ChatGPT plugins: installing, invoking, and what you are granting

• ChatGPT and Codex use one universal plugin directory, so the same public plugins are discoverable from their supported surfaces.

  Plugins

• Plugins work in Chat and Work across ChatGPT on the web, desktop and mobile, and in Codex in the desktop app; Codex CLI also has a plugin browser; the IDE extension does not support plugins.

  Plugins

• Plugins marked Desktop only require the ChatGPT desktop app — discoverable on the web, installable and usable only in the desktop app, and not available on mobile.

  Plugins

• A plugin can contain skills, MCP servers, browser extensions and hooks.

  Plugins

• Installing a plugin on the web does not deploy hook scripts; those must be available in the execution environment, and enterprise admins can deploy required scripts through MDM.

  Plugins

• The Plugins Directory organizes plugins into OpenAI, your workspace name, and Personal tabs, with a separate Installed row for plugins you already installed.

  Plugins

• In Codex CLI, /plugins opens the plugin browser, and pressing Space on an installed plugin turns it on or off.

  Plugins

• Bundled skills become available when you start a new chat or CLI session after installation.

  Plugins

• Typing @ invokes a plugin or one of its bundled skills explicitly.

  Skills & Plugins

• Uninstalling removes the plugin bundle from that ChatGPT or Codex environment, while separately connected MCP server integrations remain connected in ChatGPT until you disconnect them there.

  Plugins

• Sign in with ChatGPT is in beta and shares only your name, email address and profile picture where available; it does not grant the plugin access to your data or approve actions automatically.

  Plugins

• The OpenAI developer documentation index lists ChatGPT plugins and the Apps SDK as their own documentation set, covering building plugins with MCP servers, tools, UI components, authentication, metadata, testing, deployment, review and submission.

  OpenAI developer documentation index (llms.txt)

1. Open the Plugins tab to browse the directory on the web or in the desktop app, or type /plugins in Codex CLI.
2. Search or browse for a plugin, then open its details.
3. Select the plus button to install it.
4. If the plugin needs an MCP server connection, connect it when prompted. Some plugins ask you to authenticate during install; others wait until first use.
5. After installation, start a new chat — or a new CLI session — before the bundled skills become available.
6. Then either describe the task directly and let ChatGPT choose the tools, or type @ to invoke a specific plugin or bundled skill.

1. The Windows desktop app supports plugins, with the directory under the same Plugins tab.
2. Plugins marked Desktop only carry the same restriction on Windows — discoverable on the web, installable and usable only in the desktop app.
3. Note that the Apple Messages plugin is macOS-only and ships only in the Apple Silicon (arm64) build of the desktop app, so it does not apply on Windows.

1. The documentation states that on mobile you can use plugins available to your account in Chat or Work.
2. Plugins marked Desktop only are not available on mobile.
3. Desktop-specific capabilities such as Apple Messages do not appear on a phone.

• Installing the Gmail plugin so ChatGPT can summarise today's unread threads.
• Installing the Google Drive plugin to pull material across Drive, Docs, Sheets and Slides.
• Installing the Slack plugin to summarise channels or draft replies.
• Installing the Codex Security plugin to scan authorized code and confirm plausible vulnerability findings.

• Trying the plugin in the chat you already had open. Bundled skills only become available in a **new** chat or CLI session.
• Installing a hook-bearing plugin on the web and expecting the hook scripts to run. Installing on the web does not deploy them.
• Looking for plugins in the IDE extension. It does not support them — use the desktop app or Codex CLI.
• Treating Sign in with ChatGPT as an authorisation step. It shares name, email and profile picture; the plugin's permissions are a separate review.
• Assuming uninstalling a plugin also disconnects its MCP server integration.

What is a plugin actually made of?

Four documented parts: skills (reusable instructions for specific kinds of work, loaded when needed so the right steps, references and helper scripts are used); MCP servers (services connecting ChatGPT and Codex to tools and information in systems such as GitHub, Slack or Google Drive — they define tools, enforce authentication, return structured data and perform actions against external systems, optionally with custom UI); browser extensions; and hooks (commands that run at configured lifecycle points in the Codex runtime).

What should I know about hooks?

Two things. Hook scripts must be available in the execution environment — installing a plugin on the web does not deploy them, and enterprise admins can deploy required scripts through MDM. And the documentation states plainly that you should review and trust plugin hooks before they run.

How do I pick a specific plugin?

Type @ to invoke the plugin or one of its bundled skills. The documented choice is simple — describe the task directly when you want ChatGPT to select the right installed tools, and use @ when you want to be specific about which plugin or skill it should use.

Do plugins work when I sign in with an API key?

The documentation states that if you sign in to Codex with an OpenAI API key you can browse, install and manage supported OpenAI-curated plugins in Codex CLI and in Codex in the desktop app. Some plugins are not available with API key authentication because their connection flows require unsupported OAuth capabilities.

What is left behind after I uninstall?

Uninstalling removes the plugin bundle from that ChatGPT or Codex environment. Separately connected MCP server integrations remain connected in ChatGPT until you disconnect them there. Workspace-installed or default plugins may not offer an uninstall action at all — your workspace administrator controls those.

These are the pages this tutorial is checked against. Follow them if you need the vendor's exact wording.

• Plugins

  https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/plugins.md

• Skills & Plugins

  https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/skills-and-plugins.md

• OpenAI developer documentation index (llms.txt)

  https://developers.openai.com/llms.txt

Source status

• ChatGPT skills: turning repeated work into a reusable workflowThe skill directory layout, how progressive disclosure shapes the way you write a description, where Codex loads skills from, creating one with skill-creator, and when to package it as a plugin instead.
• ChatGPT Work: delegating the whole jobWhat ChatGPT Work is for, how to choose between local and cloud execution, which tasks are worth delegating to it, and how to write a prompt that reads like a work order rather than a wish.
• ChatGPT scheduled tasks: work that runs without youRunning ChatGPT work on a schedule — standalone versus in-chat tasks, event triggers from Gmail, Slack and GitHub, worktree isolation, sandbox permissions, and the manual test you should never skip.