Claude connector, ChatGPT plugin or Cursor plugin: where to launch first
Where should you launch your MCP connector first: Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor?
Launch first where your users already work. Then weigh the paperwork: Claude takes a remote server URL through its submission portal, ChatGPT asks for a verified identity, a domain token, test cases and a demo, and Cursor reviews plugins from a public Git repository by hand. Invokary tracks each directory's rules with their sources.
- Published
Which to choose
Claude first
Choose it when:
- Your users work in Claude, and you can submit from a Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise account.
- Your remote MCP server signs users in with OAuth, or needs no authentication.
- You can give reviewers test credentials for a fully populated account.
ChatGPT first
Choose it when:
- Your users work in ChatGPT or Codex, which share one Plugins Directory.
- You can verify an individual or business identity and serve a domain verification token.
- You can write exactly five positive and three negative test cases and record a demo.
Cursor first
Choose it when:
- Your product serves developers who work in Cursor.
- You can publish the plugin from a public Git repository under a permissive license.
- You can wait for a manual review before the plugin is listed.
The MCP Registry, alongside any of them
Choose it when:
- Your server is public at a stable URL.
- You can authenticate a namespace through GitHub, DNS or HTTP.
- You accept that the registry is in preview and may change.
There is no best directory in general, only a best first one for your users. Start where they already work, because a listing they never see does nothing. Then look at what each directory asks of you, because the paperwork differs more than the server does. One remote MCP server can back all three listings, so the first launch is mostly about order, not about building something different.
What each directory asks for
Claude. You submit a remote server URL through Anthropic's directory submission portal, from a Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise account. Submissions go through automated checks and a safety scan, and new listings carry the Community label. Reviewers check tool titles and hints, names of 64 characters or fewer, descriptions, and test credentials for a fully populated account.
ChatGPT. OpenAI's Plugins Directory is shared by ChatGPT and Codex. A submission needs a verified identity, Apps Management write access, a domain verification token, exactly five positive and three negative test cases, a demo recording, release notes, and website, support, privacy and terms URLs. Every tool sets its hints with a justification.
Cursor. Plugins are submitted from a public Git repository and reviewed by hand. The manifest is a root plugin.json or a .cursor-plugin/plugin.json, and open-source components must use permissive licenses.
The MCP Registry. Not a store but a public list of servers. You publish a server.json that lists your server's URL under a namespace you authenticate. It is in preview, and publishing to it doesn't depend on the other three.
A sensible order
- Launch on the directory where most of your users work.
- Publish to the MCP Registry at the same time, once the server is public at its final URL.
- Add the next directory when the first listing is stable, reusing the same server.
Every requirement, with its source and the date we checked it, is on our Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and MCP Registry pages. If you want the order, the tools and a fixed quote worked out for your product, that is what the Agent Distribution Audit does.
Questions
Can one MCP server back all three?
Yes. A Claude connector is a remote MCP server, a ChatGPT plugin is MCP-backed, and a Cursor plugin can bundle a remote server in its manifest. Each directory adds its own submission and rules on top of the same server.
Which directory reviews fastest?
None of them publishes review times, so we don't estimate them. Claude shows each submission's review status, and the changes Anthropic asks for, in its developer portal.
Do we need OAuth for every directory?
Not always. Claude accepts OAuth 2.0 for each user, a key an organization Owner enters once (in beta, for a limited set of organizations), or no authentication. ChatGPT needs a UserInfo endpoint on your OAuth server only to restrict a plugin to one workspace domain.
Is there a reason not to submit to ChatGPT yet?
One we track: projects with EU data residency cannot currently submit MCP plugins.
Sources
- Claude docs: Publish to the directory (accessed )
- Claude docs: Track your directory submission (accessed )
- Claude docs: Connector pre-submission checklist (accessed )
- OpenAI Developers: Submit plugins (accessed )
- OpenAI Developers: Plugin submission errors (accessed )
- Cursor Docs: Plugins (accessed )
- Cursor Docs: Plugins reference (accessed )