Connect Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop loads local MCP servers from its user configuration. Neotoma setup needs explicit user scope to write the Desktop destination.

Source: docs/guides/connections/claude-desktop.md · Read Markdown · 08598d0

Claude Desktop's user-level server configuration connects the desktop client to Neotoma.

Release reference: v0.26.0 (b6ae615, October 27th, 2026). The path was checked against source 4779784 and vendor documentation on October 24th, 2026; that source is included in this release. Installed-host compatibility and Windows behavior were not smoke tested.

Path: CLI setup with user scope for local stdio MCP.

Before connecting

Local setup installs a CLI, initializes local profiles, and may write host MCP, instruction, and permission files; optional hooks or skills can capture later events. Read what changes on your system before running the command.

Follow the human connection index to install and initialize Neotoma. The neotoma executable must be on the same machine that runs a local stdio host. Use neotoma status --json to inspect Neotoma-side state. Remote connections require a reachable authenticated HTTPS /mcp endpoint; local stdio does not make a service remote. Keep credentials out of shared project files.

Configure

bash

neotoma setup --tool claude-desktop --install-scope user

The explicit user scope matters: the default project setup path can target .cursor/mcp.json rather than the Desktop config. Inspect Claude Desktop's actual MCP config and restart the app. A remote Claude connector is a separate host workflow requiring a reachable authenticated endpoint; it is not configured by this local stdio command.

Verify and recover

Inspect claude_desktop_config.json, restart Desktop, and call retrieve_entities for a known entity. If the file was not written, confirm --install-scope user and inspect the CLI output. An empty retrieval is not evidence that a data profile is empty; test a known positive.