Originally published on tommos.ai on October 15, 2026, by Yuri Kovalov, founder of Tommos. Posted here by the Tommos team. The Claude facts come from Anthropic's own help and docs pages, read on October 15, 2026; the Tommos facts from the product's own setup docs.
You connect Claude to a CRM through the CRM's MCP server. In Claude on the web or the desktop app, add the server's address as a custom connector and sign in to the CRM in the browser. In Claude Code, run one claude mcp add command, then authenticate with /mcp. From then on Claude reads and changes CRM records with your permissions, when you ask in plain words.
In 30 seconds
- You need two things: a CRM with a remote MCP server, and a Claude plan that allows custom connectors (every plan does; Free allows one).
- On a Team or Enterprise plan, an owner adds the connector first. Then each person connects their own account.
- Claude acts as you. The CRM checks your role on every call, so Claude can do what you can do and no more.
- Claude reaches the CRM from Anthropic's servers, not from your laptop. A CRM only reachable on your office network will not connect.
What happens when you connect Claude to a CRM
MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is an open standard for letting an AI client call outside tools. A CRM vendor runs an MCP server that offers its actions as tools: find a contact, update a deal, list today's meetings. Claude reads the list, and when your request needs one, it calls the tool.
The sign-in is OAuth, the same "sign in with your account and press Allow" you know from other apps. Claude never sees your CRM password; it gets a token that acts as you and can be revoked.
Before you connect any CRM, check three things:
- The address comes from the vendor's own docs. Not from a directory listing or a forum post.
- Which tools change or delete data. Read the vendor's tool list. If it offers a read-only server, start there.
- Where the CRM records an agent's changes. You will want to see what Claude did, by name and date.
Connect a CRM in Claude on the web or the desktop app
Custom connectors that use a remote MCP server work in Claude on the web, Claude Desktop and Cowork, on the Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans. A Free account can add one custom connector.¹
On Pro or Max:
- Open Customize, then Connectors.
- Press + Add, then Add custom connector.
- Give it a name ("CRM") and paste the CRM's MCP server address.
- Leave the authentication on OAuth unless the vendor's docs say otherwise, and press Add.
- Press Connect. A browser tab opens the CRM's sign-in. Sign in and press Allow.
On Team or Enterprise: only an Owner or a Primary Owner can add the connector to the organization (on Enterprise, also a custom role that can manage the library). After that, each member opens Connectors, finds it and presses Connect to sign in with their own CRM account.¹
Some CRMs are already in Claude's connector directory, so you search for the name instead of pasting an address. Pipedrive's is one.² The sign-in is the same.
Claude's connectors also work in the Claude mobile apps once connected.¹
Connect a CRM in Claude Code
In a terminal, add the server over HTTP:³
claude mcp add --transport http crm https://<the CRM's MCP address>
Then type /mcp inside Claude Code, choose the server and follow the browser sign-in. The token is stored and renewed for you.³ (claude mcp login crm does the same from the shell.)
Three scopes decide who sees the server:³
| Scope | Flag | Where it is saved | Who gets it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local (default) | none | your Claude config | you, in this project |
| Project | --scope project |
.mcp.json in the repository |
everyone who clones the repository |
| User | --scope user |
your Claude config | you, in every project |
A project scope shares the address, not your sign-in: each person still signs in as themselves.
Connect Claude to Tommos, step by step
Tommos (tommos.ai) is a CRM whose AI agents, the tommos, take a B2B inquiry to a signed contract. Its MCP server address is:
https://app.tommos.ai/api/mcp
Claude web or desktop: Customize → Connectors → + Add → Add custom connector, paste the address, press Add, then Connect. The Tommos sign-in opens; sign in (if you already are, you only confirm), choose the workspace and press Allow.
Claude Code:
claude mcp add --transport http tommos https://app.tommos.ai/api/mcp
Then /mcp → tommos → Authenticate, and the same sign-in in the browser.
What your role lets Claude do. A Viewer's Claude reads. A Member's Claude also writes contacts, deals, forms, events and the Playbook, and decides cards. An Admin's Claude also sets how the tommos work, the sending domains and the API keys. The Owner's Claude can also ask the owners to choose a plan and export the workspace. If you leave the workspace, your Claude loses access with you.
No Tommos workspace yet? Two ways in. When you sign in from Claude and belong to no workspace, the sign-in page offers to open one: name your company and press Open the workspace and connect. Or ask Claude to open it: the create_workspace tool needs no sign-in, only your company's name and your work address, and nothing is sent or charged until you confirm that address from the email Tommos sends. You then connect as above.
First requests to try, each one a single sentence to Claude:
- "What does Tommo still need from me to start working?" Claude reads the workspace's state and its one list of what is missing, each item with the way to do it.
- "Summarize everything that happened with Dana Ortiz." Claude reads her timeline, the emails and the meeting notes.
- "Which invoices on the Alder deal are not paid yet?" Claude reads the deal's payment schedule and each invoice's status. (Invoicing is on the Sign plan.)
- "Add our new rates to the Playbook." Claude writes the page the tommos read before they write.
A job with no person behind it. For a scheduled script, an owner or admin issues an API key in Settings → Developer → API Keys with only the scopes it needs. The key goes in the client's config as a bearer header. A key can read and refuse cards, never approve one, and it is revoked in the same place.
What Claude can do in Tommos: tommos.ai/crm-mcp. Roles, keys and every tool: tommos.ai/agents.
When Claude will not connect to your CRM
| What you see | Why, and what to do |
|---|---|
| "Add custom connector" is missing | On Team or Enterprise, only an owner adds connectors. Ask them to add the address once.¹ |
| You cannot add a second connector | Free accounts allow one custom connector. Remove one, or move to a paid Claude plan.¹ |
| The sign-in page never opens | Check the address against the vendor's docs, including the path (/mcp, /api/mcp). |
| It connects, then calls fail with "not allowed" | Your CRM role does not allow that act, or, in HubSpot, the app's scopes do not include the object.⁴ |
| HubSpot users cannot connect | HubSpot's account admin must connect first; then other users can.⁴ |
| Salesforce shows no server | An admin must switch the servers on in Setup and create an External Client App.⁵ |
| Claude does not see some tools | Pipedrive notes that Claude may not load all tools at the start of a chat by default; check the connector's tool settings.² |
| The CRM is on your private network | Connectors call from Anthropic's servers, not your device, so the server must be reachable from the internet.¹ |
For each vendor's address, sign-in and setup, see CRM MCP servers compared.
Questions about connecting Claude to a CRM
Can Claude connect to my CRM?
Yes, if your CRM has an MCP server. Add its address as a custom connector in Claude (Customize, then Connectors) or with claude mcp add --transport http in Claude Code, then sign in to the CRM in the browser.
Which Claude plans support CRM connectors?
Custom connectors using remote MCP work on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise. Free allows one custom connector. On Team and Enterprise an owner adds the connector first. Anthropic's help center, read October 15, 2026.
Does Claude see my whole CRM?
Claude sees what your CRM account sees. The CRM checks your role or permissions on each call, so a read-only user's Claude can only read.
Can Claude send emails to my clients from the CRM?
That depends on the CRM. In Tommos, a tommo drafts each email on a card, and Claude signed in as you can approve it in your name; the record shows it came through MCP. A key with no person behind it cannot approve.
Can I connect Claude to Tommos without an account?
Yes. Ask Claude to open a workspace: the create_workspace tool takes your company's name and your work address. Nothing is sent or charged until you confirm the address. Then connect and sign in.
How do I disconnect?
Remove the connector in Claude's Connectors settings, or claude mcp remove in Claude Code. In Tommos, a sign-in also ends when you leave the workspace, and an API key is revoked in Settings → Developer → API Keys.
Sources
- Claude Help Center, "Getting started with custom connectors using remote MCP", https://support.claude.com/en/articles/11175166-getting-started-with-custom-connectors-using-remote-mcp, read October 15, 2026.
- Pipedrive Knowledge Base, "Pipedrive MCP for Claude", https://support.pipedrive.com/en/article/mcp-claude, read October 15, 2026.
- Claude Code docs, "Connect Claude Code to tools via MCP", https://code.claude.com/docs/en/mcp, read October 15, 2026.
- HubSpot Developers, "HubSpot MCP server", https://developers.hubspot.com/mcp, read October 15, 2026.
- Salesforce Developers, Hosted MCP Servers guide, https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/platform/hosted-mcp-servers/guide, read October 15, 2026 through search results (the page renders by script).
Read next: CRM with an MCP server: what Claude can do in Tommos · CRM MCP servers compared · The best CRM for AI agents. Tommos gives 14 days of everything with no card: tommos.ai/signup.
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