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How to connect Katana to ChatGPT

Find out how to connect Katana to ChatGPT

Written by David Lorbiecke

ChatGPT is an AI assistant built by OpenAI. Connecting it to Katana lets you check stock, look up orders, and create or update records from a chat window, using your live Katana data.

Katana isn't listed in ChatGPT's Plugins Directory, so you'll need to add it manually as a custom plugin.

Before you start

In ChatGPT

  • A Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Education plan, using ChatGPT on the web. (Developer mode isn't available on the free plan or in the mobile apps.)

  • Turn on Developer mode. ChatGPT requires it for any custom plugin and shows a warning when you add one.

  • In a Business, Enterprise or Education workspace, members can't create the plugin. An admin or owner creates and deploys it once, then members connect their own Katana account to it.

In Katana

  • An active Katana account with the Access to MCP permission enabled.

    • Account owners have it by default. For everyone else, an owner or a user with Manage users and permissions enables it: profile menu (top right) → Team → the user's name → Admin tab → check Access to MCP.

      • If your permission was just changed, refresh your Katana session before connecting.

  • You sign in with your normal Katana login (no API key needed).

What the connection can do

Access to MCP is not limited by a user's other Katana permissions. Once it's on, the connected AI can read, create, and update records across the account.

It can't delete anything. Read, create, and update only. Deleting stays in Katana, with you.

Steps to connect

These steps are for personal Plus and Pro users, and for Business admins or owners setting it up for a workspace.

  1. Turn on Developer mode

    In ChatGPT on the web, open your profile menu and go to Settings → Security and login, then turn on Developer mode.

    The option to create custom MCP plugins appears only when Developer mode is enabled.

  2. Create the Katana plugin

    Open Plugins and click the + button next to the search box. The New Plugin dialog opens.

    1. Under Name, enter Katana. Icon and Description are optional.

    2. Leave Connection set to Server URL and paste https://mcp.katanamrp.com into the field below it.

    3. Leave Authentication set to OAuth. You don't need to open Advanced OAuth settings.

    4. ChatGPT shows a warning that custom MCP servers introduce risk. Tick I understand and want to continue. This appears for every custom plugin.

    5. Click Create. The button stays greyed out until you tick the box.

  3. Sign in to Katana

    A sign-in page opens. Sign in to Katana, approve the connection, and return to ChatGPT. Katana now appears under Settings → Plugins.

    1. In ChatGPT, open Settings → Apps → Advanced settings and toggle Developer mode on.

    2. Click Create app. Name it Katana, paste https://mcp.katanamrp.com as the server URL, leave Authentication as the default, tick "I understand and want to continue", and click Create.

    3. A sign-in page opens. Sign in to Katana, approve the connection, and you'll be brought back to ChatGPT.

    4. Open a new chat and select Katana from the apps menu — ChatGPT needs the app enabled per chat.

You'll know it worked if Katana shows in your apps list as Connected.

Try your first prompt: "Show me…”

Make Katana available in a Business workspace

Once you've created Katana as an admin:

  1. Go to Workspace settings → Apps → Drafts and publish it.

  2. Open Workspace settings → Plugins and set Katana to Available, so members install it themselves, or Installed, so it's installed automatically.

Review the action and approval settings before you roll it out. Where supported, admins can allow all actions, read-only actions, or a selected set.

For workspace members

Once your admin has made Katana available, open Settings → Plugins, select Katana, and sign in with your own Katana account. You don't need Developer mode, but your Katana user does need Access to MCP.

Try your first prompt

Start a new conversation. From the + menu in the message composer, select Katana, then ask something you'd normally have to click through Katana for:

"Which bins hold SKU-1042, and what's in bin A-03-01 right now?"

ChatGPT needs the plugin selected per conversation. Selecting it is the step people most often miss.

For more examples of what you can ask, see the Katana MCP overview.

Choose when ChatGPT asks for permission

Go to Settings → Plugins → Katana → Permissions.

This controls when ChatGPT asks you to confirm before it uses a plugin action. The exact options vary. If you want to review changes before they land in Katana, choose an option that asks before modifications.

This setting only changes when ChatGPT asks. It doesn't enable MCP access in Katana, grant extra access, override workspace controls, or change your Katana permissions.

Staying in control

  • Ask it to show you the change first. Before you approve anything, ask ChatGPT to summarize exactly what it's about to do. Check the products, quantities, prices, customers, suppliers, locations and statuses.

  • Verify in Katana. The AI is working from your live data, but it can still get something wrong. Check anything operational in Katana before you act on it.

  • Keep jobs scoped. Chat works best on a specific job: one order, one product line, this week. Loading a whole catalog is a job for Assisted import, not chat.

  • Reference SKUs, not product names. SKUs are what the AI matches reliably.

  • Katana only sends the data your question needs, and it goes to the AI provider you chose, under their terms.

Troubleshooting

Problem

What to do

I can't find Developer mode

Make sure you're on ChatGPT on the web, then go to Settings → Security and login → Developer mode. It's available on Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Education. In a Business workspace, members can't create plugins at all, an admin or owner has to deploy it.

'Create' is greyed out

Tick I understand and want to continue under the risk warning. Create stays disabled until you do.

The plugin won't create

Check the server URL is exactly https://mcp.katanamrp.com with no trailing slash. Connection should be Server URL and Authentication should be OAuth, which are the defaults.

The Katana sign-in page didn't open

Allow pop-ups for ChatGPT, then reopen the Katana plugin and try connecting again.

Katana is in my plugins, but isn't used in chat

Start a new conversation and select Katana from the + menu before you send your message. You can also write: "Use the Katana plugin to…"

I'm a Business member and can't create Katana

Ask your workspace admin or owner to create and deploy it. Members can connect to a deployed plugin, but can't create a custom MCP plugin.

ChatGPT can read data, but can't make a change

The action may be turned off by your workspace admin, waiting on a confirmation, not available in the current Katana MCP tools, or blocked because your Access to MCP permission was removed.

Disconnect Katana

Open Settings → Plugins, select Katana, and choose the disconnect or remove option.

To stop someone from reconnecting through ChatGPT or any other MCP client, also uncheck Access to MCP on their Katana user.

Your feedback is invaluable. Let us know your thoughts on this article or anything in Katana you'd like to see improved: [email protected]

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