ChatGPT Subscription MCP

Ask OpenAI questions and generate or edit images from Claude Desktop, using your ChatGPT subscription through the official Codex local interface. No OpenAI API key required.

Claude launches the bridge and its Codex backend automatically. You do not need to keep ChatGPT, Codex Desktop, or a terminal window open. Your computer and Claude must remain running while a job finishes.

This is an unofficial local integration, not an OpenAI or Anthropic product. It provides Codex-backed conversations and built-in image generation; it does not expose every ChatGPT feature or existing ChatGPT web conversations. Plan eligibility, workspace controls, and normal Codex usage limits still apply.

Open source and community

All project-owned code is public under the MIT license: the MCP server, Claude setup helper, tests, extension manifest, build scripts, and CI. There is no private edition or separate proprietary bridge component. You can fork it, change it, and submit improvements.

Start with the contributor guide and roadmap. Use Discussions for questions and design ideas, Issues for reproducible bugs and feature proposals, and pull requests to contribute changes. Setup, clearer errors, image previews, and cross-platform testing are especially welcome.

The development guide maps the code and explains how to work without a subscription. The release guide documents how the downloadable extensions are built from public source. Third-party components keep their own licenses; OpenAI's hosted models and services are external dependencies and are not included in this project's license. See third-party notices.

Related MCP server: ccg-mcp

Install in Claude Desktop

Desktop extension

1. Download the .mcpb matching your operating system and CPU architecture from Releases. Never install a Windows bundle on macOS or an x64 bundle on ARM.

2. In Claude Desktop, open Settings → Desktop app → Extensions → Advanced settings → Install Extension. Older Claude versions place Extensions directly in Settings.

3. Select the downloaded bundle. It includes the bridge and its pinned Codex runtime.

4. Ask Claude: “Check chatgpt_status. If I need to sign in, call chatgpt_login and give me the login link.” Open the link and sign in with your ChatGPT account. Existing Codex ChatGPT sign-in is reused.

5. Ask Claude to generate an image or ask OpenAI a question.

Claude must allow local desktop extensions, and its extension Node runtime must support Node 22 or later. There is no API key field. A custom extension is not the same as a remote connector: do not paste localhost into Claude's web connector dialog.

If no release bundle matches your platform, install from source below. Bundles are unsigned custom extensions, not reviewed directory listings.

From source: Windows, macOS, Linux MCP clients

Install Node.js 22 or later and Git, then:

git clone https://github.com/corith37/chatgpt-subscription-mcp.git
cd chatgpt-subscription-mcp
npm ci
npm run doctor

If doctor reports that ChatGPT sign-in is required:

npm run login

Then install the Claude Desktop configuration:

npm run setup

Fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop. Setup preserves other MCP servers and preferences, backs up changed files, and uses absolute paths. On Windows it handles both the ordinary and Microsoft Store Claude config locations. Re-running setup is safe. Keep the cloned folder in place; rerun setup after moving it.

To select a config explicitly:

npm run setup -- --config /absolute/path/to/claude_desktop_config.json

On Windows PowerShell, use npm.cmd if your execution policy blocks npm.ps1. Claude Desktop availability and local extension support vary by OS; the server itself also works with other local MCP clients on Linux.

Other MCP clients / Claude Code

Configure a local stdio server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chatgpt-subscription": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/chatgpt-subscription-mcp/src/cli.js"]
    }
  }
}

Windows JSON paths need escaped backslashes (or forward slashes). Run the Node entry directly, rather than npm start, to keep stdout free of npm messages. Claude Code can register this same command using its local MCP configuration. This project does not provide a public HTTP server or a claude.ai/mobile remote connector.

Use it

Examples to ask Claude:

• “Ask OpenAI to critique this product idea, then compare its answer with yours.”

• “Generate a square watercolor illustration of a fox reading beside a window.”

• “Edit C:/Users/me/Pictures/portrait.png: replace the background with a pale blue studio backdrop.”

• “Continue that OpenAI conversation and ask for three alternatives.”

• “Cancel the image job that is still running.”

Submission tools return immediately with job_id. Claude should call chatgpt_job with wait_seconds: 20 until completed, failed, cancelled, or interrupted. Image generation can take several minutes. Polling does not submit the prompt again. One generation runs at a time, with up to 16 queued requests per bridge process.

Pass conversation_id from a previous job to continue it. Conversations and completed job results survive a restart. A restart interrupts in-flight jobs; they are never silently retried. Cancellation cannot refund usage already consumed.

Image requests accept up to four local PNG/JPEG/WebP references, each up to 20 MiB. References must already exist on the same computer as the bridge: an attachment inside Claude is not necessarily a local file path. Describe desired size, transparency, composition, and edits in the prompt; these are model instructions, not guaranteed API parameters. Generated images up to 4 MiB are returned inline. Larger images are saved locally, with their full paths returned.

How it works

flowchart LR
    C[Claude Desktop] -->|local MCP stdio| B[Node bridge]
    B -->|local app-server JSON-RPC| X[Bundled Codex CLI]
    X -->|ChatGPT sign-in| O[OpenAI subscription services]
    O --> X
    X -->|text and image bytes| B
    B -->|job result and inline image| C

The bridge uses the documented Codex app-server interface and native imageGeneration events. It does not scrape chatgpt.com, automate a hidden browser, extract cookies, copy access tokens, or fall back to billable API calls. The backend owns sign-in and token refresh. See the design and feasibility notes for the options considered and remaining limitations.

Settings and local data

Setup carries these explicit environment settings into the Claude configuration. Do not put API keys or passwords there. The source install uses the pinned @openai/codex dependency and does not upgrade or replace your globally installed CLI.

The data directory contains completed responses, image files, copied reference inputs, job metadata, and bridge-to-Codex conversation mappings. Codex separately retains its normal conversation/authentication state. Treat both directories as private. Data is not automatically deleted; close the bridge before removing its local data directory. Deleting it does not delete Codex's own saved conversations. Uninstalling the extension or removing its config entry stops future use; it does not log you out of other Codex clients.

Troubleshooting

Development and verification

npm ci
npm test
npm audit
npm run bundle

Tests use a fake backend and a real MCP stdio client; they require no account. CI tests Node 22/24 on Windows, macOS, and Linux. npm run bundle creates a platform-specific .mcpb and SHA-256 checksum under dist/. Bundling never includes your login, generated images, or local configuration.

Optional live checks consume your plan limits:

npm run smoke
npm run smoke -- --image --edit

On 2026-10-26, the full live flow was verified on Windows x64 with ChatGPT Plus and Codex 0.164.0: text, conversation continuation, image generation, image retrieval, and editing a reference image. Other platforms are covered by automated CI, but a passing unit test does not establish live account eligibility. Upstream app-server behavior is version-dependent and experimental; dependencies are pinned and the lockfile is committed.

See SECURITY.md, CONTRIBUTING.md, and third-party notices. The bridge is MIT licensed; bundled components retain their own licenses.