Setup guide · about 5 minutes
Set up StudentOS in 3 steps.
Add StudentOS and Google to ChatGPT or Claude, connect Canvas, then say “Deploy.” Do it once on a computer. After that it works on your phone too.
Easiest way: open your Command Center and it walks you through every click, one screen at a time. This page is the same steps written out.
1 minute 51 seconds, no sound needed. The screens are simplified and may look a little different on yours.
Your StudentOS emailThe one you checked out with. The connection needs an active plan.
A computerWith ChatGPT Plus or higher, or Claude (the free plan works).
Your Canvas loginYour school's Canvas, in any browser.
Your Google accountThe one your school email, Drive and calendar are on.
1
Add StudentOS to your AI
One link connects your AI to your Command Center. Pick the one you use.
- On a computer, go to chatgpt.com. Click your name (bottom left), then Settings.
- Click Plugins, then Browse directory.
- Click + Add, then Create MCP app.
- Fill it in:
- Name: StudentOS
- MCP server URL:
https://app.autonomousstudent.com/mcp - Authentication: OAuth
- StudentOS opens. Sign in with the email you checked out with (Google or an email link), then click Allow.
Don't see Create MCP app?Open ChatGPT Settings → Security and login and turn on Developer mode, then try again. It needs ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu, and only works on the website, not the phone app. On a school or work account, an admin may have to allow it.
- Go to claude.ai (Chrome, Safari or the desktop app). Open Settings → Connectors.
- Click Add custom connector. Name it StudentOS and paste:
https://app.autonomousstudent.com/mcp - Click Add, then Connect.
- Sign in with the email you checked out with, then click Allow.
Works on every Claude plan.Claude Free allows one custom connector. Pro and Max run StudentOS on a schedule. On Team or Enterprise, an owner adds the connector first. The phone app picks it up once it's added on the web.
Then turn on Google Drive, Calendar and Gmail
Same app, same settings. StudentOS tells your AI what to do; Google is where the work lands: notes and study guides in Drive, prep blocks on your calendar, reply drafts in Gmail. Skip this and those parts quietly don't happen.
In ChatGPT
- Settings → Plugins → Browse directory.
- Click Google Drive, then Connect. Pick your Google account and click Allow.
- Do the same for Google Calendar and Gmail.
In Claude
- Settings → Connectors.
- Click Connect next to Google Drive, Google Calendar and Gmail.
- Pick your Google account and click Allow each time.
Let it work without asking.Set StudentOS, Google Drive and Google Calendar to Always allow (in the app's connector or plugin settings, or the first time it asks in a chat). Otherwise scheduled runs stop and wait for a click you're not there to give.
Use the Google account your school stuff is in.Gmail is drafts only. StudentOS never sends an email for you.
Watch: connect Google 1:12 · ChatGPT and Claude
2
Connect Canvas
This lets your crew read your real assignments, rubrics, modules and grades instead of guessing. Quiz questions are never touched.
In Canvas
- Click Account (your picture, top left), then Settings.
- Scroll down to Approved Integrations and click + New Access Token.
- Purpose: StudentOS. Leave the expiration blank, or set it to the end of the term. Click Generate Token.
- Copy the token right away. Canvas only shows it once.
In StudentOS
- Open your Command Center. Click your initials (top right, or More on a phone), then Connect your AI.
- In the Canvas card, paste your Canvas address and the token.
- Click Connect Canvas.
What's my Canvas address?It's the web address at the top of your browser when you're in Canvas, like
https://yourschool.instructure.com. Some schools use their own, like https://canvas.yourschool.edu. Copy just that first part.Keep the token out of chats.Paste it only into StudentOS, never into ChatGPT or Claude. It's stored on the server and your AI never sees it. You can delete it any time under Approved Integrations in Canvas.
Watch: connect Canvas 0:46 · token, then paste
3
Say “Deploy”
Your AI reads its setup straight from StudentOS. There are no files to upload.
ChatGPT
- Start a new chat.
- Click + → More → StudentOS. (Or type @StudentOS.)
- Send this:
Deploy my HELM Command Center - When ChatGPT asks, click Confirm.
Claude
- Start a new chat.
- Send the same line: Deploy my HELM Command Center. (It's also in the + menu under StudentOS.)
- Click Allow when Claude asks to use StudentOS.
That's it.Your AI sets up your profile from your calendar and email, asks you to confirm your rules once, and runs. Your Command Center fills in on its own.
After setup
- Ask HELM anything from the big bar in your Command Center, or in your AI chat.
- Approve what's waiting in your Inbox. Hit Preview to see exactly what would be submitted first.
- Build your semester: say “Build my semester in StudentOS” and attach your syllabi, or let it find them in Canvas.
- Quizzes and exams stay yours. GUARDRAIL blocks them, with no override.
If something's off
ChatGPT has no Plugins, or no Create MCP app
Turn on Developer mode: ChatGPT Settings → Security and login → Developer mode. It's available on Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu, on the website only. Free ChatGPT can't add custom apps yet, so use Claude (its free plan works) instead. On a school or work ChatGPT, your admin may need to allow it.
The sign-in page says there's no active plan
The connection needs an active plan (monthly or one-time) on that same email. Sign in with the email you checked out with.
ChatGPT or Claude can't find the StudentOS tools
Open your plugins (ChatGPT) or connectors (Claude), open StudentOS and refresh it. If that doesn't work, remove it and add it again with the same URL. Then start a new chat.
My notes aren't showing up in Google Drive
Your AI app isn't connected to Google Drive yet. Turn it on in ChatGPT (Settings → Plugins) or Claude (Settings → Connectors), set it to Always allow, then say “Run StudentOS HELM.” See the steps and video.
There's no “+ New Access Token” button in Canvas
Your school has turned tokens off for students. Skip step 2. StudentOS still works from your email, calendar and the course emails Canvas sends you.
Canvas says my token is invalid or expired
Make a new token in Canvas (step 2), then paste it into the Canvas card in StudentOS and click Replace token.
Can I do this on my phone?
Do the setup once on a computer, because ChatGPT only lets you add custom apps on the website. After that, use StudentOS from the ChatGPT or Claude phone apps, and open your Command Center on your phone. You can install it like an app.
Still stuck? Text (704) 576-3952 or email hello@autonomousstudent.com and we'll set it up with you in 5 minutes.
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