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MCP Connectors // Help & Setup

Bring your tools into Claude.

The Agent33 MCP connectors let you plug your own accounts — Basecamp, Sentral and IPONZ — into Claude (and ChatGPT) and drive them in plain language. This page is everything you need to connect, use and troubleshoot them.

Connect Basecamp Connect Sentral Connect IPONZ
The basics

What is an MCP connector?

MCP (the Model Context Protocol) is the open standard Claude uses to talk to outside tools. An MCP connector is a small secure service that exposes one of your systems — its projects, records, documents — as a set of actions Claude can call on your behalf. Add the connector once, and you can ask Claude to read and update that system in normal conversation.

Connector 01

Basecamp Connector

Full two-way access to a Basecamp 3 account — projects, to-dos, message boards, card tables (kanban), docs & files, campfires, check-ins and webhooks. Ask Claude to triage a project, draft a message, or move a card.

92 tools · read + write · connects via Basecamp login (OAuth)
Connector 02

Sentral Connector

Read access to a school's Sentral data — students, staff, classes, families, enrolments, attendance, welfare, timetables, reports and fees. Built read-only by design, given how sensitive student data is.

Read-only · curated tools · connects with a Sentral API key
Connector 03

IPONZ Connector

Access to the IPONZ register (New Zealand's Intellectual Property Office) — trade marks, designs and patents: case info, renewals, client/portfolio search, examiner tasks, discussions and documents. Optional write scope can pay renewals and file submissions.

Read by default · write on request · connects with your IPONZ subscription keys
Private by design. There is no database behind these connectors. Your credential is encrypted directly into the key you use, and every request decrypts it in memory and then forgets it. Nothing about your account is stored on our servers.
Connector 01 // Basecamp

Connect Basecamp

Two ways to connect. The custom-connector method is easiest and needs no config files — use it unless you specifically need the manual route for Claude Desktop.

MCP endpointhttps://basecamp-mcp.agent33.com/api/mcp
Manual onboardinghttps://basecamp-mcp.agent33.com/connect

Method A — Custom connector

Recommended

Works in Claude web and Claude Desktop. Claude handles the login for you.

  1. In Claude, open Settings → Connectors and choose Add custom connector.
  2. Paste the MCP endpoint https://basecamp-mcp.agent33.com/api/mcp and continue.
  3. Claude opens a Basecamp login. Sign in and approve access.
  4. If your login has more than one Basecamp account, pick the one you want.
  5. Done — the Basecamp tools load and you can start asking Claude to work in your projects.
Team admins can add the same URL as an organization connector. Each member then logs in individually and only ever sees what their own Basecamp permissions allow.

Method B — Manual (Claude Desktop + mcp-remote)

Advanced

Use this only if you need to wire the connector into Claude Desktop's config file directly. Requires Node.js.

  1. Visit https://basecamp-mcp.agent33.com/connect and approve access in Basecamp.
  2. Copy the issued key — it looks like bc-mcp:v1.…
  3. Add it to your Claude Desktop config as an X-API-Key header (see below).
  4. Fully quit Claude Desktop with ⌘Q (not just closing the window) and reopen it.
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
// merge this into your existing config
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "basecamp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote",
        "https://basecamp-mcp.agent33.com/api/mcp",
        "--header", "X-API-Key:bc-mcp:v1.<your key>"]
    }
  }
}
Connector 02 // Sentral

Connect Sentral

Sentral has no third-party login, so instead of a login screen you provide three values from your school's Sentral instance. They're validated before a key is issued, then encrypted into that key.

MCP endpointhttps://mcp-sentral.vercel.app/api/mcp
Manual onboardinghttps://mcp-sentral.vercel.app/connect
Before you start. In Sentral, go to Enterprise Setup → API Keys and create a key for a dedicated integration user (least-privilege / read-only is recommended). Your school's Sentral instance must be reachable over public HTTPS — a server that only answers on a local network can't be reached from the cloud.

Method A — Custom connector

Recommended

Add the endpoint in Claude, then fill in the connector's own credential form.

  1. In Claude, open Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector.
  2. Paste https://mcp-sentral.vercel.app/api/mcp and continue.
  3. The connector shows a short form. Enter your Base URL https://your-school.sentral.com.au, your X-API-KEY, and your X-API-TENANT (tenant ID).
  4. The values are checked against Sentral before the connection is created. Once they pass, the tools load.

Method B — Manual (Claude Desktop + mcp-remote)

Advanced

Same idea as Basecamp's manual method, with a Sentral-prefixed key.

  1. Visit https://mcp-sentral.vercel.app/connect and fill in the credential form.
  2. Copy the issued key — it looks like sentral-mcp:v1.…
  3. Add it to Claude Desktop's config as an X-API-Key header, then quit with ⌘Q and reopen.
claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sentral": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote",
        "https://mcp-sentral.vercel.app/api/mcp",
        "--header", "X-API-Key:sentral-mcp:v1.<your key>"]
    }
  }
}
Connector 03 // IPONZ

Connect IPONZ

IPONZ (New Zealand's Intellectual Property Office) has no third-party login — every request is authenticated with subscription keys from your IPONZ account. The custom connector opens a short ToFU-branded credential form where you enter those keys once; they're validated against IPONZ, then encrypted into the connector key.

MCP endpointhttps://mcp.tofumark.com/api/mcp
Manual onboardinghttps://mcp.tofumark.com/connect
Before you start. In your IPONZ account, get your two subscription keys — the IPONZ key (case info / REST) and the IPONZ-Documents key (search, tasks, discussions, documents). Optionally note your User Id (drives the task inbox — read it from your IPONZ web account, it isn't API-discoverable) and your Customer/Agent Id (drives your portfolio search). Choose Sandbox or Production, and leave scope on Read unless you deliberately need write — write submits incur official IPONZ fees.

Method A — Custom connector

Recommended

Add the endpoint in Claude, then fill in the connector's own credential form. Claude handles the OAuth handshake (Dynamic Client Registration + PKCE) for you.

  1. In Claude, open Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector.
  2. Paste https://mcp.tofumark.com/api/mcp and continue.
  3. The connector shows a short form. Enter your IPONZ key and IPONZ-Documents key, pick Sandbox / Production and the access scope (default Read), and optionally add your User Id and Customer/Agent Id.
  4. The keys are checked against IPONZ before the connection is created. Once they pass, the tools load — read tools always; write tools only if you chose write scope.
Read tools are always on. Write tools (pay a renewal, respond to a task, send a discussion message, submit a trade mark or PCT national-phase patent) only appear when the connection's scope is write — and those submits incur official fees.

Method B — Manual (Claude Desktop + mcp-remote)

Advanced

Same idea as the others, with an IPONZ-prefixed key.

  1. Visit https://mcp.tofumark.com/connect and fill in the credential form.
  2. Copy the issued key — it looks like iponz-mcp:v1.…
  3. Add it to Claude Desktop's config as an X-API-Key header, then quit with ⌘Q and reopen.
claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "iponz": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote",
        "https://mcp.tofumark.com/api/mcp",
        "--header", "X-API-Key:iponz-mcp:v1.<your key>"]
    }
  }
}
Answers

Frequently asked

Is my data or password stored anywhere?

No. The connectors are stateless and have no database. Your credential is encrypted (AES-256-GCM) directly into the key you use. Each request decrypts it in memory to talk to Basecamp, Sentral or IPONZ, then discards it. We never see your Basecamp password (that stays with Basecamp's own login), your Sentral or IPONZ keys are never stored, and we don't log secrets or the contents of your data.

Which apps can I use these with?

Claude Desktop, Claude on the web, and ChatGPT all support custom MCP connectors and work with all three connectors. The custom-connector method (Method A) is the smoothest in Claude; the manual method (Method B) is there for Claude Desktop power users who prefer editing the config file.

How do I disconnect or revoke access?

Basecamp: revoke access from your Basecamp account under My profile → Apps with access. Once revoked, the key can no longer reach your account.

Sentral: delete the API key in Enterprise Setup → API Keys. That immediately invalidates any connector key built from it.

IPONZ: revoke or regenerate the subscription key in your IPONZ account. Revocation is handled by IPONZ, not by us — once a key is revoked, any connector key built from it stops working.

You can also just remove the connector inside Claude to stop using it.

Do the keys expire?

Keys don't expire on their own. A Basecamp connector key stays valid until you revoke access in Basecamp or the server's encryption key is rotated. If a key ever stops working, just re-run the connect flow to issue a fresh one.

Sentral won't connect — what should I check?

The most common cause is that the school's Sentral instance isn't reachable from the public internet over HTTPS. A localhost or private-network address can't be reached by the cloud connector.

Also confirm the three values are exactly right: the Base URL (no trailing path), the X-API-KEY, and the X-API-TENANT tenant ID. They're validated against Sentral at connect time, so a wrong value is rejected up front.

IPONZ won't connect — what should I check?

Both subscription keys are validated against IPONZ at connect time, so a rejection almost always means a key is wrong or doesn't have the right subscription. Confirm you've entered the IPONZ key (info / REST) and the IPONZ-Documents key in the right fields, and that they match the environment you picked — a Sandbox key won't work against Production, and vice-versa.

If iponz_task_list returns nothing, add your User Id (from your IPONZ web account); if portfolio search comes back empty, add your Customer/Agent Id. Run iponz_whoami to see what the connection currently knows about you.

Claude Desktop didn't pick up my config change

Claude Desktop only reads the config on a full launch. Closing the window isn't enough — quit completely with ⌘Q on macOS (or right-click the tray icon → Quit on Windows), then reopen. The connector should appear on next start.

Can I run these for my own organisation / white-label them?

Yes. Both connectors are built to be deployed per-client with your own product name and domain — they already run for more than one organisation. If you'd like your own deployment, or a connector for a system that isn't listed here, get in touch.

How can I test that a key works?

Send a tools/list request to the MCP endpoint with your key as the X-API-Key header. A valid key returns the list of available tools.

smoke test
curl -s https://basecamp-mcp.agent33.com/api/mcp \
  -H "X-API-Key: bc-mcp:v1.<your key>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list"}'
Still stuck? Email the squad