You can let Claude or ChatGPT look things up in Howard's library for you, right from the assistant you already use.

1. Get a key

Log in to Howard, click your name in the top right, then click API Keys. Create a key, give it a name so you remember what it's for, and copy the web address it gives you. That address is your key. Keep the tab open, you'll need it in the next step.

Setting it up in claude.ai

Requires a paid Claude plan.

1. In claude.ai, go to Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector.
2. Paste the web address you copied from Howard.
3. When it asks for a name, call it Howard. This matters more than it looks. See below.
4. Leave the OAuth Client ID and Client Secret boxes empty. Howard doesn't use OAuth, so there's nothing to put there.
5. Save.

Using it: just ask for Howard by name. Say "Ask Howard what FASRG says about records retention" and Claude will recognize that it has a connector called Howard and use it. You don't have to turn anything on first.

Setting it up in ChatGPT

This uses ChatGPT's developer mode, on the web (not the phone app). Developer mode is available on Pro, Plus, Business, Enterprise, and Education accounts. It is not available on the free plan — if you're on a free account, there's no menu to find, so don't spend time hunting for one.

Turn on developer mode:

• Personal accounts (Pro or Plus): go to Settings → Security and login → Developer mode and turn it on.
• Work accounts (Business, Enterprise, or Education): only an admin or owner can turn this on. On Enterprise and Education it lives at Settings → Apps → Advanced settings; on Business it's in workspace settings, and only admins and owners can access it. If you can't find the toggle, that's expected — ask your workspace admin to turn it on. It isn't something you can fix yourself.

Add Howard:

1. Go to chatgpt.com/plugins.
2. Click the plus button to create a new app. (This button only creates developer-mode apps once developer mode is turned on.)
3. Paste the web address you copied from Howard.
4. When it asks for a name, call it Howard. This is what you'll say to bring it up later, so the name matters.

5. You'll be asked to choose an authentication type: OAuth, No Authentication, or Mixed Authentication. Choose No Authentication. Howard's key is already built into the web address, so there's nothing else to authenticate. This is the step people get stuck on, so pick No Authentication and move on.

6. Click Scan Tools and wait for it to finish. It should find three tools.
7. Click Create. Howard will show up under Drafts in your app settings.

Using Howard in a chat:

The easy way is to ask for it by name. Say "Ask Howard what FASRG says about records retention" and ChatGPT will nearly always work out that it has an app called Howard and reach for it. That's the whole reason to name it Howard when you set it up.

If it ignores you and answers from its own general knowledge instead, you have two options. Say it more firmly, for example "Use the Howard app to look this up, don't answer from memory". Or turn it on for the conversation directly: open the Plus menu, choose Developer mode, and select Howard.

You can tell the difference by whether the answer cites a document and section. If there's no citation, Howard wasn't asked.

Gemini

Google's consumer Gemini app only allows connectors that come from Google's own partners, so there's no way to add Howard to it. If you go looking for a setting to do this, it doesn't exist yet, and it isn't something Howard can fix on its end.

Keep your key safe

The key is built into the web address itself. Anyone who has that address can use your Howard account to ask questions, so treat it like a password. Don't paste it into a group chat, a shared document, or a screenshot. If it ever gets out, click your name in the top right, click API Keys, revoke the key, and create a new one.

Limits

Each key gets 200 requests to Howard a day. Every request your assistant makes counts toward that number, not just the ones where it asks Howard a question directly. If your assistant searches Howard's library or checks the list of sources on its own, each of those counts too. The count resets at midnight UTC. If that's not enough for how you're using it, let us know and we can raise it.

What your assistant can do

• search_howard finds the exact wording in Howard's documents, so you can see the original passage.
• ask_howard asks Howard directly and gets back Howard's own written answer.
• list_sources shows what documents Howard has read, so you know what it can and can't answer about.

Your assistant decides which tool to use, but it works best if you're direct about it. Asking it to "search Howard for..." tends to work better than expecting it to guess that Howard is the right place to look.

For developers

You do not need this section unless someone technical is helping you. The steps above are all you need to connect Howard to Claude or ChatGPT.

You can also call Howard directly over HTTP, without going through an AI assistant. Send a POST request to /api/test/query with your key in an X-API-Key header:

POST /api/test/query
X-API-Key: your-key-here
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "question": "What is PIC 37?"
}

The response is JSON with the answer text plus the sources it came from:

{
  "answer": "...",
  "sources": [ ... ],
  "citations": [ ... ]
}