ChatGPT Plugins After DevDay: Panels, MCP Events, Meetings

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ChatGPT plugins after OpenAI DevDay 2026 are no longer just a list of tools in a conversation: they get their own space in the sidebar, panels next to chat, and file browsers. Add to that Plugin Creator, MCP Events that trigger automations, plugins in Sites, and the Meetings plugin for meeting notes. We explain what’s available in which plan and how to build your first plugin according to the documentation.

What Changed in ChatGPT Plugins

OpenAI wrote in the DevDay 2026 recap that it’s opening the platform it uses to build ChatGPT features so developers can add their own functions to ChatGPT. A plugin is a package that can contain skills (instructions for tasks), an MCP server with tools, or both. ChatGPT and Codex share one catalog, so you publish a plugin once. We cover the full list of announcements from the event in our live coverage of OpenAI DevDay 2026.

Extensions: Sidebar, Panels, and File Browsers

Extensions (OpenAI MCP Extensions) let you hook plugins into key interface locations. The documentation lists nine types:

Examples from the documentation: Canva has tabs in the sidebar, Figma lets you mention files in the input field in the desktop app, and Adobe opens files for editing in Acrobat and Photoshop without leaving ChatGPT. For testing, OpenAI provides a sample plugin called Bits & Bolts, and the SDK in TypeScript and Python is on GitHub in the openai/mcp-extensions repository. A sidebar entry is just a few lines of tool metadata, e.g., "openai/ui": { entrypoints: [{ type: "global" }] } (example from documentation).

Plugin Creator, Submissions, and Catalog

Plugin Creator is a plugin you invoke with @ in a conversation. You describe a repeatable task, attach a template or sample file, answer questions, and get a ready-made plugin without writing code. According to the documentation, new plugins in a workspace start as private so you can test them before sharing. In an organization, you need the Use plugins permission, and Plugin Creator must be enabled in the workspace. In Codex CLI 0.159.0 from September 29, the built-in plugin-creator skill was removed. Plugin Creator is now in the plugin catalog.

Catalog submission has also changed. You upload a ZIP package to platform.openai.com/plugins, automated checks show errors in metadata and tools, and after acceptance you decide when to publish. Changes to the MCP server after initial publication are pulled automatically and go live after automated checks. A new package is only needed when changing metadata, skills, or MCP configuration. OpenAI also promises better plugin positioning and recommendations in the catalog and conversations, and users approve each plugin’s access individually.

MCP Events: Event-Triggered Automation

MCP Events lets ChatGPT subscribe to events from your MCP server, such as a new comment in a document or a new task on a project board. Users tell it what to watch and what to do when something appears. OpenAI’s example: ChatGPT monitors a project board, and when a new task arrives, it reads linked documents and drafts a plan, even when you’re away.

Requirements from the documentation: MCP 2.0 (protocol version 2026-07-28), persistent subscription storage, and outbound HTTPS. The server implements three methods: events/list, events/subscribe, and events/unsubscribe. Delivery works exclusively through webhooks signed according to Standard Webhooks. Polling and streaming are not supported. The MCP Events specification is still a proposal from the MCP working group. The documentation also warns to treat event content as data and not add instructions for the model. In our opinion: events from comments are a natural gateway for prompt injection, so this warning is more important than it looks.

Plugins in Sites

Sites are pages and apps built in ChatGPT. After DevDay, they can use plugins: each visitor logs in through ChatGPT, selects their connected accounts, and sees their own data. The documentation example is a task board that shows you your tasks and your colleague theirs. Requirements: workspace with the feature enabled and a Site private to that workspace. Writing to the app requires separate configuration, visitor consent, and their explicit action. Plans: Business, Enterprise, Healthcare, and Edu. We cover login with ChatGPT account in our article Sign in with ChatGPT.

Meetings Plugin

Meetings takes notes from online and in-person meetings without a bot joining the call. It saves a summary with action items to a page in ChatGPT Space that you can share with your team (without transcription). Availability according to the help center: beta in the ChatGPT macOS app for all Pro and Business plans. Enterprise is in closed alpha, and iOS, Android, and Windows are coming later. Installation: Plugins in the sidebar, search for Meetings, install, and grant microphone and system audio permissions.

Audio goes to OpenAI, and after notes are prepared it’s deleted from the Mac and servers and cannot be recovered. A session ends automatically when you close the laptop, after extended silence, or after four hours. OpenAI requires that you inform participants before recording and obtain their consent. You see the reminder in the app, but no one else is notified.

How to Build Your First Plugin: Steps from Documentation

The shortest path from the official quickstart connects an existing MCP server. OpenAI provides a public test server with a roll_dice tool, no login required.

1. Open ChatGPT, go to Settings > Security and login, and enable Developer mode.
2. Go to chatgpt.com/plugins, click plus, and enter the MCP server address (in the quickstart: https://tinymcp.dev/api/moldy-aloof-zettabyte/mcp).
3. Fill in connection details and create the plugin. It will appear in personal plugins, where you install it with the plus button.
4. On the home page, switch from the Chat tab to Work, start a new conversation, type @, and select the plugin.
5. Ask for a 20-sided die roll and verify that the tool was called once with sides equal to 20.
6. To package a plugin with skills, use @plugin-creator in Work mode with the connection identifier (starts with plugin_asdk_app, copy it from the browser address). Plugin Creator creates a manifest at .codex-plugin/plugin.json. The portable format is plugin.json and mcp.json in the root directory.
7. For publishing: organization verification, ZIP to platform.openai.com/plugins, fixes after automated checks, and submission for review.

You can build your own MCP server with an interface following the “MCP server and UI quickstart” guide. The interface is a web component in an iframe compliant with the MCP Apps standard. We haven’t published a plugin to the catalog, so we can’t report review times. If you prefer an agent outside ChatGPT, check out our article on Agents API, because plugins work there too.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are ChatGPT Plugins Free?

Extensions, Plugin Creator, and MCP Events are available in all plans according to OpenAI. Plugins in Sites require a Business, Enterprise, Healthcare, or Edu plan.

How Does a Plugin Differ from an MCP Server?

An MCP server provides tools and data access. A plugin is a package that can contain an MCP server, skills with instructions, an interface, and settings.

Does Meetings Work on Windows?

Not yet. As of September 29, 2026, Meetings is in beta in the ChatGPT macOS app, and Windows, iOS, and Android are coming later.

Do I Need to Know How to Code to Make a Plugin?

No, if the plugin consists of instructions and existing apps: Plugin Creator will build it in a conversation. Custom tools require an MCP server.

Kinetyra