Claude writes good HTML: proposals, pitch pages, sign-up pages, reports. What it cannot do on its own is put that HTML on a link a client can open, change it next week without changing the link, or tell you which sections that client actually read. The Hostus connector is the pick for exactly that gap: one OAuth login in the Claude app, then Claude publishes to https://your-slug.v.hostus.io, updates the same link when you say what should change, and reads back attention data and form responses without you leaving the chat. This page is the setup guide, the tool reference and the troubleshooting list. If you only want to publish a throwaway page nobody important will open, Claude's own Publish button is enough, and we say where below.
What can Claude do with the Hostus connector?
Once connected, Claude has 12 tools over MCP. In practice they cover six things you say in plain language:
- Publish. "Publish this as a page" returns a live link with SSL in seconds, with a summary and tags attached.
- Update on the same link by intent. "Update the pricing table on the proposal with these numbers" replaces the HTML behind the existing link. The previous version is kept; the client's bookmark keeps working.
- Search everything you host. Semantic search, so "find the proposal I sent the logistics client in June" works even if the title says something else.
- Read how a page was read. Who opened it (on email-gated documents), time per section, what was re-read, where readers stopped.
- Read form responses. Any
<form>with named fields in a hosted page stores its responses; Claude reads them with their read and spam state. - Save context. Store a conversation excerpt as memory tied to a document, so the next chat about that proposal starts with the decisions already made.
Claude can also adjust a document's form settings (close, cap at N responses, success message, redirect after submit, email notifications) without touching the HTML, and delete a document after asking you to confirm.
How do you add Hostus as a custom connector in the Claude app?
- Create a Hostus account first if you do not have one: drop any HTML file on hostus.io and type your email. You get a magic link; no password, no card.
- In Claude, open Settings and go to Connectors. In Anthropic's current help article the menu is labelled Customize, then Connectors; the item you want is the same.
- Click the plus button, then Add custom connector.
- Enter the URL
https://app.hostus.io/api/mcp. Leave the Advanced settings (OAuth client ID and secret) empty; Hostus does not need them. - Click Add. A browser window opens for the OAuth 2.1 login; sign in to Hostus with your email magic link and approve the connection. No API key is typed anywhere.
- Back in a chat, the Hostus tools appear in the connectors menu. Say "list my Hostus documents" to confirm it works.
On Team and Enterprise plans the owner adds the connector under Organization settings, then each member goes to Connectors and clicks Connect; the steps are in Anthropic's custom connectors article.
How do you add it in Claude Code?
The connector is a remote server over Streamable HTTP, so Claude Code adds it with one command:
claude mcp add --transport http hostus https://app.hostus.io/api/mcpThen start Claude Code, type /mcp, pick hostus and complete the login in the browser. Claude Code stores the OAuth token and refreshes it on its own. To remove it later, run claude mcp remove hostus; the stored token is deleted with it. From that point "publish this file to Hostus" from inside a coding session gives you a link, and "push the new version to the same link" keeps the URL.
Which Claude plans have custom connectors?
Checked on Anthropic's help center on 2026-09-07: custom connectors using remote MCP are available on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans, in the Claude app, Claude Desktop and Cowork. Free users are limited to one custom connector. If Hostus is the one connector you add on Free, everything on this page works; there is no paid Hostus plan required either, the free plan includes every feature with 20 documents and 2 MB of HTML.
What are the 12 tools?
You never call these by name in a chat; Claude picks them. The names matter when you read Claude's tool log or write a Skill.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
hostus_upload | Publishes a new page and returns the link. Accepts a summary and tags. |
hostus_update | Replaces the HTML on the same link (previous version kept), or adjusts the form settings. |
hostus_search | Semantic search across everything you host. |
hostus_list | Cards for your documents: summary, outline, tags, URL. Filter by folder or tags. |
hostus_get_summary | The card for one document. |
hostus_get_full | The full HTML of one document. |
hostus_get_section | One section, by heading anchor, without loading the whole page. |
hostus_related | Documents similar to a given one. |
hostus_attention | How a document was read: who, time per section, re-reads, where readers stopped. |
hostus_responses | Form responses for a document, with read and spam state. |
hostus_save_context | Saves a text or conversation excerpt as memory tied to a document. |
hostus_delete | Deletes a document. Asks you to confirm first. |
What does a conversation with the connector look like?
Publish a proposal.
You: "Turn the scope we agreed on above into a one-page proposal with a pricing table and publish it on Hostus. Tag it acme, proposal."
Claude: writes the HTML, calls hostus_upload, and replies with https://acme-proposal.v.hostus.io. You switch the document to Email-gated in Hostus so you will know who opens it.
Update it without changing the link.
You: "Update my pitch with these numbers: ARR 420k, 38 customers, churn 2.1%."
Claude: finds the pitch with hostus_search, reads the metrics section with hostus_get_section, rewrites it, and calls hostus_update. The reply ends with the same link you sent last week. The old version stays in the history.
Close sign-ups and redirect.
You: "Close sign-ups on the workshop page and send people to the thank-you page instead."
Claude: calls hostus_update with the form settings: form closed, redirect after submit set to the thank-you page URL. No HTML edit, and visitors who still submit see the thank-you page.
Ask how it was read.
You: "How was the proposal read?"
Claude: calls hostus_attention and answers with who opened it and when, that the pricing section got two minutes and was re-read twice, and that most readers stopped before the timeline. Now you know what to open the follow-up call with.
How does Hostus compare with Claude's own Publish button?
Both put the same HTML on a link. The difference is what happens after the first send. For a page nobody important will open, Publish is fine. For a client, an investor or a team, Hostus is the better place for the same file.
| Option | Live link with SSL | Updates the live page by intent, same link | Private or email-gated readers | Form responses stored | Reading by section | Claude plans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hostus connector | Yes, your-slug.v.hostus.io, noindex by default | Yes: describe the change in a chat, link unchanged, versions kept | Yes, per document, switchable anytime | Yes, inbox on the document, CSV, email with Reply-To | Yes, per reader on email-gated documents | Any plan (Free allows one custom connector) |
| Claude Publish | Yes, claude.ai link | No: an unpublished artifact cannot be published again | No, public only | No | No | Free, Pro, Max; Team and Enterprise share inside the organization only |
Details on the Publish side come from Anthropic's publish and share article. For the wider set of options, see how to share a Claude artifact.
Is there a Claude Skill or an API as well?
Yes, both. The Hostus Skill packages the publishing workflow so Claude knows when to publish, when to update and how to describe the result; it works alongside the connector. The public REST API takes a Bearer key: POST /api/v1/documents publishes, PATCH /api/v1/documents/<id> updates the HTML or the same five form settings. Use the API for scripts and CI, the connector for chats.
Good to know before you switch
Hostus has no custom domain: every page lives at your-slug.v.hostus.io. It hosts single HTML files, optionally with a folder of images, video and fonts; a React or SPA build output is not the fit, and there is no PDF hosting. Free is 20 documents, 2 MB of HTML in total and 100 form responses a month with every feature; paid is $9.99 a month or $49.99 a year for unlimited documents, 200 MB and unlimited responses. There are no team seats or co-editing (a folder can be shared read-only with one link), the in-browser editor is desktop only, and the connector does not change any of these limits.