How to Connect Perplexity to an MCP Server
Perplexity can connect to MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers through custom connectors. That lets it read your own notes and tools, not just the public web.
A note on availability
Perplexity's MCP connector support is newer than the equivalent feature in Claude or ChatGPT, and the plans it ships on have been changing. As of May 2026, custom connectors are a paid-tier feature.
Perplexity controls the exact menus and plan gating, and both move. Treat the steps below as the shape of the flow, and check Perplexity's own settings and help docs for the current wording on your account.
What you need
- A Perplexity account on a plan that includes custom connectors (check your account)
- An MCP server URL from the service you want to connect (for example,
https://hjarni.com/mcp)
Add a custom connector
- Open Settings in Perplexity and find Connectors
- Choose to add a custom connector
- Enter the MCP server URL (e.g.
https://hjarni.com/mcp) - Complete the sign-in the connector prompts for, then save
- In a thread, enable the connector so Perplexity can call its tools
If your Perplexity build words these steps differently, the underlying idea is the same: point a custom connector at the MCP server URL and authorize it once.
Verifying the connection
Start a thread, enable the connector, and ask something only your notes would know. For example, if you connected Hjarni:
"Based on my Hjarni notes, what did we decide about pricing last quarter?"
If Perplexity answers from your notes instead of the open web, the connection is working.
Troubleshooting
The connector option is missing
Custom connectors are a paid-tier feature and the plan that includes them can change. Check your plan in Perplexity settings.
Perplexity answers from the web instead of your notes
Make sure the connector is enabled for the current thread, and ask a question that clearly points at your notes.
Sign-in does not stick
Remove the connector and add it again, then complete the authorization without closing the tab early.
Try it with Hjarni
Hjarni is a knowledge base with a built-in MCP server. Connect it to Perplexity and your research has somewhere to land. Save what you find, then ask Perplexity to read it back in the next thread.
The MCP server URL is https://hjarni.com/mcp. The same notes are read by Claude and ChatGPT too, so your context is not locked to one tool.