Why does ChatGPT need a connector at all, when it can open links?

It can read a page, including a transcript. It cannot open the video itself. Everything you can only see is invisible to it: a cut, a caption on screen, a gesture, a product shot.

Is developer mode risky?

It is the setting that allows custom MCP connectors at all. The scopes you grant are shown before you approve them, and Playhead's are read-only: analysing videos and reading your own plan.

ChatGPT

How to let ChatGPT watch a video

ChatGPT reaches Playhead over MCP once developer mode is switched on: Settings → Connectors → Advanced → Developer mode, then add https://mcp.tryplayhead.com/mcp as a connector.

Add to ChatGPTTurn on Developer mode under Settings, Connectors, Advanced first.

Free plan: 50,000 credits a month, no card needed.

What this changes

ChatGPT will summarise a YouTube video from its transcript and its metadata without ever seeing a frame, which is exactly the failure this fixes. A transcript cannot tell you what is on screen, when a cut lands, or what the text in the lower third says. With the connector attached, the answer comes from the pixels and carries the second it came from.

Setting it up

01
Turn on developer mode
Settings → Connectors → Advanced → Developer mode. Custom MCP connectors are hidden until this is on.
02
Add the connector
Paste https://mcp.tryplayhead.com/mcp and sign in with your Playhead account.
03
Ask about a video
Paste the link with your question. The tools appear in the composer once the connector is attached.

Things worth asking it

Every one of these comes back with the second attached, so you can open the video at that moment and check it yourself.

Watch this YouTube link and list every scene change with its timestamp.
What is written on screen in the first five seconds of this TikTok?
Does this ad show the product before the 3-second mark?

Ask once wide, then as narrow as you like

The first question is the one that watches the video, and it costs the most. Every question after it reads what that look already found, so it comes back quickly and costs a fraction. Ask six things about one advert and you pay for one reading and five follow-ups.

ChatGPT does this for you. It keeps the handle from the first answer and sends it back with the next question, so you can simply keep asking.

How a session works What a question costs

Questions

Why does ChatGPT need a connector at all, when it can open links?: It can read a page, including a transcript. It cannot open the video itself. Everything you can only see is invisible to it: a cut, a caption on screen, a gesture, a product shot.
Is developer mode risky?: It is the setting that allows custom MCP connectors at all. The scopes you grant are shown before you approve them, and Playhead's are read-only: analysing videos and reading your own plan.

Or somewhere else

One account, every client. The connection is attached to you rather than to a machine, so adding a second one costs nothing.

ClaudeWeb, desktop and mobile. Opens the connector dialog with the URL filled in.
Claude CodeOne command in the terminal, then /mcp to sign in.
```
claude mcp add --transport http playhead https://mcp.tryplayhead.com/mcp
```
No deeplink exists for the terminal, so this is the install.
CursorAdds the server to Cursor's MCP settings.
VS CodeOpens VS Code and adds the server to your MCP configuration.
CodexTwo commands in the terminal. The second one signs you in.
```
codex mcp add playhead --url https://mcp.tryplayhead.com/mcp
codex mcp login playhead
```
Both write to ~/.codex/config.toml, which the CLI, the IDE extension and the desktop app share.

Claude guide Claude Code guide Cursor guide VS Code guide

Stop describing the video to your agent.

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