Plaud MCP allows AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Cursor to directly view and use your Plaud recordings. You can simply ask a prompt like "summarize Tuesday's standup" and get an immediate answer without any copying and pasting.
What is MCP?
MCP stands for Model Context Protocol. Think of it as USB-C for AI assistants — a shared port that lets any AI tool plug into your private data.
Before MCP, every AI assistant needed a custom integration to talk to every app or service. With MCP, any AI tool that supports the standard can connect to Plaud the same way.
Once you connect Plaud to your AI assistant, it can:
- List your recent recordings
- Search for specific ones — for example, "the standup from Tuesday morning"
- Show you the full transcript of any recording
- Show you the AI-generated summary and action items
All without you opening Plaud or copy-pasting anything.
Who is this for?
⚠️ Heads up: Setup depends on your AI assistant. For Claude (Web, Desktop, and Code) and ChatGPT, one click in the Connector Directory enables Plaud. For other tools (Cursor, Windsurf, etc.), follow the corresponding section below.
This guide is for users who want their AI assistant (like Claude or Cursor) to access their Plaud recordings directly.
What can you ask your AI once it's connected?
Once connected, you can just ask your AI things like:
- "Summarize Tuesday's standup."
- "Find the meeting where we discussed the Q2 budget."
- "Draft a follow-up email from this meeting's action items."
- "What action items came out of all my calls this week?"
The AI fetches the recording itself.
Which AI assistants work with Plaud MCP?
| AI assistant | Supported | Install method |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Web | ✅ | One-click (Connector Directory) |
| Claude Desktop | ✅ | One-click (Connector Directory) |
| Claude Code | ✅ | Auto-enabled via your Claude account |
| Cursor | ✅ | Terminal |
| Windsurf | ✅ | Terminal |
| Gemini CLI | ✅ | Terminal |
| Zed | ✅ | Terminal |
| VS Code (with MCP extension) | ✅ | Terminal |
| ChatGPT | ✅ | One-click (Connector Directory) |
If your AI assistant isn't on this list, check whether it supports the MCP standard — most major ones do.
How do I install it?
📺 Prefer to watch? Here's a step-by-step video walkthrough:
How you install Plaud MCP depends on which AI assistant you're using:
- Claude (Web, Desktop, or Code) and ChatGPT — one click in the Connector Directory (see Option A)
- Other MCP-compatible web apps — paste a URL in settings (see Option B)
- Cursor, Windsurf, Zed, and other tools without a directory — one-line terminal command (see Option C)
Option A — One-click install (Claude and ChatGPT)
Plaud is listed in the Connector Directory of both Claude and ChatGPT. Connecting it once enables Plaud everywhere you use that assistant — your Plaud connection is tied to your account, not the device.
- Claude: connecting in Claude Web or Claude Desktop automatically enables Plaud across Claude Web, Claude Desktop, and Claude Code.
- ChatGPT: connecting once enables Plaud across all your ChatGPT apps. Open ChatGPT's Connector Directory, find Plaud, and click Connect — no developer mode or manual URL needed.
Step 1 — Open your assistant's Connectors settings
-
Claude Web: go to claude.ai → Customize → Connectors → Plaud Web MCP → Connect
-
Claude Desktop: open the app → Customize → Connectors → Plaud Web MCP → Connect
Step 2 — Authorize
Sign in with your usual Plaud account when prompted and click Allow. Plaud is now available across Claude Web, Claude Desktop, and Claude Code.
✅ Already signed into Claude on multiple devices? You only need to do this once. The connection follows your Claude account.
Option B — Add via URL (other MCP-compatible web apps)
For MCP-compatible web apps that don't list Plaud in a Connector Directory. No terminal needed — a few clicks in your AI assistant's settings.
Step 1 — Open connector settings
Open the app's connector or integration settings and choose "Add via URL" (or the equivalent). Some apps require a developer or advanced mode to be enabled first.
Step 2 — Create the Plaud app
Click Create app. Fill in the form:
-
Name —
Plaud -
MCP Server URL —
https://mcp.plaud.ai/mcp -
Authentication —
OAuth
Check I understand and want to continue, then click Create.
Step 3 — Authorize
The app will redirect you to the Plaud authorization page. Sign in with your usual Plaud account and click Authorize — Plaud tools are now available in your conversations.
Option C — Terminal install (Cursor, Windsurf, Zed, Gemini CLI, and others)
Three steps. The whole thing takes about a minute.
Before you start: Plaud MCP runs on Node.js. If you don't already have it, install it from nodejs.org first — just like installing any other app.
Step 1 — Run the install command
Open the Terminal app on your Mac (or PowerShell on Windows) — it's where you type computer commands. Then paste in this command:
npx -y @plaud-ai/mcp@latest install
Step 2 — Authorize Plaud in your browser
A browser window opens automatically. Click Authorize and sign in with your usual Plaud account. This is the same kind of "Sign in with…" login you've used on plenty of other websites.
Step 3 — Restart your AI assistant
Quit your AI assistant completely (Cmd+Q on Mac, Alt+F4 on Windows), then reopen it.
✅ No API keys to generate. No config files to edit by hand. The install command handles all the technical wiring under the hood.
That's it. Try it out by asking your AI: "List my recent Plaud recordings."
📚 Want to go deeper? For advanced options and the full reference, see the Plaud MCP developer docs.
What Plaud MCP can't do
Worth setting expectations clearly:
- It can't record audio — your Plaud device handles recording
- It can't edit recordings or transcripts
FAQ
Is Plaud MCP safe? Will my recordings be exposed?
Plaud MCP only works with AI assistants running on your own computer. Your Plaud login is stored locally — the AI assistant never sees your password. Prompting the AI automatically sends the relevant transcript or summary to your conversation, exactly as if you had pasted it manually.
Is Plaud MCP free?
Plaud MCP is currently free for all active Plaud accounts. We may introduce pricing in the future as Plaud's plans evolve, but any change will be announced ahead of time.
Do I need Plaud Cloud Sync enabled?
Yes — Plaud MCP works by giving your AI assistant access to your synced recordings, so Plaud Cloud Sync (PCS) must be enabled on your Plaud account.
Can the AI download my audio files through Plaud MCP?
Yes. When you ask the AI for a recording, it gets a temporary download link (valid for 24 hours) along with the transcript and summary — so the AI can save the audio file for you when you ask.
I switched to a different AI assistant. Do I need to reinstall everything?
If you're switching between surfaces of the same assistant — Claude Web, Desktop, or Code, or between ChatGPT apps — you don't need to do anything, since your Plaud connection is tied to your account and carries over automatically. If you're switching to a different assistant family (e.g. from Claude to Cursor), repeat the corresponding install step for that tool. Your Plaud login carries over either way, so you won't need to sign in again.
My AI doesn't see Plaud after I installed it. What should I check?
Try these in order:
- (Terminal install only) Did you fully quit the AI app? Closing the window isn't enough — Mac: press Cmd+Q to quit; Windows: press Alt+F4 to exit (or right-click the app icon in the system tray and choose Quit/Exit). Then reopen. (One-click installs in Claude and ChatGPT take effect immediately — no restart needed.)
- Was the browser sign-in successful? During install, a browser opens with an Authorize button. If you closed it before clicking — or the browser didn't open at all — re-run the install command and complete the sign-in.
- Tools showing a not authenticated message? Instruct your AI to log you into Plaud and it will immediately re-open the browser sign-in screen for you.
-
Did you see
npx: command not found? You need Node.js installed first — get it from nodejs.org.
If none of those help, contact support and include the last few lines of output from the install command.
What's the difference between Plaud MCP and Plaud CLI?
- Plaud MCP is for using your AI assistant to ask questions about your recordings — "summarize Tuesday's call"
- Plaud CLI is for running commands directly in a terminal — "download all transcripts from this week into a folder"
Many power users install both. If you only want to chat with your AI about your recordings, Plaud MCP is what you want.