Connect an assistant

Two minutes. You need a LeadBind account and an assistant that supports MCP, which today means Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and a growing list of others.

There are two ways in, and which one you use depends on your app, not on your preference:

• Sign in. Add https://leadbind.org/api/mcp as a custom connector and log in when it asks. No key to copy, nothing to paste. It starts read-only, so it can answer questions about your account and cannot change anything or call anyone. You can widen it afterwards under AI access, then Connected assistants (see Widening a signed-in connector).
• Paste a key. Create a scoped key and send it as a header. This is the path for apps that take a raw MCP config, and it lets you choose the permissions when you create the key.

1. Create a key

Skip this if your app supports sign-in and reading is all you need.

In LeadBind, go to Setup, then AI access, or open it directly at leadbind.org/agent/ai-access.

• Name it after where it will live. "Claude on my laptop" beats "key 1" the day you have three of them and need to revoke one.
• Pick permissions. Start with Read only. You can create a second key with more later, and you should, once you trust what it is doing.
• Read the disclosure and check the box. It explains what leaves LeadBind. See What we send.

The key is shown once. Copy it before you close the page. If you lose it, revoke it and make another. That is not a hassle, it is the design.

Warning: Treat the key like your password. Anyone holding it can see your leads. Do not paste it into a group chat, a screenshot, or a support ticket. A key you have shown to anyone should be revoked.

2. Add it to your assistant

Claude, on the web or on the desktop

Both use the same screen, and neither needs a key.

1. Open Customize, then Connectors.
2. Select the plus button, then Add custom connector.
3. Paste the URL as the server URL and select Add: https://leadbind.org/api/mcp
4. Click Connect on the new row and sign in to LeadBind when the browser opens.

That is the whole flow. The connection is bound to your LeadBind account by your verified email, and it lands read-only.

Note: On a Team or Enterprise plan, an owner adds the connector first, under Organization settings, then Connectors, then Add, then Custom, then Web. Members then connect it from Customize.

Note: Claude Desktop also has a Settings, then Developer, then Edit Config screen. That one only accepts a local command to run, so a hosted URL like ours does not belong there. Use Connectors.

ChatGPT

Connectors that call an external MCP server live behind developer mode, which is available on Pro, Plus, Business, Enterprise and Education accounts on the web.

1. Open Settings, then Security and login, and turn on Developer mode.
2. Open Plugins, select the plus button, and create a developer-mode app for a remote MCP server.
3. Give it https://leadbind.org/api/mcp and choose OAuth as the authentication.
4. Sign in to LeadBind when it sends you there.

It uses the same sign-in flow as Claude, so there is no key field, and it lands read-only for the same reason. ChatGPT also asks for confirmation before any write action by default, which is a second lock on top of ours.

Claude Code

One command, with the key in a header:

claude mcp add --transport http leadbind https://leadbind.org/api/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY_HERE"

Cursor, and anything that takes a raw MCP config

Paste this and replace YOUR_KEY_HERE:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "leadbind": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://leadbind.org/api/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor reads .cursor/mcp.json in the project directory. For anything else, look for "MCP", "Connectors", or "Custom tools" in its settings.

Your terminal

The CLI is the same API with no browser at all:

curl -fsSL https://leadbind.org/install.sh | sh && export PATH="$HOME/.leadbind/bin:$PATH"
leadbind login && leadbind connect

leadbind login asks for your key. leadbind connect then finds Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor on the machine, wires LeadBind into each, and reports which ones it configured and which it skipped. ChatGPT and Claude on the web connect by signing in, as above, so there is nothing on your machine for it to change. After that, leadbind today is the first thing to try.

Restart the app if it does not pick the connection up right away. Most read MCP config only at startup.

Widening a signed-in connector

A connector created by signing in starts with read permission. That is deliberate: logging in proves who you are, and it should not by itself hand an AI the ability to dial a stranger.

When you want that assistant to book, create, or call, widen it yourself:

1. In LeadBind, open AI access and find Connected assistants. Each assistant that has signed in appears there the first time it calls your account.
2. Choose Change access on its row.
3. Tick the permissions you want, tick the box confirming you understand the assistant can reach your account data, and choose Save access. The change takes effect on the next call the assistant makes.

The change is stored by LeadBind and the row shows what it saved, so what you see is what the assistant has. You use your own login to change this, and an assistant can never change its own permissions. The same row has a disconnect action if you want it gone.

A key is still the other route: create one with exactly the permissions you want and use the header path above.

3. Confirm the endpoint is live

One curl, no key needed:

curl -s -X POST https://leadbind.org/api/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize"}'

It returns the protocol version and a short description of what the server is for. A call that needs a credential answers 401 with a WWW-Authenticate header pointing at the sign-in flow, which is exactly how a connector discovers where to log you in. See the API reference for the rest.

4. Ask it something

Start here, because it is the one that shows you what this is for:

"What should I work on in LeadBind today?"

That runs get_next_actions, which returns work rather than records: leads that went quiet, calls that connected but never got followed up, and what is on your calendar in the next two days.

Then try:

"Show me my calls from this week and which ones booked."

"What times do I have open Thursday?"

"Add Maria Lopez, her number is on the form she filled in, she called about a roof leak."

5. Combine it with your other tools

This is where it stops being a nicer dashboard.

If your assistant also has your calendar, your email, or your documents connected, ask for things that cross the line between them:

"Book my 2pm from LeadBind, then draft the confirmation email with directions to their address."

"Any lead I have called twice with no answer, put them on a list and remind me Monday morning."

LeadBind does not have an email integration. Your assistant does, and it can hold both at once.

Troubleshooting

"This API key is not valid" or "No API key was sent": the key is wrong, revoked, expired, or the word Bearer is missing before it. This comes back as HTTP 401, not as a normal result, and the message links to the page where a new key is made.

"This key lacks the 'write' scope": you connected read-only, or you made a read-only key, and then asked it to do something. If you signed in, widen it under AI access, then Connected assistants. If it is a key, create a new one with the permission you need. Keys cannot be upgraded, on purpose.

It cannot see the tools at all: restart the assistant. Most apps read MCP config only at startup.

Claude Desktop's config file did not work: that screen runs local commands only. Add LeadBind under Customize, then Connectors, instead.

It booked at a time you are not free: your assistant guessed instead of checking. It is instructed to call get_availability first. If it keeps doing this, tell it to check your availability before booking, and see Availability to make sure your hours are right in the first place.

Still stuck: Get help.