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Connect an AI assistant

SKU.io speaks the Model Context Protocol (MCP), so an AI assistant can look up your products, stock levels, sales orders, and purchase orders while it works — "how many of the navy tee do we have in the main warehouse?", "where is order 1042?", "what runs out in the next two weeks?" — without you pasting data back and forth.

The connection is read-only. The assistant can answer questions about your account, but it cannot create, change, or delete anything in SKU.io.

There are two ways to connect:

Your assistantHow it connectsSection
Claude or ChatGPT — on the web, the desktop app, or your phoneAdd a custom connector, then sign in to SKU.io and approve it. No token.Add SKU.io to Claude or ChatGPT
Cursor, Claude Desktop (config file), Claude Code, or another MCP clientPaste a config that carries a connection tokenConnect with a token

Before you begin​

  • The assistant sees only what your own role can see. If your role can't view purchase orders, neither can the assistant, and it tells you so.
  • Find your account's MCP address on Settings → Developer → AI Assistant Connection. It is your own SKU.io address followed by /mcp/sku, for example https://yourcompany.sku.io/mcp/sku.

Add SKU.io to Claude or ChatGPT​

1. Copy your connector URL​

Go to Settings → Developer → AI Assistant Connection and click Copy URL in the Claude or ChatGPT box.

The Claude or ChatGPT box on the AI Assistant Connection page, showing the connector URL and a Copy URL button

2. Add the connector in your assistant​

  • Claude: go to Customize → Connectors, click Add, choose Add custom connector, give it a name such as SKU.io, paste the URL, and click Add. Claude detects SKU.io's sign-in on its own; leave the authentication options as they are. Then click Connect.
  • ChatGPT: go to Plugins, click Add, choose Add custom MCP server, give it a name, paste the URL as the Server URL, leave Authentication on OAuth, tick the risk acknowledgement, and click Create as a plugin. Then open it and click Continue to SKU.io.

Your plan has to allow custom connectors. On a Claude or ChatGPT team or enterprise plan, an owner may need to add the connector for everyone.

3. Sign in to SKU.io and approve​

Your assistant opens a SKU.io page. Sign in if you aren't already, check the request, and click Approve.

The SKU.io approval page: the connector's name, where you will be sent back to, the read-only permission, the account it will read, and Approve and Deny buttons

Before you approve, check two things:

  • You will be sent back to names the assistant you started from — claude.ai, claude.com, or chatgpt.com. If it names anything else, click Deny.
  • Authorize for account shows the SKU.io account the assistant will read. The connection only ever reads that one account.

4. Ask a question​

Back in Claude or ChatGPT, start a new chat and ask something about your account — "How much stock of SKU TEE-NAVY-M do we have, and is more on order?" The assistant looks it up and links each record back to its page in SKU.io.

Both assistants ask before they use a tool for the first time. Claude lists the tools under Read-only tools, where you can set them to run without asking.

The connection stays signed in. Your assistant renews it in the background, so you don't need to approve again each day.

Remove the connector​

Revoke it from Settings → Developer → Connected Apps. The assistant stops reaching your account immediately. Removing the connector inside Claude or ChatGPT alone leaves SKU.io's approval in place, so revoke it in SKU.io as well.

Connect with a token​

Cursor, Claude Code, and a Claude Desktop config file connect with a connection token instead of signing in.

  • You get one connection token. Generating another replaces the first, so every assistant you configure this way shares the same token.
  • The token is shown once, at creation. Have the client's config file open, or somewhere safe to paste it.

1. Open the connection page​

Go to Settings → Developer → AI Assistant Connection.

The AI Assistant Connection page with no assistant connected and a Generate Connection Token button

Until you generate a token the page shows No AI assistant connected.

2. Generate the connection token​

Click Generate Connection Token.

SKU.io asks you to re-enter your password first. The token reads every order, product, and purchase order your role can see and doesn't expire, so minting one is treated as a sensitive action — the same as creating a token with write permissions. Confirming starts a five-minute window, so you won't be asked again straight away. If you also have two-factor authentication switched on, you verify that first.

SKU.io emails you whenever a token is created on your account, so an assistant you didn't set up is visible straight away.

3. Copy the config for your client​

The Connection ready — copy your config now dialog opens with the token already embedded in a ready-to-paste config.

The Connection ready dialog with a warning that the token is shown only once, client tabs, and the Cursor config

Pick your client from the tabs across the top.

The client tabs: Cursor, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, and Other (Raw)

Each tab gives you the config file to edit, the snippet to paste, and the steps to finish in that client. The endpoint in the snippet is your own account's MCP URL — the screenshots below show a local example.

Cursor​

Cursor talks to the endpoint over HTTP with a bearer header. Merge the snippet into ~/.cursor/mcp.json, or .cursor/mcp.json inside a project.

The Cursor tab showing the mcp.json snippet and three follow-up steps

Claude Desktop​

Claude Desktop only speaks stdio, so its config proxies to the remote endpoint through mcp-remote — which needs npx on your machine. Merge the snippet into claude_desktop_config.json, then quit and relaunch Claude Desktop.

The Claude Desktop tab showing the npx mcp-remote config and the quit-and-relaunch steps

Claude Code​

Claude Code registers the server with a single command — run it in your terminal, then confirm with claude mcp list.

The Claude Code tab showing the one-line claude mcp add command

Any other client​

The Other (Raw) tab gives you the two things every MCP client needs: the endpoint URL and the Authorization header.

The Other (Raw) tab showing the MCP URL and the Authorization header

Each snippet has a Copy button in its top-right corner.

4. Confirm and close​

Tick I've copied the config I need and stored my token safely, then click Done. The button stays disabled until you tick the box.

The token isn't recoverable afterwards. If you lose it, generate a new one — there's no way to reveal the old one.

5. Check the connection​

Back on the page, the card now shows Connected with the token's name, when it was created, when it was last used, and the MCP endpoint.

The connected state showing token details, the MCP endpoint, and Regenerate and Disconnect buttons

Last used is the quickest way to confirm your assistant actually reached SKU.io — ask it something about your data, reload the page, and the value moves.

The setup instructions stay on the page after you close the dialog, but with <YOUR_MCP_TOKEN> in place of the real value. Use them to remind yourself of the file paths; use Regenerate if you need a working config again.

What the connection can do​

Both ways of connecting carry the same single permission. That means:

  • It reads, and only reads. The assistant can search products, check stock per warehouse (including units on order and when they're due), look up order and purchase order status, list warehouses, and find products at risk of running out. Nothing it can call changes your account.

  • It sees only what your role allows. A question about data your role can't view gets a plain "you don't have permission" answer, not the data.

  • It reaches the MCP endpoint only. The same token sent to the regular REST API is refused, so an assistant config that leaks doesn't become a general API credential.

  • It doesn't get its own role, and it can't be given scopes.

  • It doesn't appear in your token list and doesn't use one of your 50 personal access token slots. It's managed only from this page.

  • A connection token doesn't expire. An AI connection that dies on a silent 90-day timer is worse than one you revoke deliberately, so there's no expiry — which makes Disconnect the control that matters. A Claude or ChatGPT connector instead renews itself while you use it and is revoked from Connected Apps.

  • Its activity is recorded. Each connection's requests count toward its Last used time, and an assistant that asks for data too fast is slowed down rather than allowed to hammer your account.

For an API credential that reaches the REST API instead, see Create a personal access token.

Regenerate the token​

Use Regenerate when you want a fresh secret — after someone leaves, after a config file ends up somewhere it shouldn't, or when you need a working config to paste into a new machine.

The Regenerate connection token confirmation dialog

Regenerating revokes the current token and issues a new one, then reopens the copy-once dialog with the fresh config. Every assistant still holding the old token stops working until you paste the new config in.

Disconnect​

Disconnect revokes the token and leaves nothing in its place.

The Disconnect AI assistant confirmation dialog

Every assistant configured with it stops working immediately. The page returns to No AI assistant connected, and you can generate a new token whenever you want one — it won't be the same value.

Next steps​

Last verified: