Grok Connectors
Official definition (docs.x.ai/grok/connectors): "Connectors are available to all Grok users and let Grok access your external tools and data sources directly within a conversation. Search your email, browse files in cloud storage, check your calendar, and more without leaving the chat."
Analog: Claude Connectors. This page is the chat connector catalog. It is not Grok Build MCP (
grok mcp add) and not Grok Bot plugins.
Goals and non-goals
Audience: people who want Grok to read mail, Drive, calendar, or a custom MCP server inside grok.com chat.
Goals: list the three official kinds, the built-in table, the Business admin gate, and the local-tunnel rule.
Non-goals: a second MCP protocol tutorial, invented catalog entries, or Grok Build [mcp_servers] config (that is grok-cli.md / cookbook).
Three kinds
| Kind | Who maintains it | How you add it |
|---|---|---|
| Built-in | xAI, native OAuth | grok.com/connectors → New Connector → pick the service → OAuth |
| Catalog | Pre-configured OAuth for more third-party services | Same page; browse the catalog. Official docs do not freeze a full name list |
| Custom MCP | You (public MCP server) | New Connector → Custom → MCP server URL + auth |
Once connected, Grok can use the connector's tools automatically when the question relates to that service. No extra per-chat toggle is documented on this page.
Built-in connectors
Official table (connectors):
| Connector | What it connects |
|---|---|
| Gmail & Google Calendar | Gmail messages and Google Calendar events |
| Google Drive | Google Drive files, Docs, Sheets, and Slides |
| OneDrive | Microsoft OneDrive personal storage |
| Outlook Mail & Calendar | Outlook email and calendar events |
| Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Teams messages, channels, and chats |
| SharePoint | Microsoft SharePoint sites and document libraries |
| Salesforce | Salesforce CRM — explore objects, query records, create and update |
Custom MCP connectors
Official capabilities (connectors):
- Expose any internal API, database, or SaaS tool to Grok.
- Define your own tools with custom schemas and logic.
- Control authentication and access on your own infrastructure.
The MCP server must be reachable over the public internet. localhost and RFC1918 addresses (127.0.0.1, 10.x, 172.16.x, 192.168.x) are rejected (custom-mcp-tunneling).
Tunnel pattern from that page:
Grok ──► https://your-tunnel.example.com ──► tunnel provider ──► localhost:3001Official examples: ngrok (ngrok http 3001) and Cloudflare Tunnel (cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:3001). Cloudflare quick tunnels do not support SSE — if your server uses SSE, use ngrok. Streamable HTTP is fine on Cloudflare.
Tunnels are temporary on free tiers. Restart → new URL → remove the old connector and add the new one. Keep the local server running; Grok calls it on demand.
Business and Enterprise
For Grok Business and Enterprise users, a team admin must first provision a connector in the cloud console before it is available to members of the organization.
Admin path (connector-management): console.x.ai → team → Grok Business → Connectors. Adding/removing needs Team Read-Write.
- + Add Connector from the catalog, or Other + MCP URL.
- Some Microsoft / Salesforce connectors need extra admin consent. The management page points at service-specific guides for SharePoint, OneDrive, and Salesforce.
- After the admin provisions it, members still connect their own accounts on grok.com/connectors.
- Remove deletes it for the team; indexed data associated with the connector may be removed.
Personal (non-Business) accounts skip the admin step.
Not these connectors
| Looks similar | Actually is |
|---|---|
| Grok chat Connectors | This page |
| Grok Build MCP | grok mcp add / [mcp_servers] in ~/.grok/config.toml — tools namespaced <server>__<tool> |
| Grok Bot "Plugins" | Grok Bot Settings → Plugins; @ to attach |
Voice API mcp tool | Server-side MCP on wss://api.x.ai/v1/realtime (Voice) |
Common pitfalls
- Pointing a custom connector at
http://localhost:3001. Officially rejected. - Expecting a Business member to see Gmail before an admin provisions it.
- Copying Grok Build MCP config into grok.com. Different product, different host.
- Using Cloudflare quick tunnels with an SSE MCP server.
Official docs
| Page | Use |
|---|---|
| docs.x.ai/grok/connectors | Three kinds + built-in table |
| docs.x.ai/grok/connector-management | Business admin provision |
| docs.x.ai/grok/connectors/custom-mcp-tunneling | Public URL / tunnels |
| grok.com/connectors | User-facing add/connect UI |
| docs.x.ai/grok/overview | Connectors as a chat capability |
Related pages
- Grok Chat
- Grok Business — admin must provision first
- Grok Build cookbook — CLI MCP, not this
- Grok Bot
- Grok learning map