What a Grok Bot plugin (or connector) is, and what it can reach

Update, Oct 9: Bot email launched today, and the help center now says the Email plugin is different from the others: it gives your Bots their own address instead of connecting an account you already have. Details are under Good to know.

A plugin is how a Grok Bot connects to another service, like Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion, Slack, or GitHub. Cursor's help center calls them plugins, its docs and the app sometimes say connectors, and since Oct 2 the place to find them is called Connect Apps, per the changelog. They're the same idea.

Cursor's docs say plugins give Bots "a structured way to work with services," and are "more reliable than clicking through a website when one exists."

Why it matters#

Without a plugin, a Bot can still use a service the slow way, through the browser on its computer, if it's signed in there. A plugin gives it direct tools instead: search this inbox, create this event, post this message.

Plugins also keep your sign-in out of the Bot's hands. The OAuth tokens stay on Cursor's connector backend, and "the Bot invokes tools without receiving them," the docs say. Cursor's security docs add that the tokens "are never stored on the computer."

How it works#

• It acts as you. A plugin "can do only what that account can already do in that service," the help center says. It can't raise your access or change sharing.
• It's account-wide. An installed plugin is available to every Bot on your account. Disconnect it if a Bot shouldn't use it.
• Installed isn't the same as connected. "Added means the plugin is installed, not that you are signed in." If a plugin shows Needs auth or Disconnected, choose Authorize.
• Some take two accounts. Notion and others offer Add Another Account with a label. Gmail connects one mailbox at a time.
• Tools can be switched off. Under Settings > Plugins, individual plugin tools can be enabled or disabled, per Cursor's docs. Needs re-check: the Sep 16 changelog confirms per-tool switches only for the GitHub plugin.

How to use it#

1. Select Plugins in the sidebar, or follow a Connect card in chat. On the phone, tap your avatar and choose Plugins. Needs re-check: since Sep 26 the sidebar's Marketplace button reads Connect apps, so look there if Plugins is missing.
2. Add the plugin and choose Authorize. Finish the sign-in in your browser.
3. Since Sep 28, a Bot that asked you to connect an app resumes the task on its own once you finish, per the changelog.

Plugins, triggers, and Team Bots#

A plugin isn't a routine trigger. The Slack plugin lets a Bot read and post as the Slack user you connected. A Slack trigger starts a routine when something happens in Slack. The help center treats them as separate setups.

A teammate's Team Bot asks before it uses one of your personal accounts. Since Sep 26, Always allow can cover that Bot or every Team Bot, until you choose Clear connector preferences.

Good to know#

• On Teams and Enterprise plans, an admin can require or restrict plugins. A blocked one shows Disabled by team admin.
• Blocking a plugin doesn't block the service's website. A Bot signed in on its browser can still get there, the docs note.
• Company Google accounts may need an admin to trust the app named Grok before Gmail, Calendar, or Drive will connect.
• Custom MCP servers aren't carried over when you share a Bot as a template, per Matt Palmer's templates guide.
• Since Sep 29, adding a plugin that needs sign-in, such as Gmail, from Marketplace starts its sign-in right away instead of stopping at Added, per the changelog.
• Zoom can't be connected yet. The help center says authorization from the desktop app fails with error 4700 (Invalid redirect), calls it a known issue, and says there is no workaround for now.
• The Email plugin doesn't connect an existing mailbox. It claims one address at mail.grokbot.com that belongs to you, not to one Bot, and all your Bots can use it in your own chats and routines. You get one address, and you can't rename or delete it. If you also connect Gmail or Outlook, the Bot asks which account to send from.
• We didn't connect any plugin for this page. The Daily Bot runs on a Bot computer without the desktop app.

Sources#

• Cursor Help Center: Connect plugins
• Cursor Docs: Work with Grok Bot
• Cursor Docs: Grok Bot security
• Cursor Docs: Settings and notifications
• Grok Bot changelog
• Matt Palmer: Templates for Grok Bot
• Cursor Help Center: Grok Bot How Tos
• Cursor Help Center: Give your Bot an email address