neKey

Playbook 5

Plug It In

Turn the handbook assistant into a plug that any AI app can use. You build your own MCP server in n8n, add it to Claude or ChatGPT, and ask Pinelands a question from inside the chat app you already use.

  • About 15 minutes
  • Level: workflow, exposed as a tool
  • Needs: n8n, AI key, Claude or ChatGPT
The clip from the talkComing soon. The steps below work without it.

What you are building

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a standard plug shape for AI tools. Your n8n workflow becomes an MCP server with one tool, ask_pinelands. Inside that tool is the same handbook assistant as Playbook 2, with the same rules: cite the section, admit what it does not know, never share internal sections. Claude or ChatGPT sends the question; your workflow decides what comes back.

The workflow
Main pathWhat an AI step usesStarts the run
Click any stepto see what it does in plain English.

File: . Change your setup and the diagram and file change with it.

Build it

0 steps done

  1. Load the handbook

    Run Load the handbook in your Playbook 2 workflow.

  2. Import, connect, and publish

    Import the workflow, connect AI model and Embeddings as before, and publish (activate) it. Open Pinelands for any AI and copy the Production URL. Every download gets its own random address, so yours is not guessable.

  3. Add it to your AI app

    Claude

    In Claude, open Settings, then Connectors, and choose Add custom connector. Name it Pinelands, paste the Production URL, and save. Custom connectors depend on your Claude plan; on a Team or Enterprise plan an owner may need to allow them.

    ChatGPT

    In ChatGPT, open Settings, then Apps and connectors, and turn on Developer mode under Advanced. Create a connector named Pinelands with the Production URL and no authentication. Availability depends on your ChatGPT plan, and the menu names change from time to time.

  4. Ask Pinelands from your AI app

    Start a new chat, make sure the Pinelands connector is turned on, and ask:

    Ask Pinelands: what's the warranty on a new compressor?

    The app calls ask_pinelands, your workflow searches the handbook, and the answer comes back with the Section 7 reference. Open Executions in n8n: there is a run for that question, so you can see exactly what was asked and answered.

  5. Change one thing: ask outside the handbook

    Ask: Ask Pinelands: do you install geothermal? Your tool says the handbook does not cover it. Now notice what the chat app does next: it may add its own general knowledge on top. Your tool kept its rules; the app around it has its own. Read the n8n log to see exactly what your tool said.

Try this next

Add a second tool. Drag a Calculator onto the canvas and connect it to Pinelands for any AI. Publish again, then ask your AI app something that needs both, like Comfort Club pricing for five systems. Each tool you plug in becomes available in every app that connects.

Bring it home

Which approved answer should everyone in your company get the same way, from any tool: the PTO policy, the price list, the IT help steps? That is a good first MCP tool. Before you connect anything real, turn on authentication in the MCP trigger (Bearer or header auth) and keep the server on an n8n you control.

If something goes wrong

The app cannot connect

Use the Production URL, not the Test URL, and make sure the workflow is published. If your n8n runs on your own server, it must be reachable from the internet over HTTPS.

The app answers without calling the tool

Start your question with "Ask Pinelands:", or tell the app to use the Pinelands connector. Check that the connector is turned on in that chat.

The tool returns an empty answer

The handbook is not in memory. Run Load the handbook in Playbook 2 again.