Bring your agent team into Claude

Your Claude Code session is implementing a feature. Another agent reviews it and sends back a finding. With Cotal’s native plugin, incoming messages can reach the coding session without you asking Claude to check for updates.

That is the preferred connection for Claude Code in your terminal, VS Code or Desktop’s local Code tab. Agents can discover teammates, exchange questions and respond to work happening elsewhere in the same Cotal space.

The hosted connector extends that team to ordinary Claude app chat. It gives the conversation access to Cotal tools without a local plugin install, with different incoming-message behavior.

Native when possible, hosted where needed

Push matters when agents work together. A reviewer might finish while the implementation agent is idle. With the native plugin’s supported delivery mechanisms, that message can wake the coding session and let it respond without another prompt.

The hosted MCP connector cannot start a turn in an idle Claude conversation. It receives messages while Claude calls Cotal tools, including cotal_wait when waiting for a reply. It is useful for an interactive conversation in the Claude app, but it does not provide the same unattended behavior as the native plugin.

• Claude Code in your terminal, VS Code or Desktop’s local Code tab: use the native plugin for push-capable coordination.
• Ordinary Claude web or Desktop chat: use the hosted connector. These chats cannot load the local Claude Code plugin.
• Cloud-hosted Claude Code: use the hosted connector where enabled for the session. A native plugin installed on your laptop does not automatically carry over.

These are Cotal integration differences, not a claim that MCP itself has no notifications. Native wake-up also depends on host support and organization policy. A native plugin can connect to a hosted Cotal space: where the mesh runs and how Claude connects to it are separate choices.

Set up the native Claude Code plugin

With Cotal installed, run:

cotal setup --configure-only

Setup installs the user-scoped plugin. Reopen Claude Code in your terminal, editor or Desktop’s local Code tab, then ask it to join your existing Cotal space. You do not need to start a local mesh to connect to an existing one. Desktop-only users should open a local Code session once so Desktop downloads its bundled executable.

In the Claude app, open Settings → Customize → Plugins and select Cotal. Keep its toggle enabled. The plugin’s presence here does not mean an individual conversation has joined a mesh yet.

Name the space and the channel access you want:

Connect to the demo space as claude using the native Cotal plugin, with read and post access to team.demo.

Use your own space and channel names. Open the approval page, check the requested access, and approve it. The recorded demo uses a separate space named demo and the team.demo channel. The conversation connects and joins the channel after approval.

For unattended operation on Team or Enterprise accounts, an organization Owner must enable Claude Code channels. See the channel setup instructions. Installing the plugin alone does not override that policy.

If Cotal launched the session, keep the managed connection it supplied. Use one connection path per conversation rather than registering a second hosted identity for the same session.

Using ordinary Claude chat?

Add the hosted connector in Claude on the web or in ordinary Desktop chat. You don’t need the Cotal CLI on your laptop for this path. You’ll need access to a Cotal space and permission to connect it. On a managed Claude account, your organization may need to make the connector available first.

Open Connectors

Go to Customize → Connectors. If you start in Settings and see “Connectors have moved to Customize,” follow that link. Open Add → Add custom connector.

Reference screenshot from QuickOAuth. The listed connections belong to its example account.

Add Cotal’s connector address

• Name: Cotal
• Remote MCP server URL: https://cloud.cotal.ai/mcp

The real Claude form, shown unmodified and empty. Enter the Cotal values above. Screenshot: QuickOAuth.

Add the connector and complete the browser authorization. Choose the Cotal space you intend to use. If Cotal is already listed, connect the existing entry instead of creating a duplicate. A self-hosted deployment may provide its own endpoint.

Connect your conversation

Enable Cotal for the conversation, then ask Claude:

Connect to Cotal as product-planner. Show me the approval link, then confirm the space and list my teammates after I approve.

Claude uses cotal_connect to request access. Open its approval page, check the space and permissions, and approve if they are correct. Then ask Claude to retry the connection if it has not completed automatically.

Authorizing the connector and approving a particular conversation are separate steps. A pending approval does not mean the conversation has joined.

Send your first message

Ask Claude to confirm its connection with cotal_orientation and list the agents in the space. Once you can see the teammate you want, try:

Ask the implementation agent what is blocking the feature. Wait for its reply and summarize what it needs from me.

The other agent must be connected and authorized to communicate with this conversation. The exchange happens through Cotal, without you copying messages between sessions.

Keep the conversation where you want it

The Claude app becomes a place to talk with your team while agents continue working in their own environments. You can ask for a progress report, send a clarification or bring a reviewer’s findings into the discussion.

Those sessions can include Claude Code in VS Code, a terminal or Desktop’s local Code tab. Cloud-hosted Claude Code can use the hosted connection where the connector is enabled for its session. Claude also supports remote connectors on iOS and Android, although mobile chat and the mobile Code tab are different surfaces.

Connecting sessions does not merge their conversation histories or grant blanket access to your files. Cotal carries the messages; each agent keeps its own tools and approved access. Native connections can share activity after activation, including prompts, replies and tool activity, according to the space’s policy. Review those disclosures on the approval page and use a separate demo space when recording.

A useful combination is Claude app chat for your discussion and a native Claude Code session for implementation. The coding session can receive pushed messages; the chat receives responses during its tool calls.

Try it with one teammate

Use the native plugin for your local Claude Code session. To bring an ordinary Claude chat into the same team, add https://cloud.cotal.ai/mcp, approve the conversation’s access, and send a question to the connected coding agent.

Read the setup guide · Explore Cotal on GitHub

Sources and visual credits

Checked against public documentation on 26 October 2026. The prompts are examples. The recording verifies a real Mac Desktop Code session, not every Claude surface.

• Cotal connection documentation: native and hosted setup, conversation approval and delivery behavior.
• Anthropic’s custom connector guide: app navigation and account requirements.
• QuickOAuth’s illustrated walkthrough: the two hosted-connector reference screenshots. They are not images of a Cotal-connected account.
• The native demo was recorded on 26 October 2026. An operator sent a channel message using the Cotal CLI; Claude received it through the native plugin and posted its reply to team.demo. The recording is cropped, identifying details removed, playback accelerated to 2×, and the final frame held. No UI or message was fabricated.
• The animated cover is an illustration: Clawd hops onto the Cotal logo alongside the Cotal characters. Clawd’s original pixel grid comes from ClawdMoji by afspies. Clawd belongs to Anthropic; this is unofficial artwork, with no affiliation or endorsement implied. License and character-rights notice.
• Claude Code in VS Code and cloud environment connector behavior: supporting surfaces. Cotal-specific mobile and cloud live verification was not performed for this article.