OpenWork Connect MCP Server

What is OpenWork Connect MCP Server?

OpenWork Connect MCP Server is OpenWork's hosted MCP gateway: one URL that gives Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, ChatGPT and other MCP clients access to your team's shared skills and the tools you connected in OpenWork.

OpenWork is an open-source desktop app for knowledge workers (macOS, Windows and Linux) with a cloud workspace for teams. Connect is the part that lets agents outside the app reuse what the team has set up. You connect services such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Linear, Slack, Notion, GitHub, HubSpot or any MCP server once in OpenWork, and every client that adds the gateway URL can use them. Skill edits reach every teammate on their next call, and access is checked on every call.

How to use OpenWork Connect MCP Server?

The endpoint is https://api.openworklabs.com/mcp/agent over Streamable HTTP. Every client uses OAuth: when you add the URL, your client opens a browser where you sign in (or create a free account) and choose an organization. The organization is pinned to the token. Skills appear only after an admin publishes them in OpenWork Cloud and grants you access.

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http openwork https://api.openworklabs.com/mcp/agent

Then run /mcp, select openwork and sign in in the browser. Add -s user to make the server available in all projects.

Claude Desktop and claude.ai

Open Settings, go to Connectors, choose Add custom connector and paste https://api.openworklabs.com/mcp/agent. Sign in when prompted.

Cursor

OpenWork offers an "Add to Cursor" link, or add the URL to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openwork": {
      "url": "https://api.openworklabs.com/mcp/agent"
    }
  }
}

VS Code

OpenWork documents this command:

code --add-mcp '{"name":"openwork","type":"http","url":"https://api.openworklabs.com/mcp/agent"}'

Or add the server to .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "openwork": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.openworklabs.com/mcp/agent"
    }
  }
}

Then run MCP: List Servers, pick openwork and choose Start Server.

OpenWork's guide also covers Codex (codex mcp add openwork --url https://api.openworklabs.com/mcp/agent, then codex mcp login openwork), Gemini CLI, OpenCode, ChatGPT, Windsurf and Zed. OpenWork notes that only OpenCode is verified end to end; the other clients follow its OAuth profile.

Key features of OpenWork Connect MCP Server

• One endpoint for many clients: the same URL works in Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, OpenCode, Gemini CLI and ChatGPT.
• Shared skills: agents see each skill's name and description, and the full SKILL.md loads only when a task needs it.
• Connected tools: services you connect once in OpenWork become available to every client through the gateway.
• Live updates: skill edits reach every teammate's next call without reinstalling anything.
• Access control on every call, tied to the organization pinned to your token.
• Self-hosting option: self-hosted deployments use their own API origin, by default https://api.<your-den-web-host>/mcp/agent.

OpenWork's Connect page describes four tools: search_capabilities, execute_capability, list_skills and get_skill. Our probe could not list tools because the endpoint requires sign-in.

Use cases of OpenWork Connect MCP Server

• Reusing team skills in a coding agent: "List our OpenWork skills and use the release-notes skill on this branch."
• Reaching connected services from any client: "Search our capabilities for Linear and create an issue for this bug."
• Keeping one set of integrations for a whole team instead of configuring each MCP server in every editor.
• Rolling out an updated skill: an admin edits it in OpenWork and teammates get the new version on their next call.
• Switching between Claude Code and Cursor without losing access to the same tools.

Troubleshooting OpenWork Connect MCP Server

• 401 or invalid_grant errors: log out of the openwork server in your client and sign in again.
• Wrong organization: the organization is pinned to the token. Log out of openwork and sign in again, choosing the other organization.
• No skills listed: skills only appear after an admin publishes them in OpenWork Cloud and grants you access.
• Client-specific sign-in issues: OpenWork verifies OpenCode end to end; for other clients, re-run their MCP auth step (for example /mcp in Claude Code or codex mcp login openwork).