Connect your AI

Idea Bucket has its own MCP server, so an AI assistant can search your ideas, read them, save new ones and add notes to them while you chat. You connect each assistant once, from its own settings, and you can disconnect it at any time.

#Where to find it

Open Profile and expand Connectors. The section shows:

• the Server URL to paste into your assistant, with a Copy button;
• a card for each assistant (Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT and Grok) with its setup steps and a Connected or Not connected badge;
• your Access keys;
• Other connected apps, for any other app you've approved.

When at least one app is connected, the Connectors row shows how many (for example "2 connected").

#Server URL

Every assistant uses the same address:

https://ideabucket.app/mcp

#Claude

1. On claude.ai, open Settings → Connectors.
2. Choose Add custom connector and paste the URL.
3. Select Connect, then Allow on the Idea Bucket screen.

#Claude Code

In a terminal, run:

claude mcp add --transport http idea-bucket https://ideabucket.app/mcp

Claude Code then asks you to sign in, and you approve it on the Idea Bucket screen as above.

#Gemini

1. On gemini.google.com, open Settings → Connected apps.
2. Choose Add a custom app and paste the URL.
3. Allow access on the Idea Bucket screen.

#Gemini CLI

Add the server to your Gemini CLI settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "idea-bucket": {
      "httpUrl": "https://ideabucket.app/mcp"
    }
  }
}

#ChatGPT

1. In ChatGPT, open Settings → Apps → Advanced and turn on Developer mode.
2. Choose Create, paste the URL and pick OAuth.
3. Select Connect, then Allow on the Idea Bucket screen.

#Grok

1. On grok.com/connectors, choose New Connector → Custom.
2. Paste the URL and select Connect.
3. Allow access on the Idea Bucket screen.

#Grok Bot

Grok Bot can't finish the usual sign-in, so it uses an access key instead:

1. In Profile → Connectors, under Access keys, select Create key. The name starts as "Grok Bot"; keep it or change it, then select Create.
2. Copy the key. It starts with ib_.
3. Ask Grok Bot to add a custom MCP server called Idea Bucket with the URL https://ideabucket.app/mcp and this header:

Authorization: Bearer ib_your_key_here

To hand ideas to Grok Bot as coding tasks, see Grok Bot dispatch.

#The approval screen

When an assistant connects, Idea Bucket asks you to approve it. Sign in if you aren't already. The screen says "Claude wants access to your Idea Bucket" (with the assistant's own name) and lists:

It also shows the account you're Signed in as, and where you'll go back to afterwards. Select Allow to connect, or Deny to refuse.

#What assistants can do

A connected assistant works only with your own ideas, and with the same tools whichever assistant you use. It can:

• search your ideas by meaning, list recent ones and read one idea with its notes;
• see your tags with their counts and colors, and get a one-call overview of a project tag (what it is, what shipped, what's open);
• save new ideas (inline #tags become tags, just like in the app);
• edit an idea's text, add or remove tags, and archive or restore ideas;
• add notes to an idea, signed with its name (for example "Claude"), and edit the notes it wrote itself;
• send an idea to your coding agent through a Dispatch Grok Bot automation, when you ask it to.

It can't delete ideas or notes, edit your notes or another assistant's, or see anything in your trash. Only you can delete, in the app. When an assistant archives an idea, the idea records that an assistant archived it, which automations can react to.

For the full list of tools and what they return, see the MCP tools reference.

#Access keys

Access keys are for apps that can't sign in, like Grok Bot, and for your own scripts. You paste the key as a header: Authorization: Bearer ib_….

• Create. In Profile → Connectors, select Create key, give it a name (up to 60 characters) and select Create.
• Shown once. The full key appears once, with a ready-made header. "You won't see this key again." Copy it before you select Done. Idea Bucket keeps only a fingerprint of it, so a lost key can't be shown again; create a new one instead.
• Format. Keys start with ib_ followed by 40 letters, numbers, - and _.
• List. Each key shows its name, its first characters (for example ib_Xk3pQ9w…) and when it was last used.
• Revoke. Select Revoke next to a key. Anything using it stops working straight away.
• Limit. You can have up to 10 access keys.

A key gives the same access as a connected assistant: it can't delete ideas or notes. Notes written with a key are signed with the key's name. Keys can also use two simple web endpoints, to drop an idea or fetch a random one; see REST endpoints.

#Device keys

The iPhone and Mac apps create an access key for themselves when you sign in, named "Idea Bucket on iPhone" or "Idea Bucket on Mac". The app uses it for the extras that run outside the app window, like sharing to Idea Bucket. These keys appear in your list like any other. If you revoke one, the app creates a new one the next time it starts. Signing out of the app removes its key.

#Disconnect an assistant

In Profile → Connectors, select Disconnect on the assistant's card (or next to the app under Other connected apps). This removes the assistant's access; to use it again, connect it again. You can also remove the connector from the assistant's own settings.

Disconnecting only covers assistants that signed in. An assistant or app that uses an access key keeps working until you revoke its key under Access keys.

#Signing out

Signing out of Idea Bucket signs out this device only. Your connected assistants stay connected and your access keys keep working. To cut an assistant off, disconnect it or revoke its key.

On the iPhone and Mac apps, signing out also removes that device's own key.

#Troubleshooting

• "Couldn't check which apps are connected." Idea Bucket couldn't load your connections. Check your connection and reopen Connectors.
• "Couldn't create the key. Try again." You may already have 10 keys. Revoke one you no longer use, then try again.
• The assistant says it isn't authorized. Disconnect it and connect again, or, for a key, check that the header is exactly Authorization: Bearer followed by the key.

For more help, see Troubleshooting.