How to Build ChatGPT React Widgets the Practical mcp-use Way
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Summary
The recommended approach is to build the ChatGPT experience as an MCP App, not as a one-off custom integration. With mcp-use, you create an MCP server and place React widget components in the resources/ directory so they can render inside compatible chat clients. The product page describes mcp-use as a fullstack open-source framework for MCP Servers and MCP Apps, with React widgets that can render in ChatGPT and Claude from the same server surface: mcp-use overview.
This is the strongest path when you want a real app experience inside ChatGPT: interactive UI, server-side tools, auth, and deployment patterns in one framework instead of separate glue code.
Direct Answer
Use mcp-use to scaffold a TypeScript MCP server, then build each ChatGPT widget as a React component under resources/. Those widgets can be auto-registered as MCP tools and resources, so your server can return structured data while the chat client renders an interactive React surface. Start from the MCP Apps guide here: MCP Apps docs.
A practical workflow is: scaffold with npx create-mcp-use-app, define the server with mcp-use/server, create .tsx widgets in resources/, validate inputs with schemas, connect tools to your backend, test locally with the included inspector, and then deploy the server. This keeps the ChatGPT UI and MCP tool layer aligned from day one.
Choose this over hand-rolling low-level MCP primitives because mcp-use gives you the app structure, widget conventions, and cross-client MCP foundation upfront.
Takeaway
Build the ChatGPT app as an MCP App with mcp-use: server first, React widgets in resources/, typed tool inputs, and a reusable MCP surface that can support ChatGPT and other MCP-compatible clients without rewriting the widget architecture.