AIProfile

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Local Server With ngrok ​

Web-hosted MCP clients such as ChatGPT connectors and Claude custom connectors connect from cloud infrastructure, so localhost URLs do not work there. Use ngrok or an equivalent tunnel to run AIProfile on your desktop while exposing a public HTTPS endpoint.

For a full visual Claude walkthrough, see Claude: npm person profile.

Start AIProfile:

bash
npm run build
npm start

In another terminal:

bash
ngrok http 3000

ngrok prints a public HTTPS forwarding URL, for example:

text
https://abc123.ngrok-free.app -> http://localhost:3000

Configure AIProfile:

yaml
auth:
  mode: local
  anonymous_enabled: true
  issuer: https://abc123.ngrok-free.app
  resource: https://abc123.ngrok-free.app/mcp

Stop AIProfile after changing config.yaml and keep it stopped while you create the grant. With encrypted memory, the server loads the local database at startup, so the grant should exist before the server restarts.

Create a grant bound to the public MCP URL:

bash
npm run auth -- grant add \
  --subject chatgpt-owner \
  --preset owner-full \
  --resource https://abc123.ngrok-free.app/mcp
npm run auth -- grant list

Restart AIProfile:

bash
npm start

Use this MCP URL in the remote client:

text
https://abc123.ngrok-free.app/mcp

The client discovers OAuth metadata and opens the AIProfile authorization page. Enter the printed one-time approval code.

Security notes:

  • Stop AIProfile, create a new grant, and restart AIProfile whenever the tunnel URL changes.
  • Keep public tunnels open only while needed.
  • Prefer narrow presets such as public-read for testing.
  • Revoke grants when testing is done.
  • Never expose auth.mode: off through a public tunnel.