Connect your services

Use Settings › Library (the Connectors filter) for services your organization makes available, including Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Slack, Notion, and Linear. This is the recommended setup for everyday integrations.

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Before you start

Connect requires signing in to an OpenWork account and joining an organization that has Connect enabled. This is separate from signing in to an LLM provider such as ChatGPT.

1. Open the OpenWork desktop app.
2. Click Sign in to OpenWork Cloud.
3. Complete sign-in in your browser and return to OpenWork.
4. Choose the OpenWork organization you want to use if prompted.

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Connect an account

1. Open Settings › Library and choose the Connectors filter.
2. Find the service that shows Sign in.
3. Click Sign in and approve access on the provider’s sign-in page.
4. Return to OpenWork. The connection’s status updates automatically.

Some connections are managed by your organization. A service that shows Set up is not ready yet; usually an admin still needs to finish it. If a service is not listed, ask an organization admin to add it in OpenWork Cloud under Manage › Connectors and give you access.

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Google Workspace

Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Drive use only the Google Workspace connection in OpenWork Cloud. Follow Connect an account above and choose the Google connection your organization made available. If it needs administrator setup, an admin configures it in OpenWork Cloud under Manage › Connectors; members then click Sign in (desktop) or Connect (Your Connections in OpenWork Cloud) for their own account. Google Workspace is not in the desktop Add to library › Connector list. There is no local Google Workspace extension, desktop OAuth client form, or environment-variable setup path. Previously stored local Google credentials are not deleted or migrated to Cloud, and do not enable local Google API access. Existing Cloud Google connections continue to work without reconnecting solely because the local integration was removed. Google and Gemini under AI Providers are separate model-provider integrations and are unchanged. Custom MCP servers and other connectors are also unchanged.

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Enable the Google APIs your permissions use

The Google Workspace connector uses your organization’s own Google Cloud OAuth client. In the Google Cloud project that owns that client, open APIs & Services › Library and enable the API for each permission you turn on: Drive permissions need the Docs and Sheets APIs because Documents opens Google Docs and Sheets through them. Until an API is enabled, its actions fail with a message such as “Google Sheets API has not been used in project … or it is disabled”, and reconnecting does not help. To check, open the connector’s Settings and select Check APIs under Google APIs. It uses your own sign-in on the connector and lists each API the saved permissions need, with a Turn on link for any that are off.

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Ask your agent to use it

For Microsoft 365 administrator setup, client secrets, and consent, see Connect Microsoft 365. You do not need to know an MCP server name or tool name. Ask for the outcome you want, for example:

• “Summarize my five newest emails.”
• “Find the Q3 launch page in Notion.”
• “What meetings do I have tomorrow?”

The agent searches the live capabilities available to your signed-in account, then executes an exact match. If an account still needs attention, it should send you back to Settings › Library with the action to take instead of telling you to add an MCP server.

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Gmail drafts with attachments

Ask for a draft with files from your workspace, for example: “Draft an email with report.pdf and summary.csv attached. Do not send it.” The same Gmail draft capability accepts optional attachments paths; a supporting OpenWork host uploads the files using your selected Google connection. File bytes stay outside the model’s context. Review the returned Gmail draft link before sending. You can attach 1–10 files totaling at most 4 MiB. The files must be inside an authorized workspace or folder on the host running the conversation. A remote workspace cannot read files that exist only on your desktop. Attachment fulfillment requires a direct capability call from a compatible OpenWork host. Code Mode, saved Workflows, and MCP clients without that host support return file_input_requires_host and create no draft. Do not retry without the requested attachments. If an upload’s result is uncertain, check Gmail Drafts before attempting creation again.

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Work on whole Drive files

Ask for the outcome, for example: “Fill in row 12 of the supplier workbook in Drive and save it.” In OpenWork Desktop the agent pulls the file into your workspace (by default drive/<file name>), works on that copy with shell tools such as Python, and saves it back only when you ask. OpenWork asks you to approve each save to Drive, following your allow, ask and deny rules. Desktop also confirms downloads, saves and pulls that discard local edits before changing any files. The file’s content never passes through the conversation, so Excel, Word, PowerPoint, PDF, large CSV, and image files work the same way.

• Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides are pulled as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files unless you ask for another format (CSV, which holds only a sheet’s first tab, Markdown, text, or PDF). Saving one back creates a new Google file next to the original instead of replacing it; to change a few cells in a Google Sheet in place, ask for that directly.
• Other files are replaced in place: same link and sharing, with the previous version kept in Drive’s version history for 30 days.
• If someone changed the file in Drive after it was pulled, saving stops instead of overwriting their change. The agent pulls the newer version and reapplies your edits, or saves your edits as a copy.
• Pulls support files up to 250 MB. Google exports Docs, Sheets, and Slides files up to about 10 MB.

Pulling needs Read all Drive files; replacing a file OpenWork did not create needs Full Drive access. Agents with a shell but without OpenWork Desktop, such as a coding agent connected to OpenWork Cloud, get a five-minute download link for one file and save edits back through an upload session, following the drive-files Cloud skill. OneDrive and SharePoint files work the same way. Ask for a file by name, or paste its OneDrive, SharePoint or Teams link. Word, Excel and PowerPoint files are ordinary files there, so saving replaces them in place, with the previous version in the file’s version history; ask for a PDF and it is saved back as a new file instead. Saves from OpenWork Desktop pass through OpenWork Cloud and support files up to 250 MB. Files outside your own OneDrive, including SharePoint libraries and files shared with you, need Read all files the member can access (and Full access to save them); finding SharePoint sites needs SharePoint sites. See Connect Microsoft 365.

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Manage connected services

Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 connections can perform service actions, not only retrieve information. An administrator chooses the enabled permissions; each member authorizes their own account. Additional sending, mailbox-management, and spreadsheet permission choices are off by default. Existing draft-only access does not automatically enable sending. For Gmail mailbox management enable Manage Gmail: send, archive, read status, labels, and trash; for sending without mailbox management enable Send email drafts after confirmation. Google uses the same OAuth grant for draft editing and draft sending, but OpenWork enforces the administrator’s separate action choices. For Sheets, enable spreadsheet read or write access, or use the applicable selected-file Drive access. Microsoft mail sending and mailbox management have separate permission choices as well. After enabling a new provider permission, reconnect and grant the requested access. Disabling a write permission in OpenWork blocks the new management actions even when an older provider token still carries that grant. A selected connection always uses that member’s selected account, not another available account. Ask for an outcome, for example “Archive this thread and mark it read,” “Move tomorrow’s meeting to 3 pm,” or “Append these rows to the budget spreadsheet.” Sending mail, deleting/trashing content, notifying meeting guests, and enabling spreadsheet formula parsing require explicit requests and the corresponding confirmation inputs. Creating or selecting a connector does not authorize them. If a write times out, check the service before retrying: it may already have completed. Microsoft accepts sends asynchronously, so its receipt means accepted, not delivered. Drive’s generic file reader exports the first Sheets tab as CSV. Use the Sheets metadata and range operations to work with other tabs. Cell operations are bounded to 5,000 cells per request; split larger work into explicit ranges. These operations do not claim every provider feature: rich Docs/Slides editing, spreadsheet formatting/pivots, and permanent mailbox/file deletion are separate from the actions above. External MCP connectors expose their provider’s actual tools and remain subject to that provider’s account, plan, and approval rules.

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Connect, connectors, and connections

• Connect is the Cloud service for discovering and using connections. In the desktop app, Settings › Library (the Connectors filter) shows accounts and their readiness.
• A connector is an MCP service your organization adds on its own, without wrapping it in a plugin. Organization admins add connectors in OpenWork Cloud under Manage › Connectors and grant member or team access.
• A connection is your own signed-in instance of a connector — one connector, instantiated per user with that user’s account.
• The MCP Gateway is the hosted endpoint that lets external MCP clients use capabilities from an OpenWork organization. See OpenWork MCP Gateway.
• Add an MCP server is the advanced path for a custom or local server that your organization does not provide through Connect.

If you are building a custom integration, continue with Add an MCP server. If you are an organization admin, see Sharing MCP connections with your team.