Claude Desktop
Add an Odel module or gateway to Claude Desktop as a custom connector
Claude Desktop calls remote MCP servers connectors, and adds them through its own UI — there's no config file to edit.
The URL
https://mcp.odel.app/@odel/calculator-basicA worked example. Open this page from a module or gateway on Odel and it fills in with that address instead.
Adding it
In Claude Desktop, go to Settings → Connectors and add a custom connector with the URL above. Leave the advanced OAuth fields empty — Odel's clients register themselves, so there's no client ID or secret to supply.
Anthropic documents the full flow, including where the button lives in the current build: Get started with custom connectors using remote MCP.
Claude will send you to Odel to sign in the first time. After you approve, the tools appear in the connector's list.
Claude connects from Anthropic's cloud, not your machine
Custom connectors are reached from Anthropic's infrastructure rather than your laptop. That's fine for Odel — mcp.odel.app is public — but
it does mean a server on your own localhost can't be reached this way.
If it doesn't connect
See Connect your client for what the URL should look like and what the sign-in does. The usual cause is a URL that was retyped rather than copied.