How to disable or remove a Claude skill, connector or plugin

You installed a skill to try it out, connected your Google Drive for a group presentation, added a plugin to Claude Code because a classmate recommended it. Three weeks later, you’re no longer sure what still has access to what. This guide walks the installation backwards, tool by tool, checked against the official documentation as of September 30, 2026.

In short: disabling stops the use but keeps the install, removing takes the item away, and neither one always cuts access to your data. On claude.ai, everything lives under Customize, in Skills, Connectors or Plugins. In Claude Code, it’s commands: claude mcp remove, /plugin uninstall, or deleting a skill folder. In ChatGPT, apps are disconnected from Settings, then Plugins. For a clean break, finish on the third-party service itself: revoke the authorization or the API key.

Where an exact menu label isn’t confirmed by an official source, the step is described without making one up.

Disable, disconnect, remove: three different actions

• Disable: the item stays installed, but Claude stops using it. One click turns it back on.
• Disconnect (connectors and apps): the assistant is signed out of the service, and the connector stays in your list.
• Remove or uninstall: the item is gone. To get it back, you reinstall it.

On claude.ai and the desktop app

Disable or delete a skill

1. Open Customize, then Skills.
2. To disable it, flip the switch next to the skill. According to Anthropic’s help center, a disabled skill is no longer available to Claude.
3. To delete it, click the skill, turn it off with the toggle in the upper right, open the “…” menu next to it and choose Delete. Confirm.

You can only delete custom skills you uploaded, not Anthropic’s built-in ones. A skill that came with a plugin turns on and off with that plugin, as the Claude docs explain.

Turn off, disconnect or remove a connector

1. In one conversation: click “+” in the message box, choose Connectors and switch the connector off. It stays connected for your other chats.
2. Everywhere, without losing it: go to Customize, then Connectors, open the connector under Your connectors and select Disconnect. Per the official docs, it then shows Connect again, so you can sign back in later.
3. For good: on the same page, open the three-dot menu and select Remove.

A custom connector added by URL is removed the same way. On Team and Enterprise plans, an Owner removes it for the whole organization from Organization settings, then Connectors.

Disable or remove a plugin

Open Customize, then Plugins, and open the plugin. Its toggle, labeled Disable plugin, pauses it. To remove it, open its menu and select Remove. A plugin marked as required by your organization can’t be turned off or removed on your side.

On mobile

The iOS and Android apps use the connectors on your account, and you can switch them on or off per conversation with the same “+” button. The official docs don’t describe a mobile path for deleting a skill or a connector, so open claude.ai in your phone’s browser and follow the steps above.

In Claude Desktop: local connectors

A desktop extension (a .mcpb file) is listed under Settings, then Extensions, where you open it to review its settings. Anthropic’s docs don’t give the exact label of the uninstall button, so look for the removal option on the extension’s page.

A server you added by hand to the config file:

1. Open the Claude menu in your system’s menu bar (not the settings inside the window), then Settings.
2. Go to the Developer tab and click Edit Config. The file is %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json on Windows and ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS.
3. In mcpServers, delete the server’s block, including its comma, and make sure the JSON is still valid.
4. Save, fully quit Claude Desktop and start it again. The official MCP guide says the app needs a restart to reload its configuration.

In Claude Code

Remove an MCP server

claude mcp list
claude mcp remove <name>
claude mcp remove <name> --scope user

claude mcp list shows your servers and their status. claude mcp remove targets the local scope by default; add --scope project or --scope user if the server lives elsewhere. Careful with project scope: it’s stored in the repo’s .mcp.json, which your teammates share.

The Claude Code docs state that removing a remote server also deletes the OAuth tokens and client registration Claude Code stored for it. To sign out without removing, run /mcp in a session and pick Clear authentication, or run claude mcp logout <name>.

Connectors from your claude.ai account also show up in Claude Code: setting ENABLE_CLAUDEAI_MCP_SERVERS=false turns them all off, and /mcp toggles a single one for the current project.

Uninstall a plugin or a marketplace

1. Run /plugin, press Tab to reach the Installed tab, select the plugin and press Enter.
2. Choose Disable plugin to pause it, or Uninstall to remove it.
3. From your shell: claude plugin disable <plugin>@<marketplace> or claude plugin uninstall <plugin>@<marketplace>. In the Code tab of Claude Desktop: “+”, Plugins, Manage plugins.

To drop a whole marketplace, run /plugin marketplace remove <name>. According to the official docs, this uninstalls every plugin you installed from it; the Marketplaces tab lists them before asking you to confirm.

Delete a skill

A personal or project skill is just a folder: delete ~/.claude/skills/<name>/ or .claude/skills/<name>/, and Claude Code drops it from /skills without a restart. A skill synced from claude.ai is turned off on claude.ai; if you delete its folder by hand, the next sync downloads it again.

Disable without removing

Sometimes you just want a break. From lightest to strongest:

• One conversation: the connector’s toggle in the “+” menu.
• One tool: on a claude.ai connector’s page, under Tool permissions, set the tool to Blocked, or to Needs approval so Claude asks before each call.
• A skill or a plugin: its switch in Customize, which keeps everything in place.
• Claude Code: /mcp disables a server without removing it. For a skill, disable-model-invocation: true in its frontmatter stops Claude from running it on its own, and in the /skills menu the space bar cycles a skill to off without touching the file.
• ChatGPT: in Settings, then Plugins, open Permissions and choose Always ask, so ChatGPT asks before reading or changing anything.

In ChatGPT: disconnect an app

1. Open your profile menu, then Settings.
2. Choose Plugins. Depending on your version, it may still say Apps.
3. Select the app, or the plugin that includes it.
4. If Connected accounts appears, open the account’s “•••” menu; otherwise use Connection or the plugin’s “•••” menu.
5. Select Disconnect.

OpenAI’s help center notes that uninstalling a plugin can disconnect every account linked through it, and that disconnecting an app doesn’t automatically delete your conversations, saved files or Memory.

Actually revoking access

Removing a connector on the Claude or ChatGPT side closes your door. The key may still exist on the other side. For a clean break:

1. Revoke the OAuth grant at the service. On Google, from your account’s linked apps page, filter on Access to your Google Account, pick the app, See details, then Remove access. On GitHub: Settings, Applications, the Authorized OAuth Apps or Authorized GitHub Apps tab, then Revoke. Anthropic says the same: these permissions can be revoked in Claude or at the third-party service.
2. Regenerate any API key you pasted into a header (--header in Claude Code, Request headers on claude.ai). Removing the connector doesn’t invalidate it: until you revoke it with the provider, it still works.
3. Clean up your history. Whatever the assistant read during a chat stays in that chat; OpenAI confirms disconnecting leaves conversations and Memory untouched. Delete sensitive conversations and review saved memories.
4. Check for leftovers. A plugin can bundle a connector, and a server can live in another scope: run claude mcp list again.

A good end-of-semester habit: go through your connectors and skills, and switch off what you no longer use.

FAQ

How do I disable a Claude skill without deleting it?

Go to Customize, then Skills, and flip the switch next to the skill. It stays in your list and comes back with one click. In Claude Code, open the /skills menu and cycle the skill to off with the space bar.

Does removing a Claude connector delete my data?

No. Removing the connector stops Claude’s future access, but it doesn’t delete your files on the service or the chats where Claude read them. Also revoke the authorization in the third-party service’s security settings.

How do I uninstall a plugin in Claude Code?

Run /plugin, open the Installed tab, select the plugin, then Uninstall. From your shell: claude plugin uninstall <plugin>@<marketplace>. If the repo enables the plugin for the whole team, Claude Code asks whether to disable it just for you or uninstall it for everyone.

Why does my MCP server come back after claude mcp remove?

It’s probably defined in another scope, such as the project’s .mcp.json or your user config. Run claude mcp list, then claude mcp remove <name> --scope project or --scope user. If it comes from your claude.ai account, remove it on claude.ai.

How do I remove a connected app from ChatGPT?

Settings, then Plugins (or Apps), select the app, open the connected account’s “•••” menu, then Disconnect. Then remove access on the service side too, for example in your Google Account’s linked apps.

Further reading

• Installing a skill in Claude in 2 minutes: the reverse path, to reinstall a skill cleanly.
• Connect an MCP connector to Claude: the precautions to take before you plug anything back in.
• Claude Code for beginners: terminal basics before you touch claude mcp and /plugin.
• Skills vs MCP connectors vs plugins: the difference explained: know what you install before you remove it.