Connecting ChatGPT

Connect tela to ChatGPT so it can search, read, and (with permission) write your wiki. On telawiki.com this is now a one-click install from ChatGPT's plugin directory — no URLs to paste, no Developer Mode. For the connection overview and other clients (Claude Code, Cursor, the stdio proxy) see [[Agents & MCP]].

[!TIP] Install Tela from the directory: chatgpt.com → Tela Or in ChatGPT, open Plugins in the sidebar and search for Tela.

1. Install the plugin

Open the directory link above (or find Tela under Plugins) and click Install plugin.

ChatGPT sends you to tela to sign in and authorize — that's the whole setup. There's no server URL to copy and no token to paste.

[!NOTE] The directory plugin connects to the hosted service at telawiki.com. Running your own instance? Skip to Self-hosted and other instances below — the directory app can't point at your server.

2. Engage tela in a chat — the part that trips people up

[!WARNING] An installed plugin is not automatically active in every chat. New chats include it; older chats do not. If tela isn't engaged in the chat, ChatGPT can't call it — and instead of saying so, it may claim it did the work ("I created the page") when nothing actually happened. Always confirm the result exists.

To engage it in any chat, open the composer "+" (Add files and more) menu and pick tela (a checkmark appears):

Then just ask in plain language — "create a page titled … in my Personal space" — and ChatGPT calls tela's tools.

3. Verify it's really working

Ask ChatGPT to list your spaces or create a test page, then open tela and confirm the page exists. If it isn't there, tela wasn't engaged (step 2) — start a fresh chat or re-engage via "+".

Self-hosted and other instances

The directory plugin is pinned to telawiki.com. To connect ChatGPT to your own tela, add it by hand as a custom MCP connector — the original procedure, unchanged.

[!IMPORTANT] ChatGPT reaches your server from OpenAI's cloud, so this needs a publicly reachable tela (a localhost instance won't work) with OAuth configured. No OAuth? Use [[Agents & MCP|Claude Code or the stdio proxy with a PAT]] instead.

Enable Developer Mode. Custom MCP connectors with full tool-calling live behind ChatGPT's Developer Mode. Turn it on once: Settings → Apps → Advanced settings → Developer mode.

ChatGPT flags this "elevated risk" — it's what lets you add unverified third-party connectors. That's expected for a self-hosted server.

Add the connector. In Settings → Apps, click Create app (next to Advanced settings) and fill the form:

Tick "I understand and want to continue", then Create. ChatGPT sends you to tela to sign in and authorize; you land back connected, listed under Enabled apps:

On the connector's page you can set Ask permission (e.g. Never, so it acts without confirming each call) and, via the ⋯ menu, Reconnect or Rename.

Engaging it in a chat works exactly as in step 2 above.

Troubleshooting

• "It says it did something but nothing changed" → tela wasn't engaged in that chat. Engage via "+" → tela, or start a new chat, and verify the page exists in tela.
• Tools don't appear / 401 → re-authorize from the plugin's ⋯ → Reconnect.
• Can't find Tela in the directory → use the direct link. Directory browsing and search availability depend on your ChatGPT plan.
• Installed the directory plugin but it reads the wrong wiki → the directory plugin always connects to telawiki.com. For your own instance, add a custom connector instead (see above).
• Can't connect a self-hosted instance → OAuth needs a public tela with OAuth configured; otherwise use a PAT via [[Agents & MCP|Claude Code or the stdio proxy]].

See [[Agents & MCP]] for the full tool list and what agents can do, and [[API & personal access tokens]] for token-based auth.