What you will be able to do
- Explain what access a connector gives Claude and why it can never go beyond the user's own permissions
- Sequence Team/Enterprise connector enablement and individual authentication correctly
- Restrict a connector to read-only actions across an organisation
- Choose a tool access mode and disconnect or reconnect a service
1.What connecting a service actually grants
Connectors let Claude access your apps and services, retrieve your data, and take actions inside those services. Examples include searching Google Drive, sending a Slack message and creating a Linear issue. Connecting is a permission decision. The connectors guide warns that connecting a service gives Claude permission to access, and possibly modify, data in that service based on your account permissions. It also advises: "Only connect services you trust and need for your workflows."
Your own permissions set the upper limit. Claude inherits each person's permissions from the connected service. If you can't open a file, channel or record in the source system, the connector can't reach it either. For Google Workspace the documentation adds three points. Claude can only reach the Gmail, Calendar and Drive data of the Google account you connected. It accesses that data only when you ask for something that needs it. And it retrieves the minimum information needed.
Some actions are higher risk, and Claude asks before doing them by default. In Gmail these are sending, replying and forwarding. In Drive they are sharing, moving and trashing files. On Team and Enterprise plans, owners decide whether members can let these actions run without asking each time. Data retrieved through a connector is stored with its chat, so deleting the chat deletes that data. Anthropic does not train its models on Gmail, Drive or Calendar connector data.
Checkpoint 1 of 7· Check yourself
A user connects Google Drive and asks Claude to summarise a finance folder that their Google account has no permission to open. What happens?
Connectors inherit the user's permissions. Claude can't reach anything the user can't already open in Google Workspace.
“Claude mirrors your existing permissions—you cannot access information you don't already have access to in Google Workspace.”Source: support.claude.com
2.Team and Enterprise: enabling is not authorising
On Team and Enterprise plans, setup happens in two layers. First, an Owner or Primary Owner enables the connector for the whole organisation in Organization settings. That makes it available but connects nobody's account. Second, each person authenticates individually, which for Google means signing in through Google's OAuth screen. Enterprise-managed auth, in beta for Team and Enterprise, is the exception: it authorises a connector once for the whole organisation, and members inherit access on first login.
Google Workspace admins can add a third layer. If users see "Access blocked: your institution's admin needs to review Claude for Google Drive," the Google admin has to mark Claude as a trusted app in admin.google.com, then wait about 15 minutes for the policy to take effect.
Checkpoint 2 of 7· Put it in order
Put these steps for rolling out a directory connector on a Team plan in order.
- 1.The Owner clicks "Browse connectors" at the bottom of the page
- 2.The Owner selects the connector and clicks "Add to your team"
- 3.An Owner navigates to Organization settings > Connectors
- 4.Each individual user authenticates with the connector
Enabling happens first, at the organisation level. Individual authentication can only follow once the connector is available to the team.
“Individual users can then authenticate with the connector to start using it with Claude.”Source: support.claude.com
3.Scoping a connector: org-wide action restrictions
Inherited permissions decide what Claude can reach. Action restrictions decide what Claude may do with it. Owners on Team and Enterprise plans can limit which actions a connector can take across the organisation. A common example is allowing reads while blocking writes. The restriction applies to everyone using that connector, and individual users can't override it.
| Connector | Allow | Prevent |
|---|---|---|
| Gmail | Search and summarise email | Sending messages |
| Google Drive | Reading files | Creating or editing documents |
| Linear | Viewing issues | Creating issues or changing status |
To configure this, open Customize > Connectors and select the connector to see its Tool permissions. They are grouped by type, such as read-only tools and write/delete tools. Set each category, or each individual permission, to Always allow, Needs approval or Blocked. These restrictions can only narrow access. Allowing a write action in Claude does not help a user who lacks that permission in the source system.
Checkpoint 3 of 7· Put it in order
An Enterprise Owner wants Google Drive to be read-only for everyone. Put the steps in order.
- 1.Navigate to Customize > Connectors
- 2.Select the Google Drive connector to see Tool permissions
- 3.Set the write/delete category to Blocked
- 4.Find the permission categories, such as read-only tools and write/delete tools
Tool permissions sit under the connector in Customize > Connectors and are grouped by type. Blocking the write/delete category leaves Drive read-only for the whole organisation.
“For each permission category or individual permission, select Always allow, Needs approval, or Blocked.”Source: support.claude.com
Checkpoint 4 of 7· Exam question
Using the Gmail connector, a user asks Claude to summarize the contents of a PDF attached to an email. What limitation should the user expect?
Correct answer: C — Claude can read the email metadata and body but cannot open the attachment's content.
- A. Incorrect. There is no documented size threshold that unlocks attachment reading; content stays inaccessible regardless of size.
- B. Incorrect. Attachment content is inaccessible for any file type, not just non-PDF formats.
- C. Correct. The Gmail connector exposes metadata and body content but does not process attachment content, so the PDF's contents remain inaccessible.
- D. Incorrect. Claude can still read the surrounding email even with an attachment present; only the attachment content is off-limits.
Sources1
4.Per-conversation toggles and tool access modes
Even after a service is connected, you control it per conversation. Click "+" in the chat or type "/", hover over "Connectors", and switch individual services on or off for that conversation. Each connector takes up room in the conversation, so with many connected the combined overhead leaves less space for documents and chat history. The Tool access setting, found in the same menu, controls how connectors are loaded.
| Your situation | Recommended mode |
|---|---|
| Fewer than 10 connectors, all used frequently | Always available |
| 10–30 tools with mixed usage | Auto |
| 30+ tools or multiple connectors connected | On demand or Auto |
| A specific connector needs to work every time without fail | Always available |
| Conversations are hitting length limits | On demand |
Auto is the default, and Claude decides which connectors to load. On demand saves conversation space, but Claude may need an extra step to find the right connector first. The mode you pick applies only to that conversation.
Checkpoint 5 of 7· Match them up
Match each tool access mode to how it behaves.
Tap a term, then the definition that fits it.
The three modes trade conversation space against readiness. Always available uses the most space upfront, and On demand uses the least.
“Auto (default): Claude decides dynamically which connectors to load based on what you're working on.”Source: support.claude.com
5.Disconnecting, reconnecting and custom connectors
To revoke access, go to Customize > Connectors. All your connected services are listed there, and for each one you can disconnect it, change its connection settings, or review its permissions and access levels. Disconnecting is also how you fix a broken Google connection. If you see "You may need to reconnect with your Google Drive account", open the connector in Customize > Connectors, click "Disconnect", and confirm. The next time you use a Google Workspace feature, you'll be sent back to Google to authenticate again. If that still doesn't work, you can delete the Claude connection from the Google side at myaccount.google.com/connections.
Directory connectors aren't the only kind. Custom connectors using remote MCP are available on every plan, though Free users are limited to one. You add one under Customize > Connectors by entering a name and URL. These connections run from Anthropic's cloud, so the server must be reachable over the public internet. Anthropic hasn't verified these services, so the trust question from the start of this lesson matters even more here.
Checkpoint 6 of 7· Check yourself
A user no longer wants Claude to reach their connected Slack workspace. Where do they go first?
Customize > Connectors lists every connected service and lets you disconnect each one. Tool access modes only change how connectors load, and deleting chats removes retrieved data but leaves the connection in place.
“For each service, you can disconnect it, modify connection settings, or review permissions and access levels.”Source: support.claude.com
Checkpoint 7 of 7· Exam question
A user pastes a Google Doc URL into a chat with the Drive connector enabled and asks about the document's contents. What does Claude do?
Correct answer: D — Claude accesses and processes the referenced document once the message is sent.
- A. Incorrect. The connector is designed to retrieve the document automatically, so manual pasting is not required.
- B. Incorrect. Accessing a document via the connector does not create a permanent copy in project knowledge.
- C. Incorrect. Public sharing is not required, since the connector authenticates to the user's own private Google account.
- D. Correct. With the Drive connector, a pasted URL is accessed and processed when the message is sent, informing the response.
Sources1
Exam traps
Each one states something that sounds right. Open it to see what is actually true.
1.Once an Owner enables a connector for the organisation, every member can use it immediately.Why is that wrong?
Enabling only makes the connector available. Each person still has to authenticate, unless the organisation uses the beta Enterprise-managed auth.
2.A member can lift an org-wide read-only restriction for their own account if they need to write.Why is that wrong?
Owner-set action restrictions apply to everyone using the connector, and individual users can't override them.
Covered in Scoping a connector: org-wide action restrictions
3.Setting a write tool to Always allow in Claude lets users edit files they can't edit in the source system.Why is that wrong?
Restrictions in Claude only narrow access. Users still need the underlying permission in the source system.
Covered in Scoping a connector: org-wide action restrictions
Sources
Every claim above is drawn from one of these pages, quoted as it was written on the date shown.
- 1.https://support.claude.com/en/articles/11176164-use-connectors-to-extend-claude-s-capabilitiesOfficial docs
“Claude inherits each person's permissions from the connected service.”
↩︎ What connecting a service actually grants“you're granting Claude permission to access and potentially modify data within that service based on your account permissions.”
↩︎ What connecting a service actually grants“Before members of Team and Enterprise plans can use connectors, an Owner or Primary Owner needs to enable them for the organization.”
↩︎ Team and Enterprise: enabling is not authorising“Owners on Team and Enterprise plans can limit which actions a connected service can take across your organization.”
↩︎ Scoping a connector: org-wide action restrictions“Enable the specific services you want Claude to use for that conversation by toggling them on.”
↩︎ Per-conversation toggles and tool access modes“Free users are limited to one custom connector.”
↩︎ Disconnecting, reconnecting and custom connectors“Custom connectors allow you to connect Claude to services that haven't been verified by Anthropic.”
↩︎ Disconnecting, reconnecting and custom connectors“Each person still needs to authenticate individually before they can use it.”
↩︎ Exam trap 1“This applies org-wide to everyone using the connector—individual users can't override it.”
↩︎ Exam trap 2“Restricting actions in Claude never grants more access than the source system permits—it only narrows it.”
↩︎ Exam trap 3“Enabling a connector makes it available to your team, but it doesn't automatically grant anyone access.”
↩︎ Prediction“Individual users can then authenticate with the connector to start using it with Claude.”
↩︎ Checkpoint“For each permission category or individual permission, select Always allow, Needs approval, or Blocked.”
↩︎ Checkpoint“For each service, you can disconnect it, modify connection settings, or review permissions and access levels.”
↩︎ Checkpoint - 2.
“Claude only accesses your data when you explicitly ask a question or request an action requiring this information, and retrieves the minimum information needed.”
↩︎ What connecting a service actually grants“This data is retained with its associated chat, so you can delete any retrieved data by deleting the chat.”
↩︎ What connecting a service actually grants“Wait approximately 15 minutes for Google's policy to propagate, then try connecting again.”
↩︎ Team and Enterprise: enabling is not authorising“Attachment content is not directly accessible through Gmail (metadata only).”
↩︎ Prediction“Claude mirrors your existing permissions—you cannot access information you don't already have access to in Google Workspace.”
↩︎ Checkpoint - 3.
“Your selection only applies to that conversation.”
↩︎ Per-conversation toggles and tool access modes“Auto (default): Claude decides dynamically which connectors to load based on what you're working on.”
↩︎ Checkpoint