Docs → ChatGPT setup

Connect Virgil to ChatGPT

A few more steps than Claude, and they only take a minute. Virgil connects as a custom MCP connector. The address to paste is https://mcp.virgilknows.com/mcp, and sign-in is Virgil's branded sign-in: your email and your code.

Two ChatGPT frictions are normal. Your connection stays put once it is made, but ChatGPT asks you to invoke Virgil once per chat: at the beginning of each new ChatGPT conversation, type @Virgil. You only need to do it once per chat - in our testing he stays active for the rest of that conversation. Forget once and he just will not be there that chat. The first message in a new ChatGPT chat takes a few seconds to connect. That is ChatGPT opening the connection, not Virgil. Once it is open, he is instant.

Connect ChatGPT

1. Plugins in the left sidebar → the "+" button, top right. (Apps became Plugins in ChatGPT's July 2026 update - "Create App" is gone; creating now lives on the Plugins page.)
2. In the "New Plugin" dialog - Name: Virgil. Connection: Server URL, https://mcp.virgilknows.com/mcp. Authentication: OAuth. Check "I understand and want to continue" → Create.
3. "Sign in with Virgil" → Virgil's branded sign-in → enter your email and your code.
4. The blurb goes in: your name, bottom-left → Settings → Personalization → Custom instructions.
5. Every new chat: type @Virgil at the start, then your question. Once per chat is enough. (Prefer menus? "+" → Virgil does the same thing.)

These menus get renamed every few months. Three things never change: the name (Virgil), the address (https://mcp.virgilknows.com/mcp), and the branded email-plus-code sign-in. Wherever your ChatGPT adds a custom MCP server this week, those three carry you through.

Add the blurb

Paste the instruction blurb into Personalization → Custom Instructions. The blurb is how Virgil shows up ready instead of a stranger you re-introduce. It tells ChatGPT to check Virgil first, save as you go, and flag what came from the record.

One-click copy lives at virgilknows.com/setup.

Verify it works

Save one real fact with: Virgil, save this: ...

Then open a fresh chat, type @Virgil, and ask, "What do you know about me?" Recall favors named subjects, so asking about a named person, company, or project is the most reliable way in.

ChatGPT notes

Invoked but quiet? Once you have typed @Virgil, ChatGPT calls him when the request benefits from memory, not on every reply. Say "ask Virgil" any time you want the record checked on purpose.

If Virgil works in Claude but seems limited in ChatGPT: ChatGPT keeps its own cached copy of what Virgil can do, and it can go stale. Settings → Plugins → Virgil → the "..." menu → Reconnect, then start a new chat. Old chats keep the stale copy. Same Virgil, same record underneath.

If you sign in from ChatGPT and land back on virgilknows.com: that is the sign-in finishing, not failing. The connection lives in your ChatGPT tab. Switch back to it.

Small FAQ

Where is my sign-up code? It lives only in the welcome email, subject "Virgil is ready", from verify@mail.indistinct.ai. It is single-use, lasts 7 days, and is needed only the first time you connect Virgil, in whichever app you start with.

What happens later? Connecting a second app later, or reconnecting, uses your email plus a fresh 6-digit code emailed at that moment. Each fresh code lasts 10 minutes and works once.

Does the connection expire? The connection renews about once a month for safety. A re-sign-in with email plus a fresh 6-digit code is normal, and the original sign-up code is never needed again.