Connectors

Installing

Connectors install along with the plugin. There's no separate connector install step.

# 1. Register the marketplace once
claude plugin marketplace add GoldenBerry-SO/Pace

# 2. Install a plugin (its .mcp.json registers connectors)
claude plugin install sales@pace

After the plugin install, the connectors are declared but not yet authorized. Authorization happens on first use, per MCP server, via OAuth in your browser.

The .mcp.json manifest

Each plugin's .mcp.json at its directory root lists the MCP servers. For example, plugins/sales/.mcp.json looks like this:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slack":   { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.slack.com/mcp" },
    "hubspot": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.hubspot.com/anthropic" },
    "notion":  { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.notion.com/mcp" }
  }
}

That's the whole config. Vendors host the MCP server at the URL; users authorize via OAuth. You don't manage API keys yourself.

Authorizing

Three flavors of authorization, depending on the connector type.

OAuth (most connectors)

For hosted MCP servers (Slack, HubSpot, Notion, Asana, Linear, etc.), Claude triggers an OAuth flow on first use:

1. You run a skill that needs the connector. Example: /sales:call-prep Acme needs HubSpot.
2. Claude detects the connector isn't authorized yet and opens an OAuth URL in your browser.
3. You sign in to the vendor and approve Pace's access scope.
4. The browser redirects back. Claude saves the token. The skill continues.
5. Authorization persists per MCP server. Every plugin that talks to that server reuses the token.

Custom URL (self-hosted)

Some MCP servers ship with an empty URL in .mcp.json: Snowflake, Databricks, Gmail, Google Calendar. These are pointers to your own instance:

# From plugins/data/.mcp.json
"snowflake":  { "type": "http", "url": "" },
"databricks": { "type": "http", "url": "" }

The first time a skill needs the connector, Claude prompts for the URL. Provide your account's MCP endpoint, authorize, and Claude saves both for future use.

Local stdio (npx-installed)

One pattern uses a local MCP server that runs via npx on your machine: no remote auth, no API keys. The pdf-viewer plugin uses this. Its .mcp.json declares a stdio server; npx auto-installs the package the first time it runs. Useful for tools that operate on your local file system.

The ~~category placeholder pattern

Plugin skills don't name specific vendors. They use category placeholders:

# From a sales skill's prompt:
"Look up the account in ~~CRM and pull recent activity."

# From a data skill:
"Run the query against ~~data warehouse and return results."

~~CRM resolves to whatever CRM you've authorized: HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive. ~~data warehouse resolves to Snowflake, BigQuery, or Databricks. The plugin pre-configures a default set in .mcp.json, but any MCP server in the right category slots in.

This is what makes a plugin tool-agnostic. The same /sales:call-prep skill works for a HubSpot shop and a Salesforce shop without rewriting.

Skills work without connectors

Every skill is designed to degrade gracefully. Without connectors, it falls back to web search and pasted context. /sales:call-prep Acme with no HubSpot connection still does web research and prep questions; the connected version pulls account history automatically.

Standalone is a sane starting point. Authorize connectors as you grow into them.

Swapping in your own connector

Want to use a server Pace doesn't pre-configure? Three ways:

1. Authorize a different MCP server in the same category. Skills reference connectors by category (~~CRM), so any MCP server in that category resolves. Authorize Salesforce instead of HubSpot and the sales skills keep working.
2. Edit the plugin's .mcp.json locally. Add an entry, change a URL, point at your own deployment. Trade-off: you've forked the plugin and lose upstream syncs.
3. Fork the plugin for your company. Copy plugins/<name>/ to plugins/<name>-custom/, edit .mcp.json there, register the fork in marketplace.json. See Customizing plugins for the full pattern.

Master catalog

Every connector category across every pace plugin. Bundled servers are pre-configured in the plugin's .mcp.json. Alternatives are swap-in candidates with an MCP server in the same category. The plugins column shows which plugins use each category.

* Marks a placeholder server where the MCP URL is not yet configured upstream. Provide your own instance URL when authorizing.