Appearance
Integrations
A connection lets Pencel work with a service you already use, like your Gmail, your Slack workspace or your QuickBooks company. Once it's connected, you can ask Pencel about what's in it ("what did Acme send about the renewal?") and have it draft or do things there, with your approval.
You connect each service once. Pencel can then use it on Home, and any room set up to use that account can use it too.
Where to manage connections
Go to Settings ▸ Connections. There are three tabs:
- Recommended: services tested by Pencel, sorted into categories. Each card shows Install, Installed or Needs sign-in.
- Installed: the connections you've set up, with their status and a ⋮ menu for managing each one.
- Custom Tools: Pencel's built-in tools, which you can switch off, and small tools you make yourself. See Studio.
The search box looks across everything. Add Connection opens the full catalog, where you can also give a connection its own name or add a custom connection.
Connect a service
- Open Settings ▸ Connections ▸ Recommended.
- Find the service and click Install.
- Do what it asks. For most services your browser opens, you sign in, and you allow access.
- When the card says Installed, you're done. The connection now also appears on the Installed tab.
Not sure what a service needs? Click Need help? Ask AI under its card and Pencel walks you through it in chat.
You can also connect right where you need it:
- On Home, the Connect your email card offers Connect Google and Connect Microsoft.
- In a room, when it needs an account, the room says so in the conversation ("I need read access to...") with a Connect button.
- When you set up your own Room, the Connectors step lists the accounts the new room needs. See Set up your own Room.
Ways to connect
| How | What you do | Services |
|---|---|---|
| One-click sign-in | Your browser opens. Sign in and allow access. GitHub instead shows a short code to enter on GitHub's site. | Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Slack, QuickBooks Online, GitHub, Asana |
| Sign in with the service | Your browser opens on the service's own site. Sign in and approve Pencel. The service runs this connection itself. | Notion, Atlassian, Linear, Stripe, Monday.com |
| Paste a key or pick a location | Click Grant All & Continue, then paste a key from the service's settings or point Pencel at a folder, file or database, and click Install & Connect. | Brave Search, Tavily, HubSpot, PostgreSQL, SQLite, Redis, Filesystem |
| Nothing to set up | Click Install. | Web Fetch, Memory, Playwright |
| Pencel-managed | A ready-made Room installs it for you. It runs on Pencel's shared keys while you have a paid plan or starter credits, and you can add your own key. | RFP APIs (federal), Market Data (stocks & ETFs) |
GitHub also accepts a personal access token instead of a sign-in. See GitHub.
What "Needs sign-in" means
Needs sign-in means the connection is there, but Pencel can't use it until you sign in. Either the sign-in was never finished, or the service ended it. Click Sign in on the Recommended card, or Re-authorize on the Installed tab. Your settings for the connection are kept.
Pencel asks before it acts
Before Pencel sends, posts or changes anything through a connection, it shows you exactly what it's about to do. You can approve it, Edit fields first, or Reject it.
- Always Allow stops Pencel asking about a routine action. In a room, it covers only that room, that action and that account.
- QuickBooks changes ask every time, wherever you are.
- In a room, anything that moves money or deletes something asks every time.
See Approvals and permissions.
Manage a connection
On the Installed tab, open a connection's ⋮ menu:
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Manage Tools | Switch individual actions on or off. Auto-Approval (None, All tools or Custom) chooses which actions skip the approval step when you ask on Home. Rooms keep their own approvals. Click Save changes. |
| Test Connection | Checks that it still works. |
| Disconnect | Pauses it. Your sign-in is kept. Click Connect to turn it back on. |
| Revoke | Blocks it completely until you choose Restore. |
| Audit Log | Shows what happened on this connection, including each action Pencel took. |
| Remove | Deletes the connection and its saved sign-in from Pencel right away. |
Removing a connection doesn't withdraw Pencel's access on the service's side. To do that too, remove Pencel from the connected apps in your account on that service.
Good to know
- A room uses only the accounts set up for it. You can see them in the room's settings under Advanced ▸ Tools & accounts, where you can also Revoke an Always allowed action.
- Two accounts of the same service? Use Add Connection and give the second one its own name. When a room could use either, it asks you to choose.
- Plan limits. The Free plan allows up to 15 connections. Paid plans have no limit.
- Your data. Sign-ins are stored on your computer, encrypted with a key your operating system keeps. Pencel reads from a service when a task needs it. See Data handling.
Integration Catalog
| Integration | What Pencel can do | How you connect | Page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Workspace (Gmail, Calendar) | Triage and answer email, manage your calendar | One-click sign-in | Google Workspace |
| Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Calendar) | Read Outlook mail, write drafts, manage your calendar | One-click sign-in | Microsoft 365 |
| Slack | Catch up on channels, search conversations, post messages | One-click sign-in | Slack |
| QuickBooks Online (Beta) | Answer questions from your books, log expenses you approve | One-click sign-in | QuickBooks Online |
| Notion | Find, read and update pages and databases | Sign in with Notion | Notion |
| Atlassian (Jira, Confluence) | Check and create Jira issues, find and write Confluence pages | Sign in with Atlassian | Atlassian |
| Linear | Check and create issues and projects | Sign in with Linear | Linear |
| GitHub | Summarize issues and pull requests, open issues | One-click sign-in, or an access token | GitHub |
| Stripe | Look up payments, customers, subscriptions and invoices | Sign in with Stripe | Stripe |
| Asana | Track and update tasks and projects | One-click sign-in | Project management |
| Monday.com | Track and update boards and items | Sign in with Monday.com | Project management |
| HubSpot | Look up and update contacts, companies and deals | Private app access token | None yet |
| Brave Search | Search the web | API key | Web search and utilities |
| Tavily | Search the web and pull text from pages | API key | Web search and utilities |
| Web Fetch | Read a web page | Nothing to set up | Browser automation |
| Playwright | Open pages, click, fill in forms, take screenshots | Nothing to set up | Browser automation |
| Filesystem | Read and write files in a folder you choose | Pick a folder | Web search and utilities |
| Memory | Keep notes about people and things between conversations | Nothing to set up | Web search and utilities |
| PostgreSQL | Answer questions from a database (read-only) | Connection string | Databases |
| SQLite | Read and update a database file | Pick the file | Databases |
| Redis | Read and write keys | Redis address | Databases |
| RFP APIs (federal) | Find federal bids, including those posted on SAM.gov, plus state and local bids, grants and award history | Installed by RFP Operations | RFP Operations |
| Market Data (stocks & ETFs) | Prices, company news and analyst consensus. Read-only, no trading. | Installed by Morning Stock Watch | Morning Stock Watch |
Don't see your tool?
Pencel can also connect to any tool that offers an MCP server, an open standard many apps use to work with AI assistants. Click Add Connection, then choose Custom Server, pick one from Browse Registry, or click Import to bring over the servers you already use in Claude Desktop. See Custom connections.