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How to give Claude memory of the people in your life (MCP setup)

October 14, 2026 · ppl team

Claude can draft a message to a friend. The next chat may start without the notes from the last one. If you also use ChatGPT or Cursor, those conversations do not share one address book. A personal CRM gives each of them the same record of the people in your life.

ppl is that record. It is a hosted personal CRM for contacts, notes, birthdays, and follow-ups. Claude reaches it through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). You add one server address, approve access in your browser, and Claude can look people up. ppl is hosted at withppl.com today. A self-hosted version is coming soon.

Add the ppl connector in Claude

Use the steps on the agent setup page. In Claude they look like this:

1. Open Customize, then Connectors.
2. Choose Add, then Add custom connector.
3. Name the connector ppl.
4. Paste the server URL https://withppl.com/mcp. The address ends in /mcp.
5. Review the authentication settings. Select OAuth and automatic client registration.
6. Choose connect. Claude opens your browser so you can sign in and approve the requested permissions.

Claude's custom connector setup is available on supported paid Claude plans. On Team and Enterprise, an owner may need to add the connector before members can connect their own accounts. When you want Claude to use ppl in a conversation, turn the connector on in that conversation's connector controls. Anthropic describes those controls in Claude's custom connector guide.

Approve access in the browser

You do not create an API key, and you do not paste a token into Claude. The browser approval is the connection.

Enter your email. If you already have a ppl account, enter your password as well. If you are new, ppl creates the account from that email and sends a verification message. Verify your email during connection, before you approve. The consent screen lists what the connector will be able to do. Read the list, then choose Authorize.

ppl also emails a link so you can set a password and sign in later. The same account is what ChatGPT or Cursor will use if you connect them afterward.

Check that Claude can see your people

Start with a read. An empty account has little to report, and that is different from a failed connection.

Use ppl to show my relationship briefing. Tell me which birthdays,
follow-ups, or open tasks are coming up. Do not change any records.

Compare the answer with the account you approved. Open My agents and confirm that a request from this connection was recorded. If the account is empty, add one person you plan to talk to this week, or bring in contacts you already have. Then ask again.

When the read matches your account, save one real detail:

Find Jordan in ppl. If more than one contact matches, ask me which
one I mean. Show me a note that Jordan starts a new job on Monday,
and ask before you save it.

Open the contact in ppl and confirm the note. Save the fact you confirmed. Leave guesses about how Jordan feels out of the record.

Claude Code uses the same server

If you use Claude Code, add the hosted server from a terminal. This is the command on the setup page:

claude mcp add --transport http ppl https://withppl.com/mcp

To keep a personal CRM out of a shared project file, the Claude Code guide adds a user scope:

claude mcp add --transport http ppl --scope user https://withppl.com/mcp

In Claude Code, run /mcp, select ppl, and follow the authentication link. The browser sign-in is the same approval: create an account if you need one, verify your email, and review the permissions. You do not install a local ppl server for this connection.

If Claude cannot find the connector

Confirm the connector is enabled in this conversation and that its status says it is connected. The URL has to be the MCP address, not the homepage and not /agents. If your organization manages connectors, ask the owner whether custom connectors are allowed. If access was revoked, connect again and approve. Changing the prompt does not restore a revoked token.

You can remove the connector in Claude. To end its access to your ppl account as well, revoke it in My agents.

Start with one person

A name, a recent conversation, and one follow-up are enough to see whether this is useful. Ask Claude what you should remember before the next call. If a detail is missing, add it in ppl or ask Claude to show the note before saving it.

Free during beta. Up to 1,000 contacts. No credit card.