Play Index for ChatGPT and Claude

Overview

What this connector does

Play Index is a read-only data and analytics connector. It exposes 27 tools across two areas:

• FPL (18 tools) — manager histories, transfer suggestions, top-target rankings, the Play Index Difficulty Rating built from rolling team xG/xGA, live transfer trends and captaincy from the FPL API, plus an interactive squad pitch view across upcoming gameweeks.
• World Cup 2026 (9 tools) — nation form, match predictions from our Dixon-Coles xG model, squad recommendations and side-by-side nation comparisons.

Nothing in this connector writes to your FPL account, places bets or moves money. It is read-only by design.

Example prompts

What people actually ask

Compare my playstyle with the other managers I follow this season.

Who should I transfer in for the next 5 gameweeks? My budget is £8m and I want to stay below 15% ownership.

What does my current squad look like for GW36 and which two players are at risk of a -4 hit if I move them?

How do England, France and Brazil compare on recent form going into the World Cup?

Show me the easiest fixture runs over the next 6 gameweeks ranked by Play Index Difficulty Rating.

Connection requirements

What you need before connecting

• A free Fantasy Premier League account (your team is then claimable by FPL entry id).
• A Play Index account — create one at Play Index/register — email + password.
• ChatGPT Plus / Pro or any Claude account (Claude.ai web, Claude Desktop, or Claude on the API).

You'll need an FPL account and a Play Index login to connect. Geographic availability follows the FPL API itself (worldwide).

Setup

Connecting from Claude.ai

1. Open Claude.ai → Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector.
2. Paste the MCP URL:

   https://api.play-index.com/mcp/sse

3. Click Add. Claude walks the OAuth discovery chain, registers itself dynamically (RFC 7591) and redirects you to a Play Index consent screen.
4. On the consent screen, sign in with your Play Index email + password and click Allow.
5. Open a new chat and ask any of the example prompts above. The tool-call chip with the Play Index logo appears when a tool fires.

Connecting from ChatGPT

1. ChatGPT → Settings → Apps → Advanced → turn Developer Mode on.
2. Back on the Apps page, click Create app.
3. Name it Play Index, paste the MCP URL above, leave the auth dropdown on auto-detect (or pick OAuth).
4. Click Create. ChatGPT redirects you to the same Play Index consent screen — sign in, click Allow.
5. Open any chat, mention the app, and ask. ChatGPT decides when to call a Play Index tool based on the prompt.

Connecting from Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop reads MCP servers out of a JSON config file. For this connector, the easiest path is to generate an API key inside Play Index (Settings → API keys → New) and paste it as a Bearer header. Add the following to claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Play Index": {
      "transport": "sse",
      "url": "https://api.play-index.com/mcp/sse",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer pk_live_<paste-your-key-here>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. The 22 Play Index tools appear in the tool picker.

Tool catalogue

What ChatGPT and Claude can call

Every tool is annotated as readOnlyHint: true in the MCP tools/list response — none of them mutate your FPL account or any third-party system. Annotations are emitted both nested under annotations and duplicated at the top level so every MCP host (Claude, ChatGPT Apps SDK) reads each tool fully.

Security & privacy

How your data is handled

• Authentication — OAuth 2.1 with dynamic client registration (RFC 7591), PKCE S256, and single-use refresh-token rotation with family revocation (RFC 6819 §5.2.2.3). API keys (an alternative path for Claude Desktop) are stored as SHA-256 hashes; raw values exist only in transit.
• Transport — TLS from a recognised CA on the MCP origin (Heroku managed certificate).
• Scope — every tool response is filtered by the caller's user id at the database layer. You see your own claimed managers + public managers (FPL content creators / legendary managers); never another user's private data.
• No model training — we do not feed your usage of this connector into any model. The LLM you talk to runs in ChatGPT or Claude, governed by their privacy policies, not ours.

Full details: privacy policy · terms of service.

Troubleshooting

Common issues and one-line fixes

"MCP server does not implement OAuth"

You pasted a URL on a different host than the OAuth discovery docs live on. Use the URL above (Heroku origin) directly — not the Vercel proxy URL.

The consent screen says "invalid_client"

Clear the connector and re-add it. Claude/ChatGPT cache a stale client registration; re-adding triggers a fresh dynamic registration.

No tools show up after I authorise

The first tools/list call may take 2–3 seconds on a cold Heroku dyno. Wait a moment and refresh the connector panel. If still empty, sign out and back in — your session may have expired.

"You have no claimed managers yet"

Open Play Index/fpl/manager and click Claim your team. Paste your FPL entry id (the number in your FPL team URL) — your history will ingest in the background within ~60s.

compare_managers returns an empty array

The model passed the internal NotableManager id instead of the FPL entry id. Ask the assistant to call list_my_managers first and use the latest_fpl_entry_id field — never the small id field — when comparing.

Transfer suggestions are missing predictions

Predictions for upcoming gameweeks are computed nightly. If you connected right after a fixture-list refresh and the next GW hasn't been scored yet, suggest_transfers returns a predictions_warning with the exact admin endpoint that needs to fire. Email us if the warning persists for more than 12 hours.

Support

Get help or report an issue

Email support@play-index.online. Replies during UK business hours.

For account-specific issues, include your Play Index email and the last GW you used the connector — it lets us trace the exact tool call in our logs.