Ask ChatGPT or Claude about your classes

You can connect The Learning Mate to ChatGPT or Claude and ask about your courses, submissions and grades in plain English. The connection is read-only: the assistant can look things up, but it cannot create, change or delete anything. Setup takes about five minutes, and you approve the connection yourself.

What you can ask

Once the connection is set up, ask the assistant questions such as:

• "Which students in Year 10 Chemistry haven't submitted the Unit 3 test yet?"
• "What was the average mark on the November mock, and which questions did students find hardest?"
• "Show me Amira's results across this course."
• "Whose marking failed on the latest exam?"
• "Summarise the feedback on Omar's last paper so I can talk to his parents."

The assistant answers from your own data in The Learning Mate. Grades appear only once they have been released, exactly as they do everywhere else in the app.

Before you start

You will need:

• A teacher account in The Learning Mate. Student and parent accounts cannot connect.
• Claude or ChatGPT. Claude supports custom connectors on every plan; the Free plan allows one. In ChatGPT, custom connectors are called apps and need Developer mode, which OpenAI offers on Business, Enterprise and Edu workspaces (see Step 2B).
• The connector URL: https://thelearningmate.com/api/mcp

When you ask a question, the assistant reads the relevant results from The Learning Mate and sends them to the AI provider to write its answer. Check your school's policy on sharing student data with AI assistants before you connect. Our GDPR checklist for AI marking covers the questions to ask.

Step 1: Copy the connector URL

1. Sign in to The Learning Mate and open Dashboard → Integrations.
2. Find the ChatGPT & Claude card.
3. Select the copy button next to the connector URL.

You can also type the URL in by hand: https://thelearningmate.com/api/mcp.

Step 2A: Add the connector to Claude

1. In Claude, open Customize → Connectors.
2. Select + Add, then Add custom connector.
3. Enter The Learning Mate as the name, paste the connector URL, and select Continue.
4. Keep the sign-in settings Claude detects. You do not need to enter an OAuth client ID or secret: Claude registers itself with The Learning Mate automatically.
5. Select Add, then connect when Claude asks you to sign in.

Claude opens The Learning Mate in your browser. Continue with Step 3 below.

On a Claude Team or Enterprise plan, an organisation Owner adds the connector once under Organization settings → Connectors → Add → Custom → Web. Each teacher then opens Customize → Connectors, finds The Learning Mate and selects Connect.

To use the connector in a conversation, select the + button at the bottom left of the chat, choose Connectors, and turn on The Learning Mate.

Step 2B: Add the connector to ChatGPT

ChatGPT lists custom connectors as apps, and you can only create one with Developer mode turned on. On a Business, Enterprise or Edu workspace, an admin may need to allow Developer mode first. OpenAI has renamed these menus more than once. If yours look different, follow OpenAI's Developer mode guide.

1. In ChatGPT, open Settings → Apps → Advanced settings and turn on Developer mode.
2. Create a new app. Name it The Learning Mate and paste the connector URL as the MCP server URL.
3. Set Authentication to OAuth, accept the warning about custom apps, and create the app.
4. When ChatGPT asks you to connect, sign in to The Learning Mate.

ChatGPT warns that custom apps are not reviewed by OpenAI. That is expected for any app added in Developer mode.

To use the app in a conversation, open the + menu in the message box and choose The Learning Mate.

Step 3: Approve access

The assistant opens a The Learning Mate page headed Connect … to The Learning Mate, with the assistant's name in place of the dots. If you are signed out, sign in with your teacher account first and the page opens again afterwards.

Before you approve, check:

• The account shown under the title is your teacher account.
• The page says you will go back to claude.ai or chatgpt.com. If it names a site you don't recognise, select Cancel.

Select the Allow button. You return to the assistant, which can now answer questions about your classes.

What the assistant can see

The connection only ever covers what your own teacher account owns in The Learning Mate.

Disconnecting

• Claude: open Customize → Connectors, select the three dots next to The Learning Mate, and choose Remove.
• ChatGPT: open your app settings, select The Learning Mate, and delete or disconnect it.

Once removed, the assistant can no longer use the connection. To also revoke access on The Learning Mate's side, email support@thelearningmate.com and we will end every active connection on your account.

Troubleshooting

"Only teacher accounts can connect apps"

You are signed in to The Learning Mate with a student or parent account. Select Use a different account and sign in with your teacher account.

"Can't connect this app"

The assistant's registration did not match the request, usually because the connector was edited after it was created. Remove the connector in Claude or ChatGPT, add it again, and reconnect.

ChatGPT doesn't show Developer mode

Developer mode depends on your ChatGPT plan and, in a workspace, on your admin's settings. Ask your workspace admin, or use Claude instead.

The assistant can't find a course or exam

Ask it to list your courses first, then name the course you mean. If the list is empty or wrong, check that you approved the connection with the teacher account that owns those courses.

The assistant asks you to sign in again

The connection renews itself while you use it. If it goes unused for 30 days, or you remove and re-add the connector, sign in and select Allow again.

FAQ

Can the assistant change grades or delete anything?

No. The connection is read-only. It can list and read your courses, students, submissions and results, but it cannot create, edit or delete anything in The Learning Mate.

Does connecting cost anything?

Not on The Learning Mate's side. Your Claude or ChatGPT plan must support custom connectors: every Claude plan does, while ChatGPT needs a plan with Developer mode.

Can students or parents connect an assistant?

No. Only teacher accounts can approve a connection, and the assistant only sees what that teacher owns.

Does the AI provider see my students' data?

Yes, for the results it reads to answer your question. Follow your school's policy on AI tools and student data before you connect, and only ask about the students you need to.

Can I connect with an API key instead?

Developers whose tools support custom request headers, such as Claude Code or the OpenAI API, can connect to the same URL with an API key from The Learning Mate. See the API documentation for details.