every morning at 8, check all my xCloud sites for downtime, expiring SSL certificates and pending WordPress updates, and message me a summary. Change nothing.
```

```text
Which of my servers is closest to running out of disk, and what is using the space?
```

```text
Back up shop.example.com, then update its plugins and confirm the homepage still loads.
```

There is a guide for each hosting job, from deploying a repository to fixing a 502, on the [ChatGPT dots and xCloud guide](/agents/chatgpt-dots/), and a longer prompt library in [What You Can Ask xCloud MCP to Do](/what-you-can-ask-xcloud-mcp-to-do/).

## Run hosting checks on a schedule with your dot

Ask your dot to run a recurring check in plain words: what to check, when, and where to report. Scheduled runs and proactive updates appear in the conversation. The Scheduled section in ChatGPT, or Recent activity in your dot's profile, lists active, paused and completed tasks, and opening one lets you change its repeat schedule, time or completion notifications. Keep scheduled work to reads, PageSpeed and vulnerability scans and reports, and say so in the task; start a backup only from a chat you are watching, because a Docker backup stops the app while it captures, and a broken-link scan, like any change, waits for your yes. A dot's proactive research cannot change content through plugins, and xCloud refuses to create, deploy, update, reboot or delete without an explicit confirmation, so a task that finds one of those jobs reports it and waits for you. Routine actions are different: a backup, a cache purge or a service restart runs without an xCloud prompt, so a task you create under a Custom rule set to Take action if pre-approved could carry them out unattended unless you write it to report only.

```text
Every weekday at 8:00, use xcloud to check every site for downtime, expiring SSL certificates, pending WordPress updates and new vulnerabilities, and send me a short report. Report only and change nothing. If xCloud is unreachable, tell me instead of reusing yesterday's data.
```

## Good to know

- Dots are rolling out gradually: OpenAI lists them for Pro users outside the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the UK, for Business Premium in all supported ChatGPT regions, and as a beta on Enterprise, Edu and Healthcare workspaces once an admin turns them on. The first dot is included in Pro and Business Premium. Access can take several days to reach an account.
- Write actions depend on your plan. OpenAI's help center says full MCP support with write actions is in beta on Business, Enterprise and Edu workspaces, and that Pro accounts connect MCP apps with read and fetch permissions only. On Pro, treat your dot as a read-only xCloud client: reports and checks work, while deploys and updates need a Business, Enterprise or Edu workspace or another agent.
- Your dot connects to xCloud from OpenAI's cloud, not from your computer, which works because the xCloud MCP URL is public and protected by OAuth. Its proactive research can read through plugins but cannot change content through them; any change goes through the normal action rules, where your dot's Custom rules decide what it asks you about and xCloud still refuses to create, deploy, update, reboot or delete without your confirmation, while routine actions such as a backup or a cache purge run without an xCloud prompt.
- You create a dot in the ChatGPT desktop app or on desktop web, not on mobile. Disconnecting the xcloud plugin stops new access but does not delete what your dot already learned, and you cannot edit individual dot memories; resetting the dot clears its context, conversations and scheduled tasks.

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I connect my ChatGPT dot to xCloud?

Create the xCloud MCP plugin in ChatGPT: turn on Developer mode under Settings, Security and login, open the Plugins page, select the plus button and create an app with the URL https://app.xcloud.host/mcp and OAuth, sign in with xCloud, then open the plugin under your personal Plugins and select the plus button to install it. Plugins are shared with your dot, so open its profile, Customize and Plugins to confirm xcloud is connected, and ask it who am I on xCloud. That is the personal-account path. In a Business workspace only an admin or owner can use Developer mode: they turn it on while creating the app from Workspace settings, Apps, Create, and publish it from Workspace settings, Apps. On Enterprise and Edu an admin or owner can also toggle it under Settings, Apps, Advanced settings, and a member granted developer access can create and test the app from Settings, Apps, Create but not publish it; an ordinary member asks an admin to publish the xcloud app, connects it under Settings, Plugins (select xcloud, install it if offered, choose Connect, sign in to xCloud and pick the teams and access level) and then confirms it in the dot's Plugins.

### Do I need a separate xCloud connection for my dot?

No. Plugin permissions are shared across dots, ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work and Codex, so the xcloud plugin you created for ChatGPT is available to your dot with the same teams and access level. You manage it in ChatGPT's Plugins tab.

### Which ChatGPT plans include dots, and which can change my servers?

OpenAI lists dots for Pro users outside the EEA, Switzerland and the UK, for Business Premium in all supported regions, and as an admin-enabled beta on Enterprise, Edu and Healthcare. Its help center puts full MCP support with write actions in beta on Business, Enterprise and Edu and gives Pro accounts read and fetch access only, so on Pro your dot can report on xCloud but not deploy or update. The xCloud side is the same on every plan.

### Can my dot run xCloud checks on a schedule?

Yes. Ask it to run a recurring check, for example every morning at 8 check my sites and send me a summary. Scheduled runs appear in the conversation, and you manage the task under Scheduled in ChatGPT or Recent activity in the dot's profile. Keep scheduled work to reads and reports and say so in the task: xCloud stops for confirmation before it creates, deploys, updates, reboots or deletes, but routine actions such as a backup, a cache purge or a service restart run without that step, so a rule that pre-approves them would let a scheduled task carry them out unattended.

## Next steps

- [ChatGPT dots and xCloud: every job guide](/agents/chatgpt-dots/)
- [How to connect xCloud MCP to your AI agent](/docs/how-to-connect-xcloud-mcp-to-ai-agent/) for the other clients
- [Multi-team API tokens and MCP access](/docs/multi-team-api-tokens-and-mcp-access/)

If you run into any issues connecting, feel free to reach out to our [support team](/docs/access-built-in-support-portal-in-xcloud/).