How to Add a Remote MCP Server to Perplexity

How do I add a remote MCP server to Perplexity?

Open Plugins in the sidebar, click Add custom, choose Connector → Add MCP connector → Remote, and fill in a name, the server's MCP URL, and — unlike most clients — pick from three authentication options and two transports. Check the risk acknowledgment, click Add, then click the new connector card on the Plugins page to run its authentication flow. Custom connectors need a Pro, Max, or Enterprise plan. Don't see Plugins in your sidebar yet? Start from Customize → Connectors instead.

What plan you need

Custom remote connectors reached Pro, Max, and Enterprise subscribers in March 2026, alongside the wider rollout of Perplexity Computer. Perplexity's help article files the feature under Enterprise features, and on an Enterprise org an admin has to enable custom connectors before members see them. If you don't see the option to add a custom connector, your plan or your admin's settings are the likely reason.

On Enterprise, "Allow members to add custom connectors" is off by default; an admin turns it on under Enterprise settings → Connectors (Connector permissions section), and can choose to share a connector org-wide or leave it scoped to the individual who added it.

Customize is now Plugins

In October 2026 Perplexity renamed the Customize sidebar item to Plugins and merged Connectors and Skills into one page, with Discover, Installed, and Organization tabs. Older instructions — including anything that says Settings → Connectors — point to where the option used to live. The rollout is gradual: it starts with individual plans and Self-Serve Enterprise organizations, with sales-assisted Enterprise plans to follow. If your account doesn't show Plugins yet, use Customize → Connectors; the form is the same.

Perplexity's "Local and Remote MCPs" help article now points to the same place: open Plugins in the sidebar and select Add custom.

Adding the connector

1. Open Plugins in the sidebar (or Customize → Connectors if your account doesn't show Plugins yet). Enterprise admins adding an org-wide connector instead use Enterprise settings → Permissions → Connectors permissions and click + Custom connector.
2. Click Add custom, then choose Connector → Add MCP connector (on the older Customize → Connectors page, use its add-custom-connector button)
3. Select Remote
4. Fill in the required fields:
   • Name — a display name, e.g. "Tempreon"
   • MCP Server URL — the server's HTTPS endpoint. Perplexity's own example URL ends in /sse, but the correct path depends entirely on the server you're connecting — use the exact endpoint that server's docs give you.
5. Fill in the optional fields:
   • Description — what the connector does
   • Authentication — OAuth, API Key, or None (see below)
   • Transport — Streamable HTTP or SSE
   • Icon — up to 128 KB
6. Check the acknowledgment box confirming you understand the risk of connecting a custom server
7. Click Add — the connector appears on the Plugins page

Authorizing the connection

Adding the connector and authorizing it are separate steps. Click the new connector's card on the Plugins page to start whichever authentication flow you chose and enable it:

• OAuth 2.0 — a browser window opens on the server's consent screen; sign in if prompted, review the request, and approve. If the server supports OAuth discovery (/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server), Perplexity detects the endpoints and scopes automatically — no manual Client ID or Client Secret. A server that doesn't support that discovery, or doesn't support dynamic client registration, will ask you to supply one.
• API Key — paste the static key the server gave you.
• None — nothing to authorize; the connector is reachable without credentials, which is only appropriate for a server with no sensitive data or actions behind it.

To edit or remove a connector later, click its ⋮ menu where it's listed (the Plugins page, or Customize → Connectors on accounts without Plugins yet).

Using it in a thread

Once authorized, toggle the connector on under Sources on the Perplexity homepage or in a thread, then ask something that would need it. Perplexity runs your question through whichever model is active — GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or one of its other 20+ models depending on your plan — and any of them can call the connector's tools once it's toggled on as a source. That's the practical advantage of connecting an MCP server to Perplexity specifically: one connector, available no matter which underlying model you're using that thread.

What usually goes wrong

Problem	Fix
No "Add custom" option	Requires Pro, Max, or Enterprise. On Enterprise, an admin must turn on "Allow members to add custom connectors" under Enterprise settings → Connectors (Connector permissions section).
Older instructions say Settings → Connectors and you can't find it	Customize became Plugins in October 2026. Open Plugins → Add custom, or Customize → Connectors if Plugins hasn't reached your account yet.
Connector added but never used	Check it's toggled on under Sources in the thread, and that you completed the authorization step by clicking the connector card.
Connection fails immediately	Confirm the MCP Server URL is the exact HTTPS endpoint the server documents — Perplexity's own example ends in /sse, but many servers use /mcp or another path; the wrong path is the most common cause of an instant failure.
OAuth prompts for a Client ID and Secret you don't have	The server doesn't support OAuth discovery or dynamic client registration. Check whether the server publishes a client ID/secret pair for third-party clients, or switch to API Key auth if the server offers one.
Org-wide connector missing for other members	The connector creator has to explicitly share it from the Permissions screen in Enterprise settings — adding it doesn't share it automatically.

A worked example

With a real server — Tempreon, a hosted MCP server that carries your context across every AI tool you connect:

https://api.tempreon.com/functions/v1/tempreon-mcp/mcp

Add the connector with that URL, set Authentication to OAuth and Transport to Streamable HTTP, and approve in the browser window that opens. Once it's toggled on under Sources, any model you run a Perplexity thread on — not just one — can draw on the same context.

The account-holder walkthrough, with screenshots of each dialog, is in the Perplexity setup doc.