Ask AI where to go.
How busy anywhere in New York runs — tonight, Saturday, right now. No app needed to start.
Add to ClaudeOpening soon — the connector is being moved to its final address first.
The connector isn't open to the public yet. It's finished — it's moving to its permanent address before we hand the link out, because a connector's URL can't be changed afterwards without everyone reconnecting.
Want in early? Email us and we'll send it when it opens.
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1
Copy the URL
You'll paste this into Claude in the next step.
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2
Open Claude
Customize → Connectors → Add custom connector.
Open Claude Customize -
3
Connect and ask
Sign in with your number. New to Crowded? That makes your account.
Everything is readable from the first minute.
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1
Add the server
Run this in any project.
--scope usermakes it available everywhere. -
2
Authenticate
Run
/mcp, pick crowded, and sign in when the browser opens. -
3
Ask it
Same questions, in the terminal.
No plan gate here — Claude Code adds MCP servers on any plan.
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1
Copy the URL
Same address. You'll paste it in step 3.
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2
Turn on developer mode
On the web: Settings → Apps → Advanced settings.
On a Business, Enterprise or Edu workspace an admin has to enable it first. -
3
Create the app
Apps → Create, paste the URL, choose OAuth, then Scan tools and Create.
Sign in when the authorization prompt appears.
ChatGPT keeps custom MCP servers behind developer mode, on the web only. Full support is a Business, Enterprise or Edu feature — Pro can read but not write, and an admin has to publish the app before a workspace can use it. Claude is the easier route today.
What that looks like.
Ask it the hard one.
Not "is there a line" — when will there be one. That answer comes off a per-venue baseline, so it works for a night that hasn't happened yet.
"When should I go to Katz's on a Saturday if I want to avoid the line?"
"How busy is the East Village tonight?"
"Find me somewhere quiet near Union Square that's open now."
Got any questions left?
What can I actually ask it?
How busy one place is right now, how busy a neighbourhood is, when a venue is usually quiet, and what's busy tonight. New York City only, and the catalog is places people gather — bars, restaurants, clubs, cafes, parks, venues.
Which apps does it work with?
Claude and Claude Code today, and ChatGPT behind developer mode — the three tabs above. It's a standard remote MCP server, so any client that can add one by URL points at the same address.
Do I need the app to use this?
No. Reading is open — you sign in with your phone number, and if you're new to Crowded that sign-in is what makes your account. The app is how you report, not how you ask.
Can the AI report a crowd level for me?
No, and no tool on the connector will ever let it. A report only counts from someone inside a 150 m geofence at the venue, in the app — that constraint is the entire reason the numbers are worth reading. A connector doesn't get an exception.
Where does the number come from?
One of three places, and it will always tell you which. Live means a person at the venue reported it recently — an actual observation. This venue's usual pattern is its own curve for that hour. Typical for this kind of venue is the fallback when we have nothing for the place itself, and it's the weakest of the three.
An answer built on curves is not allowed to sound like someone just looked.
What if nobody has reported the place?
Ask it to place a bounty. That puts the venue in front of Crowded users near it, asking someone to go check and report back — the way to get a real answer where there isn't one yet.
Do I need an API key?
No. You sign in with OAuth, so the AI never sees a password, and you can disconnect it any time from the same screen you added it on.
What does it cost?
Nothing. Browsing is always free. Cred — the reputation you earn in the app, 1 per validated report and 5 per bounty fulfilled — is earn-only and buys nothing.
Which Claude plan do I need?
Every plan, including Free. Free accounts get one custom connector, and on Team or Enterprise an owner has to approve it first. Claude Code has no plan gate at all.
Can a venue pay to look busier?
No. An owner with a verified claim can post an attributed "Venue says" note, and the connector will read it back as theirs. Nothing an owner does moves the crowd level — that path takes geofenced reports and nothing else.