[HN Gopher] Building MCP servers for ChatGPT and API integrations
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Building MCP servers for ChatGPT and API integrations
Author : kevinslin
Score : 33 points
Date : 2025-07-24 20:59 UTC (2 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (platform.openai.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (platform.openai.com)
| babyshake wrote:
| Is it safe to say that MCP has "won" vs. A2A? Or is this a
| misreading of the situation?
| miguelxpn wrote:
| I think they have different use cases. MCP is for tool calling,
| A2A for agents communicating between themselves.
| d_watt wrote:
| They're not directly solving the same problem. MCP is for
| exposing tools, such as reading files. a2a is for agents to
| talk to other agents to collaborate.
|
| MCP servers can expose tools that are agents, but don't have
| to, and usually don't.
|
| That being said, I can't say I've come across an actual
| implementation of a2a outside of press releases...
| cube2222 wrote:
| The support here is really weird.
|
| If I understand correctly, it requires your MCP server to have
| exactly two tools - search and fetch.
|
| So this is not really support for MCP in general, as in all the
| available MCP servers. It's support for their own custom higher-
| level protocol built on top of MCP.
| monadoid wrote:
| Yeah I hope they open up support to all MCP tools - this is
| lame as-is.
| varunneal wrote:
| this guide is just for an example of how to build a single mcp
| (e.g. a vector store). chatgpt connectors implement mcps in
| general now
| cube2222 wrote:
| I don't believe this is the case. Do you have a link for
| that?
|
| Cause from TFA "To work with ChatGPT Connectors or deep
| research (in ChatGPT or via API), your MCP server must
| implement two tools - search and fetch."
|
| Also, this page is actually the only docs site about MCP they
| have, and their help articles link to it too.
| asabla wrote:
| For ChatGPT and DeepResearch yes, not when using the API. I
| guess you could just return empty results if you want to offer
| other tools as well (can't test it now, since custom connectors
| only supports Workspace or PRO accounts for this moment).
|
| Quote we're talking about: > To work with ChatGPT Connectors or
| deep research (in ChatGPT or via API), your MCP server must
| implement two tools - search and fetch.
|
| Reference links:
|
| - Using remote MCP servers with the API:
| https://platform.openai.com/docs/guides/tools-remote-mcp
|
| - Which account types can setup custom connectors in ChatGPT:
| https://help.openai.com/en/articles/11487775-connectors-in-c...
| ascorbic wrote:
| Has something changed? That seems to be the same page they've had
| for a couple of months. It's only for deep research mode, and is
| restricted to Pro and Enterprise.
| ipsum2 wrote:
| Title is mildly misleading, is only available for the API, not
| the web/mobile interface.
| dang wrote:
| Not sure which title you mean, but the submitted title was
| "ChatGPT Launches MCP Support" and we changed it to be that of
| the article (per
| https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)
| ipsum2 wrote:
| Thanks for fixing it.
| maxwellg wrote:
| It is very nice to get MCP support in ChatGPT. OpenAI really
| fumbled the bag with the OpenAPI-based Custom Actions (or was it
| Custom GPTs?). The web editor experience was always incredibly
| buggy, even months after initial release. MCP servers allow us to
| move nearly all of the tool definition bits into the server
| codebase itself, so we can change things on the fly / version
| control / feature flag tools etc. much better.
| DiabloD3 wrote:
| I love how they don't actually explain why I (or anyone else)
| would ever implement their API.
|
| Given how disastrous the AI 'industry' has been, between
| misappropriating data from customers, performing actions on
| behalf of customers that lead to data and/or financial loss, and
| then seeking protection from the law in one or more cases of
| these, isn't providing an MCP service essentially requiring you
| to notify customers of a GDPR-or-similar data compromise event at
| some point in the future when it suddenly but inevitably betrays
| you?
|
| Like, isn't OpenAI just leading people to a footgun and then
| kindly asking them to use it, for the betterment of OpenAI's
| bottom line, which was significantly in the red for FY24?
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