How to submit an MCP server to ChatGPT and Codex plugin directory

OpenAI's directory for ChatGPT and Codex takes a plugin package, not a form. You upload a ZIP, automated checks read it and scan your MCP server, a review team looks at what passes, and after approval you decide when it goes live^[1]. Final submission requires a verified developer or business identity, so that comes first.

Before anything opens: identity and role

• Pick the organisation and project that will own the plugin. Organisation owners can submit; other members need the Apps Management Write role^[1].
• Complete individual or business verification in the organisation's general settings. The plugin is shown under the name of the verified identity you choose^[1][3].
• You also need public website, support, privacy policy and terms pages, all on HTTPS, and a demo recording URL^[2].

The ZIP and what the final check enforces

Open the Plugins page, choose to upload a plugin, pick your developer identity and upload the ZIP; a draft opens after validation. Upload checks are looser than the ones at final submission^[1][4].

1 Oct 2026^[2]

Proving the server is yours

The portal shows a token. Host it as plain text at /.well-known/openai-apps-challenge on the MCP host or an allowed parent domain, then connect the server so its tools are scanned. Only one MCP server can be connected per plugin^[1].

curl -s https://mcp.example.com/.well-known/openai-apps-challenge
# the response body must be the exact token from the portal, as plain text:
# not JSON, not a list of tokens

What the reviewers are given

A remote server needs exactly five positive and three negative test cases, release notes and a demo recording. Every tool must carry readOnlyHint, openWorldHint and destructiveHint, each with a written justification. Where sign-in is needed, give a demo account that works at once, without MFA, email or SMS codes^[2][1][3]. The manifest can carry all of it:

"review": {
  "test_cases": {
    "positive": [ /* exactly five: description, prompt, tools_triggered, expected_behavior */ ],
    "negative": [ /* exactly three: description, prompt */ ]
  },
  "demo_recording_url": "https://example.com/review/demo"
},
"publication": { "countries": ["US", "GB"], "release_notes": "Initial release." }

Error codes, and what clears them

• annotations_required, justification_required: a tool is missing a hint or its reason^[2].
• scan_required: the tool scan must be successful and current for the production server^[2].
• domain_verification_required: the exact token is not at the challenge URL, or Verify Domain did not pass^[2].
• archive_too_large, plugin_root_ambiguous: the ZIP is over 100 MB, or holds more than one plugin root^[2].
• A demo account that needs a sign-up step or 2FA is rejected outright^[3].

Who presses what

1. You click Submit for review and tick the policy attestations.
2. Feedback from the review team arrives by email, and you can reply to appeal a rejection.
3. After approval, you click Publish plugin yourself.

That is the whole sequence, done by hand^[1]. Anthropic runs a separate review for its own directory; see the Claude Connectors Directory.

Current status, 1 Oct 2026

OpenAI's pages state no review time. Its page refers to a previous submission form, and tells anyone who used it to download their existing plugin as a ZIP to continue in the current flow^[1].