Skip to main content

Connectors Overview

Connectors let Rephlo's AI reach beyond your text and work directly with the apps you already use — searching, reading, creating, and updating content in services like Notion. When a connector is active, the AI can call tools during a chat to get real work done, then show you exactly what it did.

Under the hood, connectors are built on the Model Context Protocol (MCP) — an open standard for connecting AI models to external services through a small, well-defined set of tools. You don't need to know anything about MCP to use connectors; the term just explains why Rephlo can plug into many different services in a consistent way.

Where connectors live​

Connectors are configured and connected in the desktop app, under Settings → Connectors. The web platform does not have its own connectors screen — there's nothing to set up on the website. Once you connect a service on the desktop, its tools become available inside Chat.

To use connectors you'll need the desktop app installed. If you don't have it yet, see Installation and setup or download Rephlo.

The connector catalogue​

Rephlo keeps a catalogue of available connectors. The desktop app fetches this list automatically, so the Settings → Connectors screen always shows the current set without you having to update anything. Each catalogue entry shows:

  • A name, description, and icon (for example, "Notion").
  • A connection status — Not Connected, Connected, or Needs re-auth.
  • A tier requirement — some connectors are only available on certain plans (see Plans and pricing).
  • A status badge — connectors that aren't live yet show a Coming Soon badge.

Today the catalogue includes:

ConnectorStatusNotes
NotionAvailableSearch, read, create, and update pages and databases. See Connecting Notion.
GmailComing soonShows a "Coming Soon" badge; the Connect button is hidden until it ships.

You can also add your own custom MCP servers if you run one yourself.

How connectors surface as tools in chat​

A connector on its own does nothing until you turn it on for a conversation. In the chat composer there's a Use connectors toggle. When it's on and you have at least one connector connected, the AI can call that connector's tools as part of answering you.

Each tool call appears as a small breadcrumb card in the chat, showing:

  • The tool name (e.g. "search pages").
  • The status — success, timeout, or error.
  • How long the call took, in seconds.

This means you always see what the AI touched, without digging through raw output.

What gets stored — and what doesn't​

Connectors are designed to keep your access private to your device:

  • Authorization tokens are stored encrypted on your own machine. They are not sent to Rephlo's servers.
  • Tool results (for example, a page returned by a search) exist in memory only during the chat session. The full content is not written to disk; only the short breadcrumb summary stays in your chat history.
  • A local audit log records each connect, disconnect, token refresh, and tool call — recording only the connector name, tool name, duration, and status. Tool arguments and result content are never logged.

How it fits together​

The backend supplies the list of available connectors; your desktop app handles the actual connection and runs every tool call locally against the external service.

Next steps​