Forget the App Store. Get your tool into Claude.

How to build your own

You can do this on your own with Claude Code, or build it with me in the class. Either way, these are the steps.

1. Pick one thing to plug inAn API you own, a service you offer, or one public dataset. Start with questions people already ask you.
2. Paste the starter prompt into Claude CodeClaude interviews you first, then writes the connector (an MCP server), with read-only tools, an "about" tool, a developers page and a privacy page.
3. Put it onlineClaude Code deploys it for you, for example to a free Cloudflare account. You get one web address, like https://yourtool.com/mcp.
4. Add it to your own ClaudeIn Claude, open Settings, then Connectors, then Add custom connector, and paste the address. Ask it a real question.
5. Submit it to Claude's directoryAt claude.ai/directory/manage (needs a paid Claude plan): listing text, icon, docs and privacy links, and two test prompts for the reviewer. Approval isn't promised, but the steps below make it much more likely.

The starter prompt

I want to build a Claude connector (an MCP server) for my own app, service or data, and get it ready for Claude's connector directory.

Before writing any code, interview me one question at a time:
1. What do I want people to be able to ask about? Give me 3 example questions.
2. Where does the data come from (my API, a spreadsheet, a public dataset)? Is any of it private?
3. Who runs it (my name or company), and how current is the data?

Then build it:
- A remote MCP server (Streamable HTTP) with a few focused tools. Make them read-only unless I ask otherwise, and label each one (readOnlyHint, destructiveHint).
- An "about" tool that says who operates it, what the data covers and how current it is.
- Server instructions in one plain paragraph that say what it is and which tool to call first. No promotion and no steering toward other tools.
- A /developers page (endpoint, tools, example prompts) and a /privacy page (what is logged, nothing sold), plus a 512x512 PNG icon.
- Deploy it (Cloudflare Workers is fine), then test every tool with my 3 example questions and show me the results.

Finally, write the directory listing for me: name, one-line description, long description, 3 to 5 use cases, and 2 test prompts with expected answers for the reviewer.

What the accepted ones have in common

• A clear jobA few focused tools that answer real questions, not a whole product.
• Honest labelsTools marked read-only where they only read, and plain instructions that say who runs it.
• Real data, with sourcesAnswers come from the data, never made up, with the source and date.
• The paperwork doneDevelopers page, privacy page, PNG icon and test prompts the reviewer can run.