Language: English
ChatGPT reaches ActivityInfo through a custom connector that you add by its URL. Custom connectors sit behind ChatGPT's developer mode, so you switch that on first.
Before you begin
- The MCP server has to be enabled for each database you want to work with. See Enabling the MCP server for a database.
- Read Using AI assistants with sensitive data before you connect a database that holds personal data, and use an account on a plan your organisation has bought rather than a personal one.
- Custom connectors need a paid plan. They are not available on the free plan.
- In a Business, Enterprise or Edu workspace, an administrator can switch developer mode off for everyone, or allow only approved connectors. Ask your workspace administrator if you cannot find the setting.
The server URL is:
https://www.activityinfo.org/mcp
ChatGPT renamed “Connectors” to “Apps”. Depending on when your workspace was updated you may see either word in the menus below. The steps are the same.
Switch on developer mode
- In ChatGPT on the web, open “Settings”.
- Open “Connectors”, or “Apps” if that is what your workspace shows.
- Open “Advanced settings”.
- Switch on “Developer mode”.
Add the connector
- Go back to “Connectors”, or “Apps”.
- Click “Add custom connector”.
- Fill in the fields:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | ActivityInfo |
| Description | Read and analyse data in ActivityInfo databases |
| MCP server URL | https://www.activityinfo.org/mcp |
- Click to create the connector. ChatGPT detects that the server needs authorisation and starts the sign-in.
ChatGPT marks a custom connector as unverified, because you added it yourself rather than choosing it from the directory. That is expected.
Sign in to ActivityInfo
- Sign in to ActivityInfo in the window that opens, if you are not already signed in.
- On the “Authorize application” screen, decide whether to allow changes. Clear the checkbox for making changes to grant read access only.
- Click to authorize.
The authorisation appears on the “Authorized Applications” page of your ActivityInfo account settings.
Confirm the connection
Start a new chat, select ActivityInfo from the tools menu so the conversation can use it, and ask:
List my ActivityInfo databases.
ChatGPT answers with the databases you can reach. Ask a follow-up question to check that reading works:
Which forms are in the <name> database?
Troubleshooting
| What you see | Cause |
|---|---|
| There is no “Advanced settings” or no developer mode toggle | Your plan does not include custom connectors, or a workspace administrator has switched developer mode off |
| ChatGPT does not use ActivityInfo even though it is connected | The connector is not selected for this conversation. Choose it from the tools menu |
| “The MCP server is not enabled for database …” | Nobody has enabled the setting for that database. See Enabling the MCP server for a database |
| “Forbidden: this tool modifies data, but the authorization is read-only” | You granted read access only. Remove the connector and add it again, this time allowing changes |
| A database you expect is missing from the list | Your ActivityInfo user has no access to it |