Last updated: June 14, 2026
ChatGPT has become the place where you research and draft in one window. But out of the box, that conversation cannot build a form, look at the responses, or shape an auto-reply email for you. The moment you turn on developer mode and add an MCP custom connector, that boundary disappears.
FORMLOVA exposes a remote MCP server that ChatGPT can reach directly. Add the custom connector once, and 130 tools across 25 categories show up at ChatGPT's fingertips -- so you can go from a draft to a preview, a pre-publish review, filtered responses, auto-replies, and workflow setup all in the same conversation. This guide walks you from enabling developer mode through post-publish operations, the way to use write tools safely, and where to look when something breaks.
The Short Version -- With ChatGPT, Turn On Developer Mode and FORMLOVA Becomes Your Chat Partner in Three Steps
There are only three things to do first.
- Enable developer mode from Settings > Connectors in ChatGPT (a paid plan is required).
- Under Settings > Connectors, choose Create and register the FORMLOVA MCP server URL (
https://formlova.com/api/mcp). - Sign in to FORMLOVA in the browser and click Authorize on the OAuth approval screen. Select the connector from the + menu in the chat under developer mode, and you are ready.
After that, just say "Create a webinar signup form" to ChatGPT and you get a private draft plus a preview URL back. The whole thing takes roughly five minutes. There is no config file to hand-write and no JSON to touch, because ChatGPT supports connecting to remote MCP servers in developer mode.
One caveat: developer mode and MCP custom connectors are beta features, and ChatGPT's on-screen labels and availability conditions may change going forward. If the screen names in this article differ from what you see, follow ChatGPT's current on-screen display.
What a ChatGPT MCP Custom Connector Actually Is
MCP stands for Model Context Protocol, an open standard that lets AI clients such as ChatGPT access data and actions in external systems. OpenAI supports connecting to remote MCP servers that you add yourself (custom connectors) in ChatGPT's developer mode -- you simply register a URL from the Connectors screen and it becomes usable.
Translated into the world of form services, this means ChatGPT reaches FORMLOVA's surface directly. No opening the dashboard in another tab, no downloading a CSV. Ask "Show me the unanswered responses for this form" and the list comes back on the spot.
This design pays off less in the speed of building a form and more in the small operations that stack up after publication: sorting responses by temperature, tailoring an auto-reply to the recipient, moving a reminder up a day, filtering out sales-pitch responses before analyzing. The thinking behind this is covered in detail in Most form tools stop at creation.
The Connection Flow -- Turn On Developer Mode and Add a Custom Connector
Let's walk through it in three steps. Developer mode and MCP custom connectors assume the web version of ChatGPT and require a paid plan (Plus / Pro / Business / Enterprise / Edu and similar). On Business or Enterprise workspaces, an administrator may need to allow developer mode first. Availability is subject to change as a beta, so ultimately confirm against ChatGPT's current display.
1. Confirm the FORMLOVA MCP Server URL
The FORMLOVA MCP server URL is a single value, shared across every client.
https://formlova.com/api/mcp
No trailing slash. It is not an older-style path like /api/sse either. Whether you connect from ChatGPT, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, or Codex, you use this URL. If you do not have a FORMLOVA account yet, sign up on the free plan first from the FORMLOVA setup guide, because you will be asked to sign in via OAuth when you add the connector.
2. Enable Developer Mode and Add a Custom Connector
Open Settings in ChatGPT and go to Connectors. Inside the connector's advanced settings there is a developer mode switch -- turn it on. On workspace-level plans such as Business or Enterprise, have the administrator allow developer mode before doing this.
Once developer mode is on, choose Create on the same Connectors screen and enter the following:
Name: FORMLOVA
Description: Create forms, manage responses, send email, and analyze, all from chat (optional)
MCP server URL: https://formlova.com/api/mcp
Authentication: OAuth
The name and description are for display, so use whatever helps you recognize it. Choose OAuth as the authentication method. FORMLOVA identifies you by a per-user token, so it cannot connect without authentication. Finally, tick the confirmation checkbox -- something like "I trust this application" -- and press create.
This "I trust this" checkbox is not a formality. An MCP custom connector grants ChatGPT permission to operate an external server, so always confirm the connection destination is a trustworthy source. FORMLOVA is an MCP server on the formlova.com domain, and the only thing you register is the official URL. Avoid adding URLs of unknown origin in developer mode.
3. Complete OAuth Authorization and Check the Tool List
As you proceed with creation, the browser switches to the FORMLOVA sign-in screen and shows the OAuth approval screen. Press Authorize and you return to ChatGPT with the connector now connected. On success, the list of tools FORMLOVA provides appears.
When you actually go to operate a form, open developer mode from the + menu in the chat and select FORMLOVA as the connector to use in that conversation. 130 tools line up across form creation, response management, email, analytics, and workflows, but the first time you only use two or three. There is no need to feel overwhelmed by how many there are.
Your First Conversation -- Build a Draft From One Short Line
Once you are connected, type a short line into the conversation where you selected FORMLOVA under developer mode. FORMLOVA is designed so that you do not need to write a long prompt to start.
Create a contact form.
That is enough. ChatGPT calls FORMLOVA's form-creation tool, assembles fields that fit the purpose, and returns a private draft. The reply looks like this:
I created a draft of your contact form.
Fields:
- Name (required)
- Email (required)
- Company (optional)
- Inquiry category (required, select)
- Message (required)
- Consent to the use of personal information (required)
Preview URL: https://formlova.com/preview/...
Click the preview URL and the actual form screen opens in a new tab. You can check the title, field order, required and optional badges, the consent checkbox, and the submit button from the respondent's point of view.
From here, you refine through chat while looking at the screen. Short instructions are fine.
Add a phone number field below company and make it optional.
Add "About hiring" to the inquiry category.
Put our privacy policy URL into the personal-information consent text.
Reopen the same preview URL and it refreshes to the latest state. Look at the real screen and say only what is missing. This back-and-forth is the main reason to pair FORMLOVA with ChatGPT. The general creation flow is also summarized in How to create forms with ChatGPT and Claude.
Check the Preview and Run the Pre-Publish Review
Once the draft takes shape, you move to the pre-publish review. In FORMLOVA, asking "please publish" does not publish immediately. A checklist runs on the server side, and if there are unset blocking items, they come back along with the review result.
Publish this form.
The reply looks like this:
There are items to confirm before publishing.
- Preview URL: https://formlova.com/preview/...
- Thank-you page preview: https://formlova.com/preview/.../thankyou
- Duplicate submission prevention: not set
- Privacy policy URL: not set
- Sales-email auto-detection: not confirmed (text input fields present)
Open the preview and the thank-you page preview in separate tabs and visually check the copy, field order, and required settings. When you are done, reply to ChatGPT like this:
I checked both the preview and the thank-you page. Prevent duplicate
submissions by email. Use https://example.com/privacy for the privacy
policy. Enable sales-email detection. Publish it now.
ChatGPT obtains the token for final publication, publishes the form, and the public URL comes back. A guide that follows this pre-publish review step by step is at How to run the pre-publish review and publish with FORMLOVA.
Run Post-Publish Operations From Chat
The real work begins once responses start coming in. This post-publish part is exactly where the ChatGPT-and-FORMLOVA combination earns its keep. Here are three representative moves.
Filter the Response List to Check the Situation
As responses grow, filtering by condition is faster than scanning everything. Ask ChatGPT like this:
From this week's inquiries, show me only the unanswered ones.
Pull out only the responses categorized under "About pricing."
Exclude the sales-pitch responses and list only the genuine inquiries.
Only the matching responses come back as a table, and you can drill into a response of interest, change its status to in progress or resolved, and add a note -- all in the same conversation. Details are summarized in How to view, filter, and manage form responses with FORMLOVA.
Adjust the Auto-Reply Email Copy and All
On the standard plan and higher, you can freely customize the auto-reply email. Ask ChatGPT and it can draft the copy and even run a test send.
Make this form's auto-reply email a bit softer in tone.
Open with "Thank you for your inquiry."
Put our business hours (weekdays 9 a.m.-6 p.m.) at the end.
When it's ready, send a test email to my address.
ChatGPT presents the new copy as a preview and asks "Save this version?" It always inserts a confirmation before saving, so the reply on a live form is never rewritten on its own.
Add Automation With a Workflow Place Recipe
For automation like "notify Slack when a response comes in" or "send a follow-up email three days later," copying a recipe from Workflow Place is the shortcut. ChatGPT shows candidates, and the prompt for the recipe you choose can be handed straight to execution. See How to find a recipe in FORMLOVA's Workflow Place and set it up from chat for details.
Using Write Tools Safely -- The Trust-Boundary Mindset
A developer-mode custom connector can call not only read operations but also write operations from the conversation -- publishing a form, updating a response, sending email. Convenient as that is, it is a mechanism that grants an external server the right to act, so a few points keep it safe.
First, only add MCP servers from trustworthy sources. For FORMLOVA, register only the official formlova.com URL. Adding a URL of unknown origin in developer mode means you are permitting that server's behavior through ChatGPT.
Second, FORMLOVA provides a safety valve of its own. High-impact operations such as publishing, deleting, and sending email require a confirmation on the server side. Even if you ask "please publish," the server returns a confirmation checklist and will not publish until explicit approval and a token are both in place. This is guaranteed by the FORMLOVA server, not by ChatGPT.
Finally, FORMLOVA is designed to treat the responses of external services and the contents of public forms as data, and not to follow instruction-like text mixed into them. In other words, a command slipped into a response body or imported external data will not trigger a publish or send on its own. Precisely because write tools can be called from a conversation, the final trigger stays with human approval.
Where to Look When Things Go Wrong
You will still get stuck sometimes, so here are the few places worth checking.
When you cannot find developer mode, check your plan and the screen. Developer mode and MCP custom connectors are beta features for the web version of ChatGPT on paid plans. On Business or Enterprise workspaces, they may not appear unless an administrator has allowed them first. Availability can change, so follow ChatGPT's current display and guidance.
When you cannot connect, check the URL first. See whether you entered anything other than https://formlova.com/api/mcp, and whether a trailing slash or an older-style path like /api/sse is still attached. Reopening the connector settings and re-registering the URL often fixes it. Note that in ChatGPT, the path for adding a connector after enabling developer mode is separate from the existing list of integrations. Confirm you added it via Create on the developer-mode side.
When tools do not show, or only some appear, confirm FORMLOVA is selected under developer mode from the + menu in the chat. Simply adding the connector does not always line the tools up at hand for that conversation.
When an "Unauthorized" error comes back, it is a sign your OAuth authorization has expired. Delete the connector, add it again, and re-authorize.
When the authorization screen never appears, a browser popup blocker is almost always the cause. Allow popups for formlova.com and try again.
When you speak Japanese but get English replies, your profile language is set to English. One line -- "Set my profile language to Japanese" -- switches it. A complete list is in the troubleshooting section of the FORMLOVA setup guide.
What You Can Do by Plan
Connecting from ChatGPT works on every FORMLOVA plan. The difference shows up in the range of features available after you connect (a paid ChatGPT plan is required separately). Prices include tax.
| Capability | free (¥0) | standard (¥480/month) | premium (¥980/month) |
|---|---|---|---|
| MCP connection from ChatGPT | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Form creation, preview, publish | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Response list, search, CSV / Excel export | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Customize auto-reply emails | No | Yes | Yes |
| Reminder emails | No | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced analytics, traffic analysis, PDF reports | No | Yes | Yes |
| Bulk email to mailing lists | No | No | Yes |
| Stripe Connect (paid events) | No | No | Yes |
| Team management and audit logs | No | No | Yes |
| Monthly email send limit | 100 | 1,000 | 10,000 |
Even on the free plan, you can experience the whole loop from draft to publish, response management, and CSV export. When you want to write the auto-reply in your own voice or send reminders automatically, move to standard. When bulk sends or paid events enter the picture, move to premium. Trying them in order and upgrading only for the feature you actually need is plenty.
Related Workflows You Can Use as-is
Once you have built a form in ChatGPT and run it through the publish review, Slack Notification + Sheets Log is the easiest way to move into operations. It tells the team about new responses while keeping a record you can revisit later.
To connect into sales or knowledge management, combine Response to HubSpot Contact or Response to Notion Database. Rather than stopping at "I built a form in ChatGPT," put the responses into a state where they move to their next destination.
FAQ
Can I connect to FORMLOVA on the free ChatGPT plan?
Developer mode and MCP custom connectors are beta features for paid ChatGPT plans. There are periods when they do not appear on the free plan, and availability changes at OpenAI's discretion. On a paid plan such as Plus / Pro / Business / Enterprise / Edu you can connect by following the steps in this article, but check OpenAI's official help for the current state.
Where do I enable developer mode?
There is a developer mode switch in the advanced settings inside Settings > Connectors. On workspace-level plans such as Business or Enterprise, an administrator may need to allow it first. Screen names can change as a beta, so follow ChatGPT's current display.
Do I need to hand-write a config file (JSON)?
No. It is complete with the flow of enabling developer mode under Settings > Connectors, registering the URL as a custom connector, and authorizing via OAuth.
Is the URL the same for other clients (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor)?
Yes. The FORMLOVA MCP server URL is a single https://formlova.com/api/mcp, and you register the same URL from every client. If you want to try it casually in a GUI, see the complete guide to using FORMLOVA with Claude Desktop; for a terminal-centric flow, the complete guide to using FORMLOVA with Claude Code; for writing inside an IDE, the complete guide to using FORMLOVA with Cursor. What you can do is the same from any client.
I am worried ChatGPT might publish or delete things without my approval.
High-impact operations like publishing, deleting, and sending email require a confirmation on the server side. Even if you ask "please publish," the server returns a confirmation checklist and will not publish until explicit approval and a token are both in place. This is guaranteed by the FORMLOVA server, not by ChatGPT. Even in a design where write tools can be called from a conversation, the final trigger stays with human approval.
Are developer-mode custom connectors safe?
A custom connector grants ChatGPT permission to operate an external server, so add only servers from trustworthy sources. For FORMLOVA, register only the official formlova.com URL. Avoid adding URLs of unknown origin in developer mode. On FORMLOVA's side as well, the design treats external responses and response bodies as data and does not follow instruction-like text mixed into them.
Related Articles
- The MCP Form Service Guide for FORMLOVA -- Not Just Building With AI, but Running Forms After Publication
- The Complete Guide to Using FORMLOVA with Claude Desktop -- From Adding the Connector to Publishing and Running Forms
- The Complete Guide to Using FORMLOVA with Claude Code -- From One CLI Command to Form Creation, Publishing, and Operations in the Terminal
- The Complete Guide to Using FORMLOVA with Cursor -- From In-IDE MCP Setup to Form Creation, Publishing, and Operations
- How to Create Forms with ChatGPT and Claude -- With FORMLOVA, Go From One Line to a Draft and Preview
- How to Run the Pre-Publish Review and Publish with FORMLOVA
- How to Find a Recipe in FORMLOVA's Workflow Place and Set It Up From Chat
Official Sources Referenced
- OpenAI Help Center: Developer mode and MCP connectors in ChatGPT (Beta) (accessed 2026-06-14)
- Model Context Protocol: Introduction (accessed 2026-06-14)
- FORMLOVA setup guide (accessed 2026-06-14)
Disclosure and Verification
This guide is written by the FORMLOVA development team. The ChatGPT connection steps were reflected into this article after verifying OpenAI's official developer mode / MCP connector help, the Model Context Protocol specification, and the implementation of the FORMLOVA setup guide on June 14, 2026. ChatGPT's developer mode and MCP custom connectors are beta features, and the supported plans, the location for enabling them, the UI wording, and the screen flow can change on OpenAI's side. Before adopting this, confirm against ChatGPT's current display and OpenAI's official information.
