Connecting Ellipsend to Claude lets you ask Claude about your contacts and conversations in plain English. It takes about two minutes. You'll need your Ellipsend MCP key, so grab that first from Get Your Ellipsend MCP Key. You don't need to change any network or domain settings for this. Those are only for the Ellipsend Inbox Dashboard.
Add Ellipsend as a Custom Connector
In any Claude chat, click the + below the message box, then Connectors, then Add connector, then Add custom connector.
Give it a name, like Ellipsend, and paste this address into the URL field.
https://mcp.ellipsend.com/v3/mcp
Click Continue.
Choose the Sign-In Settings
Claude now shows a few sign-in options. It picks the right ones for you (Sign in now and Register automatically), so don't change anything. Scroll down and click Add.
Enter Your MCP Key
Claude opens a window in your browser asking if you want to finish connecting. Click Continue connecting.
An Ellipsend page opens asking for your key. Paste your MCP API key and click Authorize. If you've connected before in the same browser, this page may skip itself and send you straight back to Claude.
You'll be sent back to Claude. If your browser asks whether to open the Claude app, say yes.
Check Your Tool Permissions
Once you're connected, you'll see the list of things Claude can do in Ellipsend. They're split into Read-only tools, which only look at your data, and Write/delete tools, which can send messages and change contacts. Every tool starts on Needs approval, so Claude asks before it does anything.
You can change this per group or per tool. Before you touch the write tools, read Keep Claude From Sending Messages Without You.
Make Sure It Works
Open a new chat and ask something like "Who messaged me in Ellipsend today?" If Claude asks for approval to use List recent contacts, approve it. A list of your recent contacts means you're connected.
If It Doesn't Connect
Wrong address. Copy the URL above exactly. Older addresses still work for other apps but don't let Claude read your contacts.
Key rejected. Check you copied the whole key. If you've lost it, make a new one in Ellipsend and connect again.
Nothing happened after Authorize. Go back to Claude, open Settings → Connectors, find Ellipsend, and click Connect.