Connect your AI

How connections work.

A two-minute read before you connect anything. No technical background needed.

What a connection is #

MCP — short for Model Context Protocol — is a standard that lets an AI assistant use an outside tool on your behalf.

Think of it as the socket and SoloSearcher as the appliance. Plug your assistant in once and it can read from and write to your workspace the way you do, without you copying anything across. SoloSearcher holds the sockets — Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Hermes, OpenClaw, or any compatible tool each plug into their own. The sockets are on SoloSearcher's side: plugging in never moves your data, it just grants one way in. Unplugging is one click — revoke a connection and that line goes dark while everything in SoloSearcher stays exactly as it was.

Without it, you'd paste a listing into your assistant, read the answer, then paste the answer back into SoloSearcher. With it, you just ask, and the finished work is filed on the company record.

How a request travels #

A round trip crosses the connection three times, and your assistant keeps nothing from it:

You ask, in ordinary words — the prompt goes to your assistant, not to SoloSearcher directly.
Your assistant asks SoloSearcher for data. This leg, and the two below, are the MCP connection you set up once — data crosses it in both directions.
SoloSearcher answers with only what you can already see: Companies, Listings, Contacts, Financials, Reports, Your criteria. Everything is kept here, organized by company, before, during, and after any assistant touches it.
Your assistant reasons over what came back and hands you an answer — it keeps nothing of its own.
Anything it saves — a report, a note, an update — files back onto the company record.

SoloSearcher holds the data throughout. Your assistant borrows it, reasons over it, and hands the result back — swap assistants and your workspace is unchanged.

What it looks like in practice #

You ask, in ordinary words — in Claude, or wherever you already work.
```
Research A. E. Johnson Company and save the report
```
Your assistant calls SoloSearcher — it picks the matching skill and runs it, signed in as you. Every skill has a short name like this one.
```
research_company
```
The result lands on the company — the report saves onto the company record, waiting the next time you open SoloSearcher. Nothing to copy back.

What a connected assistant can and can't do #

Every connection is scoped when you approve it, and a browser connection and an API key follow the same rule: only what you deliberately allowed is available.

It can

Read your companies, listings, and contacts within the access you approved
Run any skill, and with read-and-write access, save the result to the company record
Create and update records, with read-and-write access

It cannot

Delete anything — delete is not available to any connection or key; removing a record happens in the app, by you
Change anything in your account if you connected read-only
See another person's data
Act after you revoke it

Common questions #

Do I need to write any code?

No. For Claude in your browser, you paste one URL into a settings screen and approve the connection — about two minutes. Only terminal tools like Claude Code need an API key and a line of configuration, and both are copy-and-paste.

Is my data safe?

A connection runs as you, so it can only ever reach your own account — the same records you see when you log in. There is no anonymous access: every request has to prove who it's from, or it's turned away. And no connection or key can delete your records — removing something happens in the app, by you.

What is an API key, and do I need one?

A long secret code that proves a tool is acting on your behalf — a password made for machines. You only need one for tools that can't open a browser to sign in, like Claude Code. Treat it like a password: never paste it in chat, email, or a shared document.

Can I change my mind later?

Yes. Every connection and every key is listed under Settings → Connections with when it was last used, and revoking takes effect immediately — even mid-conversation. To change what an assistant is allowed to do, revoke it and connect again choosing different access.

Can I connect more than one assistant?

Yes, and they don't interfere. Many people connect Claude in the browser for everyday questions and Claude Code in the terminal for bulk work. Each connection is listed separately so you can see which one did what.

What if it stops working?

Connections usually break for one of two reasons: a key was rotated or revoked, or an approval was withdrawn on the assistant side. The Connections page lists every credential with its last use, which is the fastest way to spot the one that went quiet.