Brett User Guide

Brett puts Brett Hawes' functional health method inside Claude or ChatGPT on your Mac. This guide covers setup, everyday use and getting help.

Last updated November 9, 2026

What Brett is

Brett is a Mac app that puts Brett Hawes' functional health method inside the AI app you already use, Claude or ChatGPT. You ask a clinical question or paste a de-identified case, and the answer comes from Brett's own practitioner material, reasoned the way he teaches it.

It is a working assistant for trained practitioners, not a course. It draws on Brett's Digestive Health Practitioner Masterclass, his Women's Hormone course (built around DUTCH testing), his case studies and guest lectures.

Grounded answers. Brett answers from Brett's material first. When the material doesn't cover something, it says so and labels anything else as general knowledge.
Brett's order of operations. Red flags first, support the foundations before adding antimicrobials, low and slow, phased 30-day protocols.
Only your modules. Your license unlocks Digestive Health, Hormone Harmony or both. Content you aren't licensed for stays locked.
Drafts for you, not your client. Every output is a draft for the practitioner to review. Brett never starts, stops or changes medications, and sends red-flag cases to the client's doctor.

What you need: a Mac running macOS 13 or later, the Claude desktop app or the ChatGPT desktop app, an internet connection, and a Brett license.

Getting started

Setup takes about 10 minutes. Brett Installer walks you through every step and checks each one before you move on.

Before you start

A license. Buy one at askbrett.app/buy. Use an email address you can open on your Mac, because that's where your sign-in link goes.
Your AI app. Install the Claude desktop app or the ChatGPT desktop app and sign in with the account you'll use for client work. Claude needs a paid plan (Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise) for Brett's commands.
Pick one AI app. Your license is activated for one AI app (Claude or ChatGPT) and one account in it, the first time you use Brett. Moving it later needs our help.

Download and install

Download Brett Installer from download.askbrett.app.
Open the downloaded file and double-click Brett Installer. If your Mac asks whether to open an app downloaded from the internet, click Open.
Click Install Brett. If your Mac asks for a password, type the one you use to log in to your Mac.
Choose the AI app you'll use: Claude (Claude Desktop) or ChatGPT (the ChatGPT app).
Follow the remaining steps below. Each step turns green when it's done.

Connecting Brett to your AI app

Brett Installer sets everything up for you. Claude takes six steps and ChatGPT takes four; the two extra Claude steps add Brett's commands plugin.

If you use Claude

Install Brett (done above).
Connect it to Claude. Click Connect to Claude, then Restart Claude when asked.
Activate your license.
1. Click Open Brett. Its window opens, and a Brett icon appears in the menu bar at the top of your screen.
2. Type the email you bought your license with and click Send Sign-In Link.
3. Open the email on this Mac and click its button. Brett comes back signed in.
4. Read the Terms of Use to the end, tick the box and click Agree and Switch On Brett.
5. If asked, click Allow Access to Claude's Settings Folder..., check the folder is called "Claude", then click Allow Access. Brett reads only your Claude account ID there, to tie the license to your account.
Get the plugin. Click Save the Plugin. It saves Brett Skills.zip to your Downloads folder. Click Allow if your Mac asks.
Add the plugin to Claude.
1. In Claude's left sidebar, click Customize, pick Plugins, click + Add, then Upload plugin.
2. Choose Brett Skills.zip and click Upload.
3. Claude shows Brett with 6 skills and its switch on. Tick the box in the installer to confirm.
Plugin greyed out? Open Claude's Settings > Capabilities and switch on Code execution and file creation. On a Team plan, your Claude admin controls this.
Test it in Claude.
1. Click Projects, then New project. Name it brett test.
2. If the project has a Memory section, switch off Use account memory.
3. In the project, type /ask-brett, pick it from the list, add hello and send.
4. If Claude asks to use Brett, click Always allow. Claude replies that Brett is connected, and the installer shows All set.

If you use ChatGPT

Install Brett (done above).
Connect it to ChatGPT. Click Connect to ChatGPT, then Restart ChatGPT when asked.
Activate your license. Same as Claude step 3 above. When asked, allow access to the folder called .codex. Brett reads only your ChatGPT account ID there, never your sign-in.
Test it in ChatGPT.
1. Start a new chat and type @.
2. Pick Brett: Ask Brett, type hello and send. Not in the list? Quit ChatGPT with Command-Q, reopen it and try again.
3. If ChatGPT asks whether it may use Brett, allow it. ChatGPT replies that Brett is connected, and the installer shows All set.

Using Brett: the six commands

Each command is built for one part of client work. In Claude, type / and pick one (for example /case-review). In ChatGPT, type @ and pick one (for example Brett: Case Review). Then add your question or the de-identified case in the same message.

Command	Use it for	Example
Ask Brett	Quick clinical or practice questions, and standalone supplement questions. Short, practical answers with Brett's reasoning.	"Why does Brett support bile flow before starting antimicrobials?"
Case Review	Turning an intake, history, symptoms and past protocols into a case snapshot, patterns, likely root causes, priorities and a testing plan. Ends with a Phase 1 direction.	"42F, bloating after meals, constipation, fatigue since 2023 antibiotics. Here's her intake..."
Lab Review	Reading functional labs (stool, DUTCH, blood work) alongside symptoms and history: what matters, what it points to, what to do next.	"GI-MAP and symptoms attached. Client is 35-40, female, post-partum."
Protocol Road Map	The master plan: phases over 3 to 6 months, then the current 30-day protocol in full (diet, supplements with timing, drainage, lifestyle) and a preview of the next one.	"Build the road map from the case review above."
Diet Plan	The diet piece in depth: which therapeutic diet, food lists, a sample meal plan (usually 7 days), transition and reintroduction.	"Low-FODMAP plan for phase 1, client is vegetarian."
Client Handout	Plain-language education for your client: what's going on, why the plan looks the way it does, what to do. Ready for you to review, brand and send.	"Write a handout explaining her phase 1 protocol."

You can also just ask a question in a normal message. Brett's material is used whenever it's relevant.

Tips for good results

One client, one place. In Claude, make a project per client with Use account memory off. In ChatGPT, start a new chat per client. Client work never mixes.
Work in order. Case Review, then Protocol Road Map, then Diet Plan and Client Handout. Each builds on the one before in the same chat.
Give the timeline. Brett reasons from symptoms, history and timeline first, and labs second. More context gives sharper answers.
Review everything. Every output is a draft. You are the practitioner; check doses, products and fit before anything reaches a client.
Red flags come first. When a case needs a doctor, Brett says so at the top. Brett never starts, stops or changes medications.

Protecting client privacy

Never share information that identifies a client. If a message contains a client identifier, Brett refuses the whole request and asks you to remove it first. This includes text inside attached PDFs and images.

Remove before sending	Fine to keep
Client's or family members' names	Age or age range, and sex
Birth date	Symptoms, history and timeline
Street address, postal or ZIP code	Dates of events (symptom onset, test collection dates)
Phone number, email address	Medications, supplements, lab results, units and ranges
Health card, insurance, patient, chart or lab accession numbers	Your own name and practice name, doctors, labs and brands

If Brett refuses for privacy

Brett's reply includes a ready-made redaction prompt with a copy button.

Copy the prompt and send it as your next message in the same chat.
Your AI app rewrites what you shared, replacing identifiers with placeholders such as [CLIENT] and [ID REMOVED], and keeps every clinical detail.
Check the redacted version, then say yes. Brett carries on with your original request using only the redacted version.

You can also remove the details yourself and send the request again.

What Brett keeps about you: your usage records (which commands and tools ran, when and from which computer) for licensing and support. Brett never records your questions, client details or the AI's answers. The full details are in the Privacy Policy.

Your account

You don't need to keep Brett's window open: your AI app starts Brett by itself whenever it needs it. Open the window from the Brett icon in the menu bar to see your account.

The Home page shows

The access switch ("Let Claude use Brett" or "Let ChatGPT use Brett"). Brett answers only while your license is active and this switch is on.
Your usage: requests today, over 7 and 30 days, and all time, a 14-day chart and your most-used commands.
Your license: its status, your modules (with an Upgrade button for any you don't have yet) and the computers using it.
Your details: click Edit My Details to update your name, practice, phone, website and address. Your email is your license, so changing it needs support.

Computers

Your license covers a set number of computers, shown as "1 of 1 in use" or similar. To move Brett to a new Mac, click Release next to the old one (or Release This Computer on the Mac you're leaving), then sign in on the new Mac. You can release a limited number of computers each month; after that, send a log to support.

Signing in again

Sign-in links work once and expire after 15 minutes. If yours expired, click Send a New Link. Sign Out is at the bottom of the Home page.

Updates

Brett updates itself automatically, including new content from Brett. If Brett says it's out of date, click Update Now or download the latest installer from download.askbrett.app.

License rules and fair use

A Brett license is for one practitioner, using it in their own practice. Normal daily client work never comes close to the limits.

One person. Don't share your license, sign-in or computers with colleagues. Each practitioner needs their own license.
One AI app, one account. Your license is tied to the Claude or ChatGPT account you first used it with. If you change accounts, Brett asks you to sign back in to the right one. To move it, contact support.
Internet required. Brett needs an internet connection to work.
No bulk copying. Brett answers your questions from the material; it won't reproduce the courses word for word, export them or walk through the whole library. Requests that look like copying are declined.
Daily limits. Brett has generous usage limits that protect the material. Brett tells you if you reach one, and it resets the next day.

If something looks beyond fair use

Warning. The first time, Brett keeps working and shows a notice on the Home page explaining what was noticed.
Suspension. If it happens again after a warning, the license is suspended for a fair-use review, and Brett shows "License suspended".

Think a warning or suspension is a mistake? Write to [email protected]. Every case is reviewed by a person. The full rules are in the Terms of Use.

Troubleshooting and support

Most problems are fixed by restarting your AI app or running Brett Installer again; it re-checks every step and repairs what's wrong.

What you see	What to do
Your AI app says Brett isn't available, or doesn't use it	Open Brett from the menu bar and check the access switch is on. Then quit your AI app (`Command-Q`) and reopen it.
/ask-brett or the other commands aren't in Claude's / list	Check Customize > Plugins lists Brett, and Settings > Capabilities > Code execution and file creation is on.
Brett commands aren't in ChatGPT's @ list	Quit ChatGPT with `Command-Q` and reopen it. If they're still missing, run Brett Installer again.
"This Brett license is bound to a different account"	Sign out of your AI app and sign back in with the account you set Brett up with. Need to change accounts? Contact support.
"Please connect to the internet"	Brett needs an internet connection. Connect, then click Try Again.
Sign-in link doesn't work	Links work once and expire after 15 minutes. Click Send a New Link and open the newest email on the same Mac.
"No account found"	Use the exact email address you bought your license with.
Brett refuses a request for privacy	Remove the client identifiers, or use the redaction prompt in Brett's reply (see Protecting client privacy).
"License revoked" or "License suspended"	Contact support at [email protected].

Built-in tools in Brett's window

Check Claude Setup... or Check ChatGPT Setup... checks that Brett is connected to your AI app and tells you what to fix.
Send Log to Support... (at the bottom of every screen and in the menu bar) sends us a diagnostic report. It never includes your questions or client details.

Contact support: [email protected]. Sending a log first lets us help much faster.

Frequently asked questions

Does Brett replace Brett's courses?

No. Brett assumes functional health training and helps you apply Brett's method to real cases. It doesn't teach the courses.

Can I use Brett on my phone, an iPad, Windows or claude.ai in a browser?

Not at the moment. Brett runs on a Mac with the Claude or ChatGPT desktop app.

Can I use both Claude and ChatGPT?

Your license works in one of them at a time, with one account. To switch, contact support.

Can a colleague use my license?

No. Each practitioner needs their own license. Shared use is flagged by the fair-use checks.

I bought a new Mac. How do I move Brett?

Release the old computer from the Home page, then run Brett Installer on the new Mac and sign in.

Can I add Hormone Harmony or Digestive Health later?

Yes. Click Upgrade next to the module on the Home page, or visit askbrett.app/upgrade.

Is my clients' data safe?

Brett refuses requests that contain client identifiers, and it never records your questions, client details or answers. Your conversations stay in your AI app under its own privacy terms, so keep identifiers out of every chat.

Are Brett's answers medical advice?

No. Every output is a draft for you, the practitioner, to review and adapt. Brett flags red flags for referral and never changes medications.

Where are the Terms and Privacy Policy?

At askbrett.app/terms and askbrett.app/privacy, and in Brett's window.