Set-up

Connect Learning Brain to your AI tool.

Two things install together: the MCP connector (the 32 tools) and the Skill (how your AI uses them). Without the Skill, the tools still work, but the AI may skip the elicit-first and audit-after-design workflow.

Pick your AI tool below. When you're prompted to sign in during setup, use the email address you signed up with.

Availability depends on your AI plan and workspace settings

Which AI do you use?

Choose one and we'll show only the recommended setup.

ClaudeFull workflow ChatGPTFull workflow · Codex mode Another MCP toolWorkflow varies
I use a terminal or managed workspace
Claude Code terminal ChatGPT Business / Enterprise / Edu

Claude

Recommended · one setup covers everything

Works on Claude.ai (web) and the Claude Desktop app. Installing the connector and the skill at your account level gives you the full Learning Brain workflow — elicit-first, audit-always, evidence-cited design — in Claude Chat, Claude Cowork, and Claude Code's Desktop tab. One setup, three surfaces.

Full workflow · MCP + Skill
Prefer to have Claude guide you? Paste this prompt into Claude after signing up, and it'll walk you through both steps interactively, one at a time: 
Install Learning Brain for me on Claude Desktop. Read https://learningbrain.ai/install and walk me through both the MCP connector and the workflow Skill, one step at a time, waiting for me to confirm before moving on.
Or follow the manual steps below.
  1. Add the connector.
    Open Claude. Click your profile icon → Settings → Customize → Connectors → click the + button → Add custom connector. Paste https://learningbrain.ai/mcp and click Add.
  2. Download the skill file.
    Download learningbrain-skill.md
  3. Install the skill at your account level.
    In Claude: Settings → Customize → Skills → click the + button → Create skill → Upload a skill. Select the file you just downloaded.
  4. Run the installation check below. It verifies the connection, context elicitation, and audit workflow with one realistic task.

Claude Code (terminal CLI)

One-paste install

For users running Claude Code from the terminal without the Desktop app. If you use Claude Desktop at all, the Claude setup above already covers you — no install needed.

Full workflow · MCP + Skill
  1. Paste this into Claude Code. It'll register the MCP connector and download the workflow skill in one go. Install Learning Brain for me. Please run these two commands: claude mcp add --transport http learning-brain https://learningbrain.ai/mcp mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/learning-brain && curl -fsSL https://learningbrain.ai/learningbrain-skill.md -o ~/.claude/skills/learning-brain/SKILL.md Then tell me to restart Claude Code and run /mcp to authenticate. Claude Code will ask permission before running each command — grant both. The first registers the MCP server; the second downloads the skill to ~/.claude/skills/learning-brain/.
  2. Restart Claude Code, then run /mcp. Select learning-brain, choose Authenticate, and a browser tab opens. Close it after success, then run /mcp again — learning-brain should now show as Connected.
  3. Run the installation check below. It verifies the connection, context elicitation, and audit workflow with one realistic task.

ChatGPT desktop · Codex mode

Recommended for ChatGPT users

Codex now runs inside the ChatGPT desktop app. A personal plugin packages the Learning Brain workflow Skill and MCP connection together, so this is the closest equivalent to the full Claude setup. Plugin creation and installation depend on your plan, role, and current feature rollout.

Full workflow · MCP + Skill
  1. Open the ChatGPT desktop app, sign in, and switch to Codex mode.
  2. Download the skill file.
    Download learningbrain-skill.md
  3. Open Plugins → Create → Create Plugin. Attach learningbrain-skill.md, and paste this prompt: Use the attached skill file and the MCP server https://learningbrain.ai/mcp to create a Learning Brain plugin. The plugin builder packages the workflow guidance and the live Learning Brain tools together.
  4. Restart the ChatGPT desktop app and open a new task in Codex mode. The first time Learning Brain is used, complete the OAuth sign-in in the browser tab.
  5. Run the installation check below. It verifies the connection, context elicitation, and audit workflow with one realistic task.
No Create Plugin button? Plugin availability varies by plan, workspace policy, role, surface, and rollout. Use the managed-workspace route below if your organisation supports custom MCP apps, or the generic MCP route for another compatible tool.

ChatGPT managed workspace

Business · Enterprise · Edu

Full custom MCP app setup is currently a managed-workspace feature on ChatGPT web. Business admins/owners can create the app; Enterprise/Edu admins can grant developer access through RBAC. This route connects the live tools, but does not install the Learning Brain workflow Skill as a native ChatGPT skill.

Tools only · workflow guidance not installed
  1. Enable Developer Mode. Business admins/owners can start from Workspace settings→Apps→Create. Enterprise/Edu admins first grant access under Permissions & Roles→Connected Data; authorised users then enable it under Settings→Apps→Advanced settings.
  2. Create the app. Enter https://learningbrain.ai/mcp as the MCP endpoint and choose OAuth authentication.
  3. Scan the tools. Select Scan Tools, complete the Learning Brain OAuth sign-in, wait for the scan to finish, then select Create.
  4. Publish or enable it for the appropriate roles. In a managed workspace, an admin/owner reviews the draft, actions, approvals, and access before publishing.
  5. Start a new chat, select Learning Brain from the tools menu, then run the installation check below. Context elicitation and audit chaining may be less consistent without the Skill.
About Projects: uploaded files are reference material, not installed skills. If you use Learning Brain in a ChatGPT Project, put behavioural rules in Project settings→Project instructions. Do not rely on uploading the Skill Markdown as a source to enforce the workflow.
Surface limits: custom MCP apps are currently documented for ChatGPT web, not mobile. Availability and controls can change during the beta.

Any other MCP-compatible tool

Generic setup

For Cursor, Windsurf, or any other AI tool that supports Model Context Protocol. Most tools give you the 32 MCP tools through a simple URL-and-auth step. If the tool also supports custom skills or system-prompt files, upload the Learning Brain skill so the AI follows the elicit-first, audit-always workflow.

Workflow depends on Skill support
  1. Add the MCP server.
    Open your tool's settings and find MCP, MCP Servers, or Connectors. Add a remote server with URL https://learningbrain.ai/mcp.
    In Cursor or Windsurf: Cmd+, (or Ctrl+, on Windows) → search MCP or Features→MCP Servers → Add remote server.
  2. Add the skill, if your tool supports it.
    If your tool has a custom-skills, system-prompt, or knowledge-file feature, download the universal skill file and attach it there. Without the skill, the tools still work but the AI freestyles the workflow.
    Download learningbrain-skill.md
  3. Run the installation check below. If the AI elicits context and audits the design before presenting it, the full workflow is active.
Tool didn't find the skill field? Some MCP-capable tools don't yet support custom skills. You'll get the 32 tools and their evidence-backed outputs, but the orchestration discipline (elicit before design, audit every output) depends on the AI's own tool-use instincts rather than a loaded skill. Still useful for ad-hoc evidence lookups and single-artifact generation.
Post-install check

Check the setup with one real task.

This two-message test checks all four layers: the connection works, Learning Brain is invoked, missing context is elicited before design, and the finished module is audited before you see it.

1 · Start with a deliberately thin brief

Open a fresh chat or task and paste this:

Use Learning Brain to design a 30-minute onboarding module that helps first-time line managers run a return-to-work conversation.

Expected: the AI uses Learning Brain and asks for the missing audience, delivery, stakes, and success details before designing.

2 · Supply the missing context

Reply with:

Audience: first-time managers with no formal training. Delivery: live online. Stakes: routine but legally sensitive. Success: use our five-step policy in a realistic role-play.

Expected: a concrete module design, silently checked and revised—not a generic outline or visible audit table.

  • The Learning Brain connection authenticates and tools run.
  • The AI elicits context instead of guessing.
  • The design contains observable performance, practice, and assessment.
  • The AI follows the audit step and presents the improved result.
If only the first signal passes: you have tools-only access. Recheck that the Skill or plugin is installed and enabled, then repeat the test in a new chat or task.
Your company blocks custom connectors? Read this.

Some enterprise orgs disable custom MCP connectors in Claude and ChatGPT settings. If you hit a wall, try this path instead. It connects Claude Desktop via a local config file, bypassing the setting your IT disabled.

Prerequisites

You'll need Node.js installed. To check, open Terminal (Cmd+Space, type Terminal) and run:

node --version

If you see a version number, you're set. If not, install from nodejs.org (LTS version).

Step 1 — Regenerate your API key

This path uses an API key instead of browser sign-in. Enter the email you signed up with below to issue a fresh key. Any previously-issued key for this email stops working immediately — we don't store the original, so we can only mint a new one.

Step 2 — Add Learning Brain to your Claude Desktop config

  1. Open Claude Desktop → menu (☰) → Settings→Developer → Edit Config.
  2. Replace the contents with (or merge into existing mcpServers): { "mcpServers": { "learning-brain": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "mcp-remote", "https://learningbrain.ai/mcp", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" ] } } }

    Replace YOUR_API_KEY with the key from Step 1 (or use Fetch my key above — the JSON updates automatically).

  3. Save the file, fully quit Claude Desktop, and reopen.

Step 3 — Install the Skill

Same install path as the main Claude setup above — repeated here so you don't have to scroll.

  1. Download the skill file.
    Download learningbrain-skill.md
  2. Install the skill at your account level.
    In Claude: Settings → Customize → Skills → click the + button → Create skill → Upload a skill. Select the file you just downloaded.
  3. Run the single post-install check above. No browser pop-ups or OAuth loops should remain after this API-key setup.

Troubleshooting

Upgrading from an old OAuth-based config? Quit Claude Desktop, then run rm -rf ~/.mcp-auth in Terminal. Then update your config to the API-key version above and reopen.

npm permissions error? In Terminal, run sudo chown -R $(whoami) ~/.npm (you'll need your Mac password). Then restart Claude Desktop.

401 Unauthorized? Your API key is wrong or was revoked. Use Fetch my key above for a fresh one.

Still stuck, or your org blocks every path above? Email info@learningbrain.ai — I'd like to hear about it, and can probably help you find another way in.