Nathan FieldSkool has no documented way to connect Claude or ChatGPT, so today you do it with a Skool MCP: a connector, made by a third party, that lets your AI read from your community and act in it. This guide explains MCP in plain words, lists the options that exist, shows how to add one to Claude or ChatGPT, and spells out what access you hand over. We make one of these options, Backpack, so read with that in mind. Everything below was checked on 29 September 2026.
To connect Claude or ChatGPT to Skool, you add a Skool MCP server, usually as a custom connector: in Claude under Customize, then Connectors, or in ChatGPT with developer mode on. Skool's help centre lists no MCP of its own. Options include Backpack, Skoot, Skooly and Zapier's Skool MCP.
What MCP is, in plain words
The official site puts it this way: "MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open-source standard for connecting AI applications to external systems." In practice there are three parts:
- Your AI app, such as Claude or ChatGPT.
- An MCP server, a small service that sits between your AI and another product, here your Skool community.
- Tools, the short list of things that server lets your AI do, like "list members who failed a payment" or "schedule a post".
You ask in plain English and the AI picks a tool to answer you. Both Claude and ChatGPT can ask for your approval before a tool runs. The tools decide everything: an AI can only do what the server lets it do. That is why the choice of server matters more than the choice of AI.
What Skool offers on its own
Skool's help centre has no article on a public API, an MCP, Claude or ChatGPT. Its documented integration is Zapier, and Skool's help article on the Zapier integration says: "This feature is only available on the Pro plan, and not on the Hobby plan." It lists four uses: send new paid members to your CRM, send membership question answers to your CRM, invite a member, and unlock a course for a member.
Zapier turns that into a Skool MCP. Its page lists two supported actions: "Invite Member" and "Unlock Course for Member". So through Zapier, your AI can invite members and unlock courses, and nothing else. It needs the $99 Pro plan and a Zapier account. Our Skool pricing guide covers what else is Pro-only.
Your Skool MCP options
| Option | What your AI can do | What it holds | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Backpack | Read your members, their payment state, your recovery sequences and scheduled posts. Write posts and put them in your schedule. | Only Backpack's data. Never your Skool session. | $9 a month, included |
| Skoot MCP | "Manage your community with AI". Skoot does not publish the tool list. | Not published | Skoot's premium tier. Price not published (standard is $99 a month). |
| Skooly MCP | "Access Skooly AI, MCP, and CLI to make the most of your Skool data". Tool list not published. | Not published | Skooly VIP, $59 a month |
| Zapier Skool MCP | Invite a member. Unlock a course for a member. | Your Skool Zapier connection | Skool Pro ($99 a month) plus your Zapier plan |
Backpack
Backpack is a Chrome extension plus our servers for Skool owners. It handles failed payments, cancellations and scheduled posts, and it lets you connect your own Claude or ChatGPT. Our homepage says "Your AI sees your Backpack data and nothing else." Our privacy policy lists what that is: your member records, member payment state and the state of your follow-up sequences, plus your scheduled posts. Your AI can create, change or cancel scheduled posts. It cannot send direct messages or change the messages you wrote, and every change it makes is logged as coming from MCP. The assistant "never receives your Skool session."
That makes it narrow on purpose. It will answer "Who failed a payment this week?" and "Write a post for Friday and schedule it." It will not read your feed, comments or classroom, because Backpack does not collect them.
Skoot and Skooly
Both list an MCP on a higher tier. Skoot's Skool page puts "Managing Your Community With AI (Skoot MCP)" in its premium tier. Skooly's Skool page puts "Access Skooly AI, MCP, and CLI" in its VIP tier, which its site prices at $59 a month. Neither publishes what its MCP tools can read or change, so ask before you pay. We compare both tools in full in our look at Skool Chrome extensions.
How to add a connector to Claude
Anthropic's help article on custom connectors says they "are available on Claude, Cowork, and Claude Desktop for users on Free, Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans. Free users are limited to one custom connector." On a Pro or Max plan:
- Go to Customize, then Connectors.
- Click "+", then "Add custom connector".
- Paste the connector's remote MCP server URL.
- Click "Add", then sign in if the connector asks you to.
- In a chat, click the "+" button on the lower left, then "Connectors", and switch it on for that conversation.
On Team and Enterprise plans, only an Owner can add a custom connector. Members then connect to it themselves.
How to add one to ChatGPT
ChatGPT connects to your own MCP server through developer mode. OpenAI's developer mode guide says it is "Available to Pro, Plus, Business, Enterprise, and Education accounts on the web." Its steps:
- In ChatGPT, open Settings, then Security and login, and turn on Developer mode.
- Go to ChatGPT Plugins, select the plus button, and create an app for your remote MCP server.
- In a conversation, choose Developer mode from the plus menu and select the app.
OpenAI is blunt about it: developer mode is "powerful but dangerous, and is intended for developers who understand how to safely configure and test apps." Write actions ask for your confirmation by default.
Connecting Backpack
Our homepage sums up the Backpack side: "Paste one link, then sign in with your email. No keys to copy." You add Backpack's link as a custom connector using the steps above, sign in with the code we email you, and approve the connection. Then ask it about your members or have it draft next week's posts.
What access you hand over, and how to limit it
Anthropic's own warning is the right starting point: "When you connect Claude to external services, you're granting it the ability to access and potentially modify data within those services based on your permissions." With Skool, the question is how much of your account the connector can reach.
- Know which kind you are connecting. A connector that holds your Skool login cookie can do anything you can do in Skool. A connector like Backpack's sees only its own data and has a fixed list of tools.
- Read the tool list before you connect. If a connector can post, comment or approve members, your AI can too.
- Keep approvals on. Anthropic says to review tool approval requests and only click "Allow always" for a server and tool "that you trust to run unsupervised". In ChatGPT, write actions need your confirmation unless you tell it to remember your choice.
- Switch off tools you do not need. Claude lets you turn off tools per conversation. ChatGPT lets you toggle tools in the app's settings.
- Only connect servers you trust. Both Anthropic and OpenAI warn about prompt injection and malicious MCP servers.
- Treat your Skool cookie like a password. If you ever pasted it somewhere you should not have, Skool has a LOG OUT EVERYWHERE button under Settings, then Account, then Sessions. Backpack's privacy policy notes that signing out of Skool everywhere also ends the session it stores.
- Remember your members' data. Whatever your AI reads goes to your AI provider. Backpack's privacy policy says whether you need to tell your members "is your decision as controller".
- Disconnect when you are done. In Claude, remove it under Customize, then Connectors. In Backpack, remove the assistant, and its access also stops after 90 days without use.
An AI can only do what its connector lets it do. Pick the narrowest connector that does the job.
Run your community from Claude or ChatGPT with Backpack
If you want to ask "who failed a payment this week?" without opening Skool, Backpack is built for that. You connect your own Claude or ChatGPT with one link. Your AI can read your members and their payment state, see how your failed-payment follow-ups are going, and write posts into your schedule. It cannot send DMs or change the messages you wrote. Backpack itself uses no AI: nothing goes to an AI provider unless you connect one. It is $9 a month for every Skool community you admin, with every feature, and it is not made by or affiliated with Skool. Try Backpack free for 7 days.
Whichever Skool MCP you choose, start with the narrowest one that does the job, keep approvals on, and add more access only when you need it.
FAQ
What is a Skool MCP?
A Skool MCP is a connector that lets an AI like Claude or ChatGPT read from your Skool community and act in it, using the Model Context Protocol. Skool does not make one. Backpack, Skoot, Skooly and Zapier offer one. Each gives your AI a different list of tools, so check what it can read and change before you connect it.
Does Skool have an official API or MCP?
Skool's help centre documents no public API and no MCP. Its documented integration is Zapier, which is only on the $99 Pro plan. Zapier's Skool MCP can invite a member and unlock a course for a member. Anything more comes from third-party tools, not from Skool.
Can I connect ChatGPT to my Skool community?
Yes, through a Skool MCP server and ChatGPT's developer mode. OpenAI says developer mode is available to Pro, Plus, Business, Enterprise and Education accounts on the web. Turn it on under Settings, then Security and login, then create an app for the MCP server's link.
Can I use a custom connector on Claude's free plan?
Yes. Anthropic says custom connectors using remote MCP are available on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans, and that "Free users are limited to one custom connector." On Team and Enterprise plans, only an Owner can add one, then each member connects to it.
Can Claude post in my Skool community for me?
Only if your connector has a posting tool. Backpack lets Claude or ChatGPT write posts into your Backpack schedule, which then go up at the time you set. Zapier's Skool MCP lists no posting action. Keep approvals on for any tool that writes.
Is it risky to give an AI access to my Skool account?
It depends on the connector. One that holds your Skool login cookie can do anything you can do. A narrow one, like Backpack's, sees only its own data and cannot send DMs. Read the tool list, keep write approvals on, and disconnect anything you no longer use.