# Connect Claude to your photo library with OwAI MCP

> Add OwAI as a Claude custom connector, authorize your library, verify read-only search, view media, and review organization or deletion safely.

Author: [Alex Visheratin](https://x.com/visheratin)

Updated: 2026-10-20

## Before you connect

Claude custom connectors use remote MCP. Anthropic currently documents them for Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans; Free accounts are limited to one custom connector. Setup in Claude on the web or Claude Desktop is the most established path. Mobile connector installation is currently described as beta, although an already configured remote connector can be available across Claude surfaces.

Prepare OwAI before adding the connector. Sign in to an OwAI account with permanent Cloud Access, add a local folder, Apple Photos source or OneDrive folder, and wait for indexing to finish. For local folders and Apple Photos, enable Cloud index sync and wait for the first sync. OneDrive uses its shared cloud catalog. Hosted semantic searches use prepaid search credits; source listing and metadata-only searches do not run inference.

This is an independent OwAI integration guide. It does not claim that OwAI is built, endorsed or approved by Anthropic, or already listed in Claude's connector directory.

- [Download OwAI](https://organizewith.ai/en/download)
- [Cloud Access and credit pricing](https://organizewith.ai/en/pricing)
- [Anthropic: get started with custom remote connectors](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/11175166-get-started-with-custom-connectors-using-remote-mcp)

## Add the OwAI remote connector

Remote MCP server: https://index.organizewith.ai/mcp

Claude reaches a remote connector from Anthropic's cloud infrastructure, including when you use Claude Desktop. Enter the public HTTPS endpoint as written. Do not add a device ID, password, developer key or access token to the URL.

1. For an individual account, open Customize → Connectors, select + Add, then Add custom connector. On Team and Enterprise, an Owner or another authorized administrator first adds the connector under Organization settings → Connectors; each user then connects their own account.

2. Name the connector Organize with AI and enter https://index.organizewith.ai/mcp. Review the authentication settings Claude detects. Choose an authenticated connection, not No sign in. For the OAuth client, use Claude's published identity when offered, or automatic registration if that is what your Claude version displays. Do not add a fixed request header for normal OwAI OAuth setup.

3. Choose Sign in now or Sign in when needed, finish OwAI sign-in in the browser, and review the requested scopes before approving them. Claude never needs your OwAI password in the conversation.

4. Enable the connector for a conversation using the + menu and Connectors. Successful browser sign-in alone is not proof that Claude loaded the tools, so run the read-only checks below.

- [OwAI OAuth discovery and registration guide](https://organizewith.ai/auth.md)
- [Anthropic connector-building documentation](https://claude.com/docs/connectors/building)

## Verify the connection without changing anything

Ask Claude: List the sources in my OwAI library, including their item counts and indexing coverage. Do not change anything. A working connector should use the live OwAI tools and return your source names, not generic setup advice.

Next ask: Show five photos from Camera Roll with filenames and captured dates. Replace Camera Roll with a source Claude just listed. This metadata-only check confirms the account and shared index without spending semantic-search credits. Then try a visual request with dates that exist in your library.

Tool discovery from the live connector is authoritative. Claude should use the exact advertised tool names and fields rather than inventing a connector-name prefix or reusing stale IDs from another conversation.

Tool: `search_media`

```json
{
  "source_name": "Camera Roll",
  "media_type": "image",
  "limit": 5
}
```

## Know what Claude can read from each source

Remote MCP searches your authenticated OwAI account's synced catalog. A returned file path is metadata, not cloud filesystem access. Using Claude on the same computer as OwAI does not make that path readable to Anthropic's cloud connector.

Use read_media when Claude needs image bytes or a video stream. Images are returned at full available size when they fit the 5 MiB inline budget and are adapted only when required. Video results return authenticated stream links, and playback or analysis depends on Claude's current support for the source codec and authenticated resource fetching. A returned link alone does not prove that Claude fetched the video.

Cloud index sync stores searchable metadata and embeddings, not a backup of your originals. Media returned to Claude is then handled under Anthropic's data policies. Remote media access for local folders and Apple Photos is a separate opt-in from cloud index sync and is off by default.

| Source | Remote search | Media reads and changes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Local folder | Last completed cloud-index sync | Owning OwAI app online; reads also need Remote media access enabled |
| Apple Photos | Last completed cloud-index sync | Owning Mac online with full Photos access; reads also need Remote media access enabled |
| OneDrive | Shared cloud catalog | Connected Microsoft account; supported reads and provider changes need no online desktop |

- [Local versus remote MCP and media access](https://organizewith.ai/en/guides/local-vs-remote-mcp)
- [Apple Photos behavior](https://organizewith.ai/en/guides/apple-photos-library)
- [OneDrive behavior](https://organizewith.ai/en/guides/onedrive-photo-video-library)

## Approve organization and deletion deliberately

Start with read scopes and enable write or delete access only when you intend to use it. Enabling a connector tool in Claude does not expand the OwAI OAuth token. Claude's own tool confirmation also does not replace OwAI's scope checks or deletion plan.

For a collection, group, favorite or person change, have Claude show the intended source and exact items first. After it calls a management tool, it must keep the returned command ID and call get_library_command until the operation succeeds or fails. Pending or running is not completion. Local folders and Apple Photos need their owning app online for mutations; supported OneDrive operations run on the server.

For original deletion, first inspect exact files and favorites. Claude must call preview_media_deletion, show the plan and source-specific recovery warning, obtain your explicit approval, and only then call apply_media_deletion. A duplicate score is never deletion approval. Local folders use OwAI's 30-day recovery, OneDrive uses Microsoft's recycle bin, and Apple Photos uses Recently Deleted.

Anthropic recommends reviewing tool approval requests carefully and using Allow always only for tools you trust to run without supervision. Disable write tools when using Claude Research, because Research can invoke connected tools during its work.

- [Safe media-management workflow](https://organizewith.ai/en/guides/manage-media-with-ai)
- [Anthropic security and connector guidance](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/11175166-get-started-with-custom-connectors-using-remote-mcp)

## If Claude cannot connect or returns the wrong result

- No custom connector option: check the current account plan and organization policy. On Team and Enterprise, an Owner or authorized administrator must add the connector before members connect.
- Sign-in completed but tools did not load: return to Customize → Connectors and reconnect. Claude currently requires removing and re-adding a custom connector to change its URL or setup details.
- Empty library: confirm Claude and the OwAI app use the same account, indexing completed, and Cloud index sync finished for local folders or Apple Photos.
- invalid_scope or permission denied: reconnect and approve the required OwAI scope. Toggling a tool in Claude cannot grant library:write or library:delete.
- Metadata search works but visual search fails: check search credits and the structured hosted-inference error. Do not treat a metadata fallback as a successful visual search.
- Image or video unavailable: for local folders, check the owning app and Remote media access. For Apple Photos, also check full Photos permission. For OneDrive, check the Microsoft connection.
- A request stays pending: keep the owning app online where required and poll the original command ID. Do not submit duplicate collection or deletion requests.
- Connection fails before OAuth: record the HTTP status and any Cloudflare Ray ID. A 401 before authentication can be expected; an HTML bot challenge is not an OwAI permission error. Never send tokens or callback URLs to support.

- [OwAI support and troubleshooting](https://organizewith.ai/en/guides/support-and-troubleshooting)

HTML: https://organizewith.ai/en/guides/connect-claude