Configuring the Rhythm AI Connector

The Rhythm AI Connector uses the Model Context Protocol (MCP) — a standard that lets AI assistants securely read and write data in Rhythm on your behalf. Once connected, you can ask your AI tool things like "List my goals for this quarter" or "What's on my agenda this week?" and get live results from Rhythm.

Overview

Before diving into setup, here's what you need to know:

• You need a Rhythm account with API/MCP access — required during the OAuth sign-in step for all tools.

   

• All connections use OAuth 2.1 — your Rhythm credentials are never stored by the AI tool.

   

• The MCP server URL is the same for all tools: https://mcp.rhythm.cloud/mcp

Claude

Connect Rhythm to Claude (claude.ai, Claude Desktop, or the mobile app). Set it up once and it syncs across all your Claude surfaces automatically.

Prerequisites

Step-by-step setup

1. Open Connectors in Settings.
   Pro / Max

   Go to claude.ai/settings/connectors and click + Add custom connector.

   Team / Enterprise (Owner)

   Go to Organization Settings → Connectors, then click Add → Add custom connector.

2. • Name: Rhythm
   • Description: Rhythm Systems goals, meetings, tasks, feedback
   • Remote MCP server URL:https://mcp.rhythm.cloud/mcpFill in the connector details.
     💡Leave Advanced settings untouched — Claude handles OAuth discovery automatically. No Client ID or Secret needed.
     
3. Click Add, then authenticate.
   An OAuth sign-in screen will open. Sign in as a Rhythm user and select your company. Your token is saved and shared across web, desktop, and mobile — no need to sign in again per device.
4. Use Rhythm in a conversation.
   In any Claude chat, click the + button at the bottom left → Connectors → toggle Rhythm on. Then try a prompt like:
   List my goals for this quarter or What's on my agenda this week?
5. (Optional) Configure tool permissions.
   Click Configure next to the Rhythm connector to control how Claude uses each tool:
   • Always allow— Claude uses the tool without asking (recommended for read-only tools like "list goals")
   • Ask for permission— Claude confirms before each action (recommended for write tools like "create goal")
   • Never allow— disables the tool entirely

What does not work

• Claude Free tier— cannot add custom connectors.
• Local/localhost MCP URLs— the MCP server must be publicly accessible over the internet.
• Servers behind a VPN or firewall— Claude connects from Anthropic's cloud, not your local network.

ChatGPT

Connect Rhythm to ChatGPT using the Apps & Connectors feature. Once set up, it also syncs to the ChatGPT Mac and iOS apps automatically.

Prerequisites

Step-by-step setup

1. Enable Developer Mode.
   Go to your profile (top-right) → Settings → Apps & Connectors → Advanced settings → toggle Developer mode on.
   ⚠️If the toggle is greyed out, your workspace admin has disabled it. On Team/Business/Enterprise accounts, the admin must enable it under workspace admin settings first. Developer Mode can only be toggled from the web or Windows app — not the Mac app.
2. Create the connector.
   Go to Settings → Connectors → + Create and fill in:
   • Name:Rhythm
   • Description:Rhythm Systems goals, meetings, tasks, feedback
   • MCP Server URL:https://mcp.rhythm.cloud/mcp
   • Authentication:OAuth

   Click Create. ChatGPT will connect to the MCP server and discover the available tools.
3. Use Rhythm in a conversation.
   Open a new ChatGPT conversation → click the + button → More → pick Rhythm. The first time you use a Rhythm tool, you'll be prompted to sign in via OAuth. After that, subsequent calls reuse your token automatically.
4. Refresh tools after updates (if needed).
   If Rhythm adds new tools or updates existing ones, go to Settings → Connectors → Rhythm → Refresh to pick up the latest changes. If Refresh doesn't work, delete and re-create the connector.

What does not work

• Static API key / bearer token authentication— ChatGPT only supports OAuth or no-auth for MCP connectors.
• Local/localhost MCP URLs— the URL must be publicly reachable over HTTPS.
• Per-conversation account switching— each user signs in once via OAuth. To switch Rhythm accounts, sign out via connector settings and re-authorize.

Gemini

Connect Rhythm to Google's AI tools. Important: not all Gemini surfaces support custom MCP — read below to find out which one applies to you before getting started.

Which Gemini surface should I use?

Option A: Gemini CLI (recommended for individuals)

1. Install Gemini CLI.
   Run one of these commands in your terminal:
   npm i -g @google/gemini-cli or brew install gemini-cli
2. Configure the MCP server.
   Edit (or create) the file ~/.gemini/settings.json and add the following:

   {   "mcpServers": {     "rhythm": {       "httpUrl": "https://mcp.rhythm.cloud/mcp",       "authProviderType": "dynamic_discovery"     }   },   "security": {     "auth": {       "selectedType": "oauth-personal"     }   } }

3. Authenticate.
   In a Gemini CLI session, run: /mcp auth rhythm
   A browser window will open. Sign in as a Rhythm user, pick a company, and complete the redirect.
4. Verify the connection.
   Run /mcp list — you should see rhythm listed with its auth state and available tools.

Option B: Gemini Enterprise (Vertex AI Search)

1. Override the org policy constraint.
   In Google Cloud Console: IAM & Admin → Organization policies → find the discoveryengine.disableCustomMcpServerDataStores constraint → set it to Allow all. (Requires project owner access.)
2. Request a static OAuth client from your Rhythm administrator.
   Unlike Gemini CLI, Vertex AI requires a pre-registered OAuth client. Your Rhythm admin can create one via the OAuth Clients page in Rhythm API Admin and will provide you with a client_id and client_secret.
3. Create the data store.
   In Cloud Console: Gemini Enterprise → Data stores → Create data store → search for Custom MCP Server. Fill in:

   Field	Value
   MCP Server URL	https://mcp.rhythm.cloud/mcp
   Authorization URL	https://mcp.rhythm.cloud/api/v2/oauth/authorize
   Token URL	https://mcp.rhythm.cloud/api/v2/oauth/token
   Client ID	From Step 2
   Client Secret	From Step 2
   Scopes	offline_access

4. Reload custom actions.
   Open the data store → Actions → Reload custom actions. This completes the OAuth flow and enables the discovered tools.
5. Test.
   Attach the data store to a Gemini Enterprise agent and prompt for a Rhythm action (e.g., "List my goals"). Verify the tool-call card and response appear correctly.

What does not work

• Gemini at gemini.google.com— no custom MCP support, regardless of Workspace tier.
• Gemini Android / iOS apps— same limitation.
• NotebookLM— no MCP surface available.
• Gemini Business plan ($21/user/mo)— Custom MCP is only available on Gemini Enterprise Standard or Plus.
• SSE transport— Vertex AI only accepts Streamable HTTP
  
  

Copilot

Connect Rhythm to a Microsoft Copilot Studio agent. You can build and test for free using a trial; publishing to Teams or M365 Copilot Chat requires a paid license.

Step-by-step setup

1. Set up a Power Platform Developer environment.
   Go to admin.powerplatform.microsoft.com → Manage → Environments → + New. Set the type to Developer, turn on Dataverse, and save. Provisioning takes 5–15 minutes.
   
   ⚠️ If "Developer" isn't available and you see a Dataverse capacity error, sign up for the free Power Apps Developer Plan to unlock Developer-type environments.
2. Activate your Copilot Studio license.
   Go to aka.ms/TryCopilotStudio to activate a free trial. Confirm it's assigned in Microsoft Admin → Users → Licenses. Then sign out and back in to copilotstudio.microsoft.com.
3. Open Copilot Studio in your Developer environment.
   At copilotstudio.microsoft.com, use the top-right environment switcher to select your Developer environment (not Default). Then click + Create → New agent, give it a name (e.g., "Rhythm"), and click Create.
4. Add the Rhythm MCP server as a tool.
   With your agent open, click the Tools tab → + Add a tool → Model Context Protocol tab → + New tool. Fill in:
   • Server name:Rhythm
   • Server description:Rhythm Systems goals, meetings, tasks, feedback
   • Server URL:https://mcp.rhythm.cloud/mcp
   • Authentication:OAuth 2.0

   Click Create. Studio will connect to the server and list the available tools — add the ones you need.
5. Enable the tools and set orchestration mode.
   Two things must be done before the agent will actually use the tools:
   • Enable each tool individually:In the Tools tab, expand the Rhythm MCP server and flip the blue toggle on for each tool you want enabled. The top-row toggle is not a master switch — you must enable each tool separately.
   • Switch to Generative orchestration:Go toSettings → Generative AI → Orchestration → Generative → Save. Without this, the agent won't respond to natural-language prompts that trigger tools.

    ⚠️ Click Save (top-right) after making these changes. Tool toggles and orchestration mode won't persist until saved.
6. Test the agent.
   Open the Test your agent pane (right side). Try a prompt like List my goals. The first tool call will trigger an OAuth sign-in — sign in as a Rhythm user and pick your company. Subsequent calls reuse the token. Use the Activity / test logs panel to debug any issues.
7. (Optional) Publish to Teams or M365 Copilot Chat.
   Click the Publish button (top-right) → Channels tab to choose your deployment surface. Note: publishing requires a paid Copilot Studio or M365 Copilot license. After publishing, your admin must approve the agent in admin.microsoft.com → Settings → Integrated apps.

What does not work

• Consumer Copilot at copilot.microsoft.com— no custom MCP support.
• Edge sidebar Copilot— same limitation (consumer surface).
• Local/localhost MCP URLs— Copilot Studio is cloud-hosted; the URL must be publicly reachable.

Troubleshooting

Having trouble connecting? Here are the most common issues and how to fix them.