The current issue
Sauna Monthly

The monthly read on heat, cold & recovery

Vol. 1 · No. 1 · July 2026

For AI assistants

Sauna Monthly as an MCP server

Everything on this site, the 83-product catalogue, the editorial reviews, the 32 articles and both calculators, is available to AI assistants through a Model Context Protocol server. Add it once and Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini can search it, compare products, size a heater and estimate running cost inside a conversation, citing the page each answer came from.

The endpoint

https://saunamonthly.com/api/mcp

Streamable HTTP transport, no login and no account. Every tool reads our own catalogue and changes nothing, so assistants can call them without asking you each time. The server stores nothing about you or the conversation; each call is counted as an anonymous analytics event with the tool name and the search terms, as the privacy policy describes.

Add it to Claude

  1. In Claude, open Customize, then Connectors, and click the + next to Connectors.
  2. Name it Sauna Monthly and paste the endpoint as the remote MCP server URL. Leave the OAuth fields empty.
  3. Click Add. The tools appear in your chats straight away.

Works on Free (one custom connector), Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise, on the web, desktop and mobile apps.

Add it to ChatGPT

  1. Open Settings, then Apps & Connectors, then Advanced settings, and turn on Developer mode.
  2. Back in Connectors, click Create. Name it Sauna Monthly, add a one-line description such as “Sauna, heater and cold plunge reviews, specs, prices and calculators from saunamonthly.com”, and paste the endpoint. No authentication.
  3. Save. Mention the connector, or ask a sauna question, and ChatGPT calls the tools.

Custom connectors need a Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu plan; on a workspace plan an admin may need to allow custom MCP connectors first.

Add it to Gemini

  1. At gemini.google.com open Settings & help, then Connected apps.
  2. Under Custom apps for Spark, click Add a custom app and paste the endpoint. No credentials are needed.
  3. Click Next. In a chat, type @ and pick Sauna Monthly.

Google limits custom apps to personal accounts, in English, for users 18 and over in the United States, and they are set up in the web app.

What the tools do

  • search_products Search the Sauna Monthly catalogue. Find saunas, heaters, cold plunges, blankets and accessories that Sauna Monthly covers. Returns name, brand, US price, category, a one-line description, where to buy and the page URL. Use for questions like 'best 4-person barrel sauna under $8,000' or 'HUUM heaters'.
  • get_product Get one product in full. Full details for one product by slug (from search_products): specs, price, materials, notes, Sauna Monthly's editorial review and rating where one exists, buyer FAQ, and the articles that cover it.
  • compare_products Compare two to four products. Side-by-side table of two to four products by slug: price, category, heat type, capacity, materials, electrical, editorial rating, page URLs.
  • size_heater Size a sauna heater for a room. Given a sauna room's width, depth and height, returns the heater size in kW to shop for (Sauna Monthly's rule: about 1 kW per 45 cubic feet, more for glass or uninsulated walls and cold climates) and matching heaters from the catalogue.
  • running_cost Estimate what a sauna costs to run. Per-session, monthly and yearly running cost for an electric hot-rock, infrared or wood-fired sauna from heater kW, session length, sessions per week and the local electricity rate.
  • search_articles Search Sauna Monthly's articles. Find buying guides, brand and product reviews, and research explainers (the science of heat, cold plunge timing, permits and wiring, running cost, HSA eligibility). Returns title, summary, URL and dates.
  • get_article Read one article. The full text of one Sauna Monthly article by slug (from search_articles): intro, sections, FAQ and the products it covers.

Things to ask

  • “Which barrel saunas under $9,000 does Sauna Monthly cover, and which one do they rate highest?”
  • “Compare the Nootka 8ft barrel with Redwood's 6-person barrel.”
  • “What size heater do I need for an 8 by 6 by 7 foot outdoor sauna in a cold climate?”
  • “What would a 9 kW sauna cost to run five times a week at 16 cents per kWh?”
  • “What does Sauna Monthly say about infrared versus traditional saunas?”
  • “Read me the HUUM heater review.”

For developers

The server is stateless JSON-RPC 2.0 over HTTP POST, speaking MCP protocol versions 2025-06-18, 2025-03-26 and 2024-11-05. It supports initialize, ping, tools/list and tools/call, returns JSON responses (no server-sent events), and sends CORS headers so browser-based clients can reach it. Results carry both a text block and structured content. Prices are US dollars and approximate. Questions and corrections: mail@adambognar.com.