Getting Started - Connect Your AI Agent

This guide will walk you through connecting your AI application to Vendia MCP Gateway in just a few steps, enabling it to access your data in real-time.

Step 1: Get Your Vendia MCP Gateway URL

First, locate your Vendia MCP Gateway URL:

Free & Pro Tier Users:

• Find your MCP Gateway URL on the getting started page.

Enterprise Tier Users:

• Go to your Vendia project dashboard
• Navigate to Project Settings → Resources
• Copy your MCP Gateway URL

Keep this URL handy—you’ll need it in the next step.

Step 2: Connect Your AI Application

Choose your AI application below and follow the setup instructions:

Claude

For Individual Users (Pro and Max plans)

1. Open Claude Desktop or go to claude.ai and sign in to your account
2. Navigate to Settings > Connectors
3. Locate the “Connectors” section
4. Click “Add custom connector” at the bottom of the section
5. In the connector configuration:
   • Name: Enter a name for your connector (e.g., “Vendia MCP Gateway”)
   • MCP Server URL: Enter your Vendia MCP Gateway URL
6. Finish configuring your connector by clicking “Add”
7. In any conversation, click the “Search and tools” button on the lower left of your chat interface
8. Find your Vendia connector and click “Connect” to go through the authentication flow
9. Grant permission for Claude to access the Vendia service via OAuth
10. After connecting, use the same menu to enable or disable specific tools made available by the connector

For Team and Enterprise plans

Organization Setup (Primary Owner/Owner only):

1. Navigate to Admin settings > Connectors (or go to Settings > Connectors and toggle to “Organization connectors”)
2. Click “Add custom connector” at the bottom of the section
3. In the connector configuration:
   • Name: Enter a name for your connector (e.g., “Vendia MCP Gateway”)
   • MCP Server URL: Enter your Vendia MCP Gateway URL
4. Finish configuring your connector by clicking “Add”

Individual User Setup:

After an Owner has added the connector to your organization, you can enable and authenticate it:

1. Navigate to Settings > Connectors
2. Find the Vendia connector added by your organization
3. Click “Connect” to go through the authentication flow
4. Grant permission for Claude to access the Vendia MCP Gateway via OAuth
5. After connecting, go to any conversation and click the “Search and tools” button on the lower left of your chat interface
6. Find your Vendia connector and enable or disable specific tools made available by the connector

For detailed instructions, see Claude’s official MCP integration guide.

ChatGPT

ChatGPT supports MCP connectors for accessing external data sources. MCP connector support is available for ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Enterprise users.

ChatGPT Setup Steps

1. Go to chatgpt.com and sign in to your account
2. Click your profile icon in the bottom left corner
3. Select “Settings” from the menu
4. Click “Apps & Connectors” in the left sidebar
5. In the “Connectors” section, scroll to the bottom of the connectors list and click “Advanced settings”
6. Enable “Developer mode” toggle (this allows you to add unverified connectors)
7. Click “Back” to return to the Apps & Connectors page
8. Click the “Create” button in the top right corner
9. In the “New Connector” dialog:

• Name: Enter a name for your connector (e.g., “Vendia MCP Gateway”)
  • Description (optional): Enter a description of what the connector does
  • MCP Server URL: Enter your Vendia MCP Gateway URL
  • Authentication: Select “OAuth” from the dropdown

10. Check the “I trust this application” checkbox (note: custom connectors are not verified by OpenAI)
11. Click “Create” to save the connector
12. In the authorization dialog that opens, click “Allow” to complete the OAuth flow
13. After successful authorization, you’ll see a confirmation message and be returned to the connector details page
14. The connector now appears in your “Enabled apps & connectors” list

Using the Connector in a Conversation

1. Start a new chat or open an existing conversation
2. Click the ”+” button next to the message input field
3. Select “More” to expand additional options
4. Click on your Vendia connector from the list (it will be listed with the name you provided during setup)
5. The connector will be added to your chat (shown as a badge below the input field)
6. You can now ask ChatGPT to access your Vendia data

For detailed instructions on setting up MCP servers in ChatGPT, see OpenAI’s MCP documentation.

Mistral AI: Le Chat

Mistral AI’s Le Chat supports MCP connectors for accessing external data sources. Custom MCP connectors are available on Mistral’s free plan, making it an accessible option for getting started.

Mistral Setup Steps

1. Go to chat.mistral.ai and sign in
2. Navigate to Intelligence → Connectors
3. Click “Add Connector” and then select the “Custom MCP Connector” tab
4. In the connector configuration:
   • Connector Name: Enter a name for your connector (e.g., “Vendia MCP Gateway”)
   • Connector Server: Enter your Vendia MCP Gateway URL
   • Description (optional): Enter a description of what the connector does
   • Authentication Method: Select “OAuth2.1” from the dropdown
5. Click Connect and complete the authorization flow
6. Once connected, you can use Vendia tools in your Le Chat conversations

For detailed instructions on setting up custom MCP connectors in Mistral, see Mistral’s connector documentation.

OpenAI Compatible Applications

For applications using OpenAI’s API or compatible interfaces, configure the MCP server in your application settings or SDK initialization.

General Configuration

Most OpenAI-compatible applications will require:

• MCP Server URL: Your Vendia MCP Gateway URL
• Authentication Method: OAuth (recommended) or Bearer token
• Authorization Header: For programmatic access

See OpenAI’s MCP documentation for specific implementation details.

Other MCP-Compatible Applications

Most MCP-compatible applications follow similar patterns for setup:

General Setup Pattern

1. Locate Settings: Find the MCP or integrations settings in your application
2. Add Remote Server: Look for an option to add a new remote MCP server
3. Enter URL: Input your Vendia MCP Gateway URL
4. Configure Authentication: Complete OAuth authentication when prompted

Application-Specific Documentation

For application-specific guides, consult your AI application’s documentation on Model Context Protocol integration. The Model Context Protocol specification provides the standard implementation details.

Step 3: Authenticate and Start Using

Once you’ve added the Vendia connector to your AI application, you’re ready to start:

1. First Time: When you first use the Vendia connector in a conversation, you’ll be prompted to authenticate
2. OAuth Flow: Click the authentication link and sign in with your Vendia credentials
3. Grant Access: Authorize the AI application to access your Vendia data
4. Start Querying: Return to your conversation and start asking questions about your data!

Your AI application now has access to your Vendia data and can help you query, analyze, and work with your information.

What’s Next?

Now that you’re connected, explore what you can do based on your Vendia tier:

Free & Pro Tier Users

With the Free & Pro Tiers, you get instant access to:

• Demo Vendia Connection: Pre-loaded sample data to explore MCP capabilities
• Ready-to-Use Prompts: Example queries to get started quickly

Continue with: Free & Pro Tier Setup Guide for detailed information on how to connect remote data sources

Enterprise Tier Users

With the Enterprise Tier, you can:

• Query Operational Data: Use GraphQL to access real-time project data
• Run Analytics: Execute SQL queries for data analysis and reporting
• Manage Files: Upload and access files stored in Vendia projects
• Connect S3 Buckets: Integrate external storage with your projects

Continue with: Enterprise Tier Setup Guide for project configuration and advanced data access.

Troubleshooting

Connector Not Appearing

• Restart your AI application completely
• Verify your MCP Gateway URL is correct
• Check that the URL is accessible from your network

Authentication Failures

• Verify your Vendia credentials are correct
• Check that popup blockers aren’t preventing the authentication window
• Enterprise Tier: Ensure you have proper permissions for the project

Connection Issues

• Confirm the MCP Gateway URL is correct and accessible
• Verify your network allows access to Vendia servers
• Check if corporate firewalls are blocking the connection

Additional Resources

Learn More About Vendia MCP Gateway

• MCP Gateway Overview
• Authentication Methods
• Storage Connections
• API Connections
• MCP Gateway FAQ

Advanced Options

Need alternative connection methods? See Advanced Connection Methods for:

• Local proxy connections (for legacy MCP clients)
• Programmatic access with service credentials
• Custom token exchange implementations

Need Help?

Free Tier Support:

• Review the MCP Free & Pro Tier FAQ
• Submit questions via our contact form

Pro Tier Support:

• Submit questions via your dedicated Slack channel

Enterprise Tier Support:

• Contact Vendia Support
• Reach out to your account team

The Vendia team is here to help you make the most of AI-powered access to your data!