Connect ChatGPT to your computer

Hey Atu connects ChatGPT to your own Mac or Linux computer. Add https://heyatu.com/mcp as a custom MCP server on chatgpt.com, allow ChatGPT on the computer, and ChatGPT on the web, on the desktop or on your phone can find files, run commands and edit files there.

Get started

Works in: ChatGPT on the web, the desktop app and the phone app
ChatGPT plan: Plus or higher
Model: ChatGPT’s own model. No API key
Your computer: Mac or Linux, on and online
Address: https://heyatu.com/mcp
Price: 100 free actions, then a plan. See Pricing

Set up in about 5 minutes

Do these steps once, on the computer. After that, ask from anywhere.

Install Hey Atu. Open Terminal and run:curl -fsSL https://heyatu.com/install | sh -s -- --for=mcpIt installs Hey Atu and, if needed, Pi and Node.js. The same command is on heyatu.com/start.
Link the computer to your Google account. A page opens. Check that its 6-letter code matches the one on your computer, then continue with Google. Gmail and Google Workspace accounts both work.
Open chatgpt.com/plugins in a browser on the computer. Click Add, then Add custom MCP server. Older guides that say Settings → Apps → Developer mode are out of date.
Fill in the form. Name: Hey Atu. Server URL: https://heyatu.com/mcp. Authentication: OAuth. Tick “I understand and want to continue”, then click Create as a plugin.
Click Connect Hey Atu and pick your Google account from step 2. This signs in to Hey Atu, not to ChatGPT. Your ChatGPT account can use any email.
Click Allow on the computer. A Hey Atu window says “ChatGPT asks to use this Mac” and shows a code. Check that the code matches the browser first.
Ask from your phone. Open the ChatGPT app with the same ChatGPT account, type @, pick Hey Atu and ask “List the files on my Desktop”. If the answer lists your own files, it works.

Want to see each screen? Open the click-by-click guide.

What ChatGPT can do on your computer

Hey Atu gives ChatGPT eight tools. They are the tools of the Pi coding agent, with the same limits:

Look (read only): read opens a file or an image, ls lists a folder, find finds files by name, grep searches inside files.
Change: bash runs a command, edit changes part of a file, write writes a file, codemode runs a short script of the tools above.

So you can ask things like “Find last month’s invoice PDF”, “Rename the photos in Desktop/Trip by date”, “Sum up this week’s notes” or “Run the tests and fix the one that fails”.

What it does not do

It does not see or click your screen. ChatGPT works with files and commands, not with app windows or the mouse.
It does not work while the computer sleeps. On a Mac, Hey Atu stops idle sleep while it runs, but closing the lid still sleeps the computer. ChatGPT then shows an error; wake the computer and ask again.
It does not add a model. ChatGPT's own model does the thinking, under your ChatGPT plan.
One tool call has about 3 minutes. For a longer job, ask ChatGPT to start it in the background and check the result later.

Questions

Can ChatGPT access files on my computer?

Yes, after you add Hey Atu and allow ChatGPT on that computer. It can read, search and change the files that your user account can reach. Until you allow it, ChatGPT gets nothing.

Does it work from the ChatGPT mobile app?

Yes. Add Hey Atu once on chatgpt.com in a browser on the computer. The phone app has no setting to add it, but then shows Hey Atu under @ for the same ChatGPT account.

Do I need an OpenAI API key?

No. ChatGPT calls Hey Atu with its own model, under your ChatGPT plan. Hey Atu does not use or ask for an API key.

Does it work with the free ChatGPT plan?

Hey Atu needs ChatGPT Plus or higher. We test with those plans.

Does Hey Atu see my chats?

ChatGPT sends each tool call from OpenAI’s cloud to heyatu.com/mcp. These calls are not end-to-end encrypted. Our relay forwards them to your computer and does not store or log them. OpenAI handles your chats under its own policy. See Security.

How do I stop it?

Disconnect Hey Atu in ChatGPT, or run heyatu mcp off on the computer to stop every AI app at once.

Ask from anywhere. Your computer does the work.

Set up in a few minutes. 100 free actions, no card.