Connect Claude to GTD Brain
Add GTD Brain as a connector in Claude and your Getting Things Done board becomes part of the conversation: Claude can capture what's on your mind straight into your inbox, pull up your next actions by context, and walk you through a proper weekly review — reading and updating the same board you see on the web and your phone.
The connection runs over MCP (Model Context Protocol), the open standard Claude speaks natively, against GTD Brain's hosted MCP server. There is nothing to install and no API key to manage: you paste one address, sign in with your email code, and the connection keeps working on its own.
What you’ll need
- A GTD Brain account — free to create at gtdbrain.com.
- A paid Claude plan (custom connectors require one).
- Claude on the web at claude.ai or in the Claude desktop app.
Your connection address
The setup below uses this address — GTD Brain’s hosted MCP server:
Step-by-step setup
Open Claude's connector settings
In Claude, open Settings → Connectors. Connectors are how Claude reaches tools outside the chat, and each one is scoped to exactly what it is allowed to do.
Add a custom connector
Click “Add custom connector”, name it “GTD Brain”, and paste the connection address (shown above) into the “Remote MCP server URL” field, then click Add.
https://mcp.gtdbrain.com/api/gtdbrain/v1/mcpSign in with your email code
Claude opens GTD Brain's sign-in page. Enter your email, type the code we send you, and click Allow — the same passwordless login the web app uses. No password or token is ever copied.
Ask Claude about your board
In a new conversation, try “What's in my GTD Brain inbox?”. Claude will confirm the connector the first time it uses it; from then on your board is simply something Claude knows about.
What you can do once connected
Claude is particularly good at the thinking parts of GTD — clarifying vague inbox items into concrete next actions, and keeping a weekly review honest. Things people actually say:
- “Empty my head: I'll list everything on my mind, you capture each one to my inbox.”
- “Clarify my inbox — for each card, help me decide the next action and where it belongs.”
- “What can I do right now? I'm at my computer with 30 minutes.”
- “Show my projects and flag any that have no next action.”
- “Run my weekly review with me, list by list.”
- “Archive everything in my inbox that's older than a month and no longer matters.”
Every change lands on the same board as the web, iOS, and Android apps — instantly. And whatever you ask, cards can be archived but never deleted, so nothing is ever lost to a misfired prompt.
Troubleshooting
“Add custom connector” is missing or greyed out.
Custom connectors require a paid Claude plan. Upgrade, then look again under Settings → Connectors.
The sign-in page never appears.
Allow pop-ups for claude.ai (or check behind the app window on desktop) and try adding the connector again.
Claude answers from memory instead of reading my board.
Name the connector explicitly — “use GTD Brain to check my inbox”. Once Claude has used it in a conversation, follow-ups stay grounded in your real cards.
Frequently asked questions
Does this work in the Claude mobile apps?
Set the connector up once on claude.ai or the Claude desktop app — connectors are managed there. It is tied to your Claude account, so wherever your plan supports connectors, GTD Brain comes along.
Is it safe to let an AI assistant touch my GTD board?
The connection is deliberately limited: your assistant can read, add, edit, move, and archive cards, but it can never delete one. Archived cards stay recoverable, so nothing is ever lost to a misfired prompt. You can disconnect at any time from the assistant's connector settings.
Do I need a paid GTD Brain subscription?
You can try it free: after connecting, your assistant can create your first 3 cards on a free GTD Brain account. Ongoing use of the connection needs a GTD Brain subscription — the same one subscription that covers the web, iOS, and Android apps.
What is MCP?
MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that lets AI assistants securely talk to outside tools and data. GTD Brain hosts an MCP server, so any MCP-capable assistant — ChatGPT, Claude, Claude Code, and others — can work with your board without a plugin or API key.
Do changes made by the assistant sync to my other devices?
Yes. The assistant works on the same board as the web, iOS, and Android apps, and every change syncs in real time. Add a card from a chat and it is on your phone before you switch apps.
Other assistants
New to GTD Brain? Get started free — create your board first, then connect Claude from this page in a couple of minutes.