What is a ChatGPT plugin, and how do you set one up?
A plugin lets ChatGPT work with something outside the chat, such as your email, your files or your wardrobe. This page explains what plugins are, how to add and use one, what to check before you approve it, and how to set up and use the Modebase Wardrobe plugin.
What a ChatGPT plugin is
OpenAI describes plugins as bundles of capabilities that package a reusable workflow. A plugin can include skills, which are saved instructions for a task, and connections to outside services, so ChatGPT can read from them and, with your approval, act on them. Plugins named in OpenAI's own documentation include ones for Gmail, Google Drive and Slack.
Plugins work in both Chat and Work across ChatGPT on the web, desktop and mobile. Some are marked Desktop only: you can find them on the web, but you have to install and use them in the ChatGPT desktop app, and they are not available on mobile. Older guides may call the same thing apps or connectors, because the name has changed over time. Whether you can install a particular plugin can depend on your plan, your workspace and your region.
How to add and use a plugin
- Open the Plugins tab in ChatGPT to browse the directory, or search for a plugin by name.
- Select the plugin and install it.
- If it connects to an outside service, it may ask you to sign in or connect before its tools become available.
- Review and approve the permissions it asks for. OpenAI treats this as a separate step from signing in.
- Use it from the prompt window by describing what you want, for example asking for a summary of today's unread email. You do not have to name the tool.
What to check before you approve a plugin
- What it can read. Signing in shares your name, email address and profile picture with the plugin's publisher. By itself it does not give the plugin access to your data, which is what the permissions step is for.
- Whether it can act. Reading and acting are different. By default ChatGPT reads from connected services automatically and asks before an action with a real effect outside the chat, such as sending an email.
- Work or school accounts. Workspace admins can control which plugins people can use, so a plugin you can install on a personal account may be switched off on a work one.
How to set up the Modebase Wardrobe plugin
Modebase Wardrobe connects a wardrobe you keep in Modebase to ChatGPT, so ChatGPT can look up what you own instead of trying to remember it. Setup follows the steps above.
- Open the Plugins tab in ChatGPT and search for Modebase Wardrobe.
- Install it and sign in with your Modebase account. Modebase is free to start with 10 catalogue spaces, and you do not need a card.
- Approve the permissions it asks for, including actions. Reading your wardrobe is automatic. Saving an outfit, logging a wear or adding a piece asks you first, and you can choose "Always allow" if you would rather it did not.
- Open a new chat.
If your wardrobe is empty, you need to get your clothes in first. Ask ChatGPT to add some and it gives you a link to Modebase, where you upload an outfit photo or a selfie. Modebase finds each piece in it and adds them to your wardrobe, then you are dropped back into the chat. The full walkthrough, and what to do if it does not connect, is in how to connect your wardrobe to ChatGPT.
How to use it
Ask in the same chat you already use, in your own words. Some examples:
- "What should I wear to work tomorrow?" The answer comes back as a picture of pieces you own, laid out together.
- "Plan my work week outfits." You get the whole week at once. It shows you the week first and puts it on your calendar only if you ask.
- "Should I buy this?" with a photo of the item. It shows you what you already own that is similar.
- "I wore the navy blazer today." The wear is logged, and notes such as "the shoes rub" are saved onto that piece.
The fuller picture of what to ask is in using your wardrobe with ChatGPT. The same wardrobe also works in Claude, where you add Modebase as a custom connector, which needs a paid Claude plan.
Frequently asked questions
What is a ChatGPT plugin?
A plugin is a package that lets ChatGPT work with something outside the chat, such as Gmail, Google Drive or a wardrobe. It can include saved instructions for a task and connections to outside services.
How do I add a plugin to ChatGPT?
Open the Plugins tab, find the plugin, install it, sign in if it asks, and approve the permissions it requests. Then describe what you want in the prompt window.
Are plugins the same as apps or connectors?
They are the same idea under different names. Older guides call them apps or connectors, and the directory is now called the Plugin Directory.
Do plugins work on mobile?
Yes, in Chat and Work, except plugins marked Desktop only, which need the ChatGPT desktop app.
What is the Modebase Wardrobe plugin?
It connects a wardrobe you keep in Modebase to ChatGPT, so ChatGPT can search your clothes, build outfits from them, log what you wear and save notes on each piece.