Connect an AI assistant to Tarkle: the two ways
Connect ChatGPT, Claude or Grok by signing in, or Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and others with an API key.
You can connect an AI assistant to Tarkle in one of two ways. ChatGPT, Claude and Grok sign in to Tarkle in the browser and need no key. Coding assistants such as Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code and Windsurf use an API key that an owner or admin creates in Tarkle. This page helps you choose, connect and test the connection, and it links to the steps for each assistant.
Choose how to connect
Browser sign-in is for ChatGPT, Claude and Grok. You sign in with your own Tarkle account, and you do not need a key.
An API key is for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf and other tools that let you add a server with a header. Only the owner or an admin of your organization can create a key. A member who needs one asks an owner or admin.
The assistant works with the workspaces you can already open, and it only does what your role in each workspace allows.
Connect with browser sign-in
In ChatGPT, Claude or Grok, add a custom connector with the server address https://mcp.tarkle.com/mcp.
Sign in to Tarkle when the app asks you to.
On the Tarkle page that opens, check the name of the app, then click Allow.
The assistant acts as you, limited to what your role in each workspace allows. Links it creates are public. The exact steps for each app are in the guides for ChatGPT, Claude and Grok.
Connect with an API key
Only an owner or admin can open the API page. Follow these steps:
Open Settings, then open API.
Click Create.
In Name, type a name for the key, for example "Cursor on my laptop".
Under Access, choose All workspaces, or choose Only selected workspaces and tick the workspaces the key may reach.
Click Create.
Click the key in the API key created window to copy it, then click Done.
Give the key to your assistant with the server address https://mcp.tarkle.com/mcp and the header
Authorization: Bearer <your-tarkle-key>.
The steps for creating the key are in how to create an API key for an AI assistant. Each coding assistant has its own setup, in how to connect a coding assistant to Tarkle with an API key.
A key can read and change everything in the workspaces it reaches, through the API and the MCP server. It cannot make purchases. It acts as the person who made it, with that person's roles, so a key made by an admin acts as that admin and not as you. Treat a key like a password.
Manage your keys
Open Settings, then API, and find the key in the list. Owners and admins can use the row menu:
Copy token copies the key again. Only an owner or admin can copy a key.
Rename changes the name of the key.
Delete stops the key at once, everywhere it is used. Create a new key for the assistant after you delete one.
A key with a Legacy badge was made before keys had full access. It has fewer permissions, it cannot be copied and it does not open the MCP server. Create a new key for the assistant.
A key limited to selected workspaces cannot reach the others, and it cannot create a workspace.
Test the connection
Ask your assistant: "List my Tarkle workspaces." A list of your workspaces means the connection works.
What the assistant can do
Once connected, the assistant can list your workspaces, files and folders, and upload files to a workspace. It can create a public share link for files, audio or video, and create a file request with a public submission link. It can also work with brand pages, contacts and team folders, and list the members of a workspace. Actions that invite people or change members wait for your confirmation. For the full list of actions, see what an AI assistant can do in Tarkle.