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Connecting OpenAI

Preview This capability is in Preview and may not be enabled for your organization yet. About release stages

Connect Codex CLI or ChatGPT to your Neuralift MCP server, with authentication caveats explained.

OpenAI’s clients can query your published Neuralift segments over MCP. Codex CLI is the recommended OpenAI path because it supports Neuralift’s API-key (bearer token) authentication directly. ChatGPT’s developer mode can also attach custom MCP servers, but its authentication options don’t currently include a static API key; read the caveats below before choosing that route.

Before you begin

  • MCP is enabled for your organization (see the overview); your Neuralift team will confirm your exact endpoint when enabling MCP.
  • You have a Neuralift API key. An organization admin creates these (see roles and permissions).
  • Your organization has at least one published use case.

Connect Codex CLI

Codex reads bearer tokens from an environment variable, so your key never sits in a config file.

  1. Export your key in the shell where you run Codex. Set it in your current shell session or load it from a secret manager; don’t write it into your shell profile:

    export NEURALIFT_MCP_KEY="nlmcp_xxxxxxxxxxxx"

  2. Add the server to ~/.codex/config.toml:

    [mcp_servers.neuralift]
url = "https://app.neuralift.ai/mcp"
bearer_token_env_var = "NEURALIFT_MCP_KEY"

    bearer_token_env_var tells Codex to send the variable’s value in the Authorization header on every request.

  3. Verify the configuration:

    codex mcp list

    The neuralift server should appear. Inside a Codex session, type /mcp to confirm it’s active.

  4. Send a first prompt to verify end to end:

    List my data runs.

You should now see your organization’s published use cases, with their goals and completion dates.

Connect ChatGPT (developer mode)

ChatGPT’s developer mode lets you register a remote MCP server as a custom connector (as of July 2026; this surface changes frequently). Pro plans have read and fetch access, while full MCP connector support targets Business, Enterprise, and Edu plans:

  1. In ChatGPT, open Settings → Apps and turn on the Developer mode toggle (under advanced settings).
  2. From the same Apps/Connectors settings, select Create.
  3. Enter a name (for example Neuralift) and the MCP server URL https://app.neuralift.ai/mcp, then choose an authentication option.
  4. In a conversation, enable the Neuralift connector and ask: “List my data runs.”

Warning. ChatGPT’s developer-mode apps authenticate with OAuth, No Authentication, or a mix of the two. There is currently no option to attach a static API key such as Neuralift’s, so a direct ChatGPT connection may fail to authenticate. Use Codex CLI (above) for a supported path, or contact support@neuralift.ai about options for your workspace.

Troubleshooting

  • Codex reports the server as unreachable or unauthorized. Confirm NEURALIFT_MCP_KEY is exported in the same shell that launched Codex, and ask your admin to confirm the key is active in Settings → API keys.
  • Requests are rejected with a “forbidden” error. MCP is not yet enabled for your organization. Contact your Neuralift team.
  • The assistant connects but returns no results. Your organization has no published use cases yet; MCP reads published results only.

Next steps