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Claude Desktop Setup Guide

Complete guide to integrating Bootspring with Claude Desktop using MCP (Model Context Protocol).

Overview

Claude Desktop is Anthropic's official desktop application for Claude. Bootspring integrates via MCP to provide:

  • Project Context - Claude understands your codebase
  • Expert Agents - Access 36+ specialized AI agents
  • Skill Patterns - Apply production-ready patterns
  • Workflows - Multi-phase development orchestration

Prerequisites

  • Claude Desktop installed
  • Bootspring CLI installed (npm install -g @girardmedia/bootspring)
  • Node.js 18+ installed
  • Bootspring account (free tier works)

Installing Claude Desktop

macOS

  1. Download from claude.ai/download
  2. Open the .dmg file
  3. Drag Claude to Applications
  4. Launch Claude Desktop
  5. Sign in with your Anthropic account

Windows

  1. Download from claude.ai/download
  2. Run the installer
  3. Follow installation prompts
  4. Launch Claude Desktop
  5. Sign in with your Anthropic account

Linux

AppImage:

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Snap (when available):

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MCP Server Setup

Automatic Installation

The easiest way to configure Bootspring MCP:

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This command:

  1. Locates Claude Desktop config
  2. Adds Bootspring MCP server entry
  3. Configures API key
  4. Verifies connection

Verify Installation

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Expected output:

MCP Server Status ================= Server: bootspring Status: Configured ✓ Config: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Connection test: Success ✓ Available tools: 12 Available resources: 3 Tools: ✓ bootspring_context ✓ bootspring_agent ✓ bootspring_skill ✓ bootspring_workflow ...

Manual Configuration

If automatic setup fails, configure manually.

macOS: Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

Windows: Edit %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json:

Linux: Edit ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

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Restart Claude Desktop

After configuration, restart Claude Desktop:

  1. Quit Claude Desktop completely
  2. Relaunch the application
  3. Check for "bootspring" in the tools menu

Available MCP Tools

bootspring_context

Get project context and understanding.

Usage in Claude:

Use bootspring_context to understand the project structure.

Returns:

  • Project overview
  • Tech stack
  • Architecture summary
  • Key files and patterns

bootspring_agent

Invoke expert agents for specialized tasks.

Usage in Claude:

Use bootspring_agent to invoke the security-expert and review the authentication flow.

Available agents:

  • frontend-expert
  • backend-expert
  • database-expert
  • security-expert
  • performance-expert
  • testing-expert
  • And 30+ more

bootspring_skill

Apply skill patterns to generate code.

Usage in Claude:

Use bootspring_skill to apply the api-endpoint pattern for a user registration endpoint.

Available patterns:

  • patterns/api-endpoint
  • patterns/react-component
  • patterns/prisma-crud
  • auth/jwt
  • And 50+ more

bootspring_workflow

Start and manage development workflows.

Usage in Claude:

Use bootspring_workflow to start the feature-development workflow for implementing user notifications.

Available workflows:

  • seed - Idea to documentation and project scaffolding
  • feature-development - Full feature lifecycle
  • security-audit - Security review
  • And more

bootspring_generate

Regenerate project context.

Usage in Claude:

Use bootspring_generate to update the project context after recent changes.

bootspring_quality

Run quality checks.

Usage in Claude:

Use bootspring_quality with the pre-commit preset to check code quality.

bootspring_todo

Manage project todos and tasks.

Usage in Claude:

Use bootspring_todo to add "Implement error handling" to the task list.

MCP Resources

project://context

Access current project context.

Usage:

Read the project://context resource to understand the codebase.

project://config

Access Bootspring configuration.

Usage:

Read project://config to see available agents and settings.

project://agents

List available agents and their capabilities.

Usage:

Read project://agents to see which experts I can invoke.

Using Bootspring in Claude

Basic Workflow

  1. Start a conversation about your project
  2. Request context: "Use bootspring_context to understand my project"
  3. Get help: "Use bootspring_agent to invoke the frontend-expert for this component"
  4. Apply patterns: "Use bootspring_skill to apply the form-validation pattern"

Example Conversations

Understanding the codebase:

User: I'm working on a Next.js project. Help me understand the architecture. Claude: I'll use the project context to understand your codebase. [Uses bootspring_context] Based on the context, your project is a Next.js 14 application with: - App Router architecture - Prisma for database (PostgreSQL) - JWT sessions for authentication - Tailwind CSS for styling The main routes are...

Getting expert help:

User: I need to optimize my database queries. They're getting slow. Claude: Let me invoke the database expert to analyze this. [Uses bootspring_agent: database-expert] The database expert recommends: 1. Add indexes on frequently queried columns 2. Use connection pooling 3. Implement query result caching ...

Applying patterns:

User: Create a new API endpoint for user preferences. Claude: I'll apply the API endpoint pattern for this. [Uses bootspring_skill: patterns/api-endpoint] Here's the endpoint following your project's patterns: [Generated code]

Configuration Options

API Key Management

Environment variable (recommended for CI):

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Direct key (for personal use):

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Custom Node Path

If Node.js isn't in the default path:

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nvm Users

For nvm installations:

macOS/Linux:

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Project-Specific Configuration

For project-specific settings:

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Multiple Projects

Project Switching

Claude Desktop uses the current working directory. To switch projects:

  1. Open a new conversation
  2. Ask Claude to read context from a specific directory

Or configure multiple servers:

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Troubleshooting

MCP Server Not Appearing

  1. Check configuration file exists

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  2. Validate JSON syntax

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  3. Restart Claude Desktop completely

  4. Check logs

    • macOS: ~/Library/Logs/Claude/
    • Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Claude\logs\
    • Linux: ~/.local/share/Claude/logs/

Connection Errors

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Tool Invocation Failures

  1. Check API key

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  2. Verify project initialization

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  3. Test tool manually

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Permission Errors

macOS:

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Linux:

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Node.js Not Found

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Security Best Practices

API Key Protection

  1. Never commit API keys to version control
  2. Use environment variables for CI/CD
  3. Rotate keys regularly via dashboard
  4. Use read-only keys when possible

Permission Scopes

Configure minimal permissions:

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Network Security

MCP communicates locally. For remote setups:

  • Use SSH tunneling
  • Enable TLS
  • Configure firewall rules

Advanced Configuration

Custom MCP Server

Run your own MCP server:

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Debug Mode

Enable verbose logging:

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Health Checks

Monitor MCP server health:

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Uninstalling

Remove MCP Configuration

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Or manually edit the config file and remove the bootspring entry.

Verify Removal

  1. Restart Claude Desktop
  2. Verify "bootspring" no longer appears in tools

Next Steps