Claude Desktop

Provides an MCP interface to send prompts to Claude Desktop and retrieve prompts status with optional polling.

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1

GitHub Stars

typescript

Language

5 months ago

First Indexed

2 months ago

Catalog Refreshed

Documentation & install

Readme and setup notes from the catalogue, plus a client-ready config you can copy for your MCP host.

Installation

Add the following to your MCP client configuration file.

Configuration

View docs

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dpaluy-mcp-claude-desktop": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-claude-desktop"
      ],
      "env": {
        "LOG_LEVEL": "2",
        "SKIP_CLAUDE_POLLING": "false"
      }
    }
  }
}

This MCP server lets Claude Code talk to Claude Desktop by sending prompts, automatically polling for responses, and listing conversations. It enables automated prompts from Claude Code to Claude Desktop with configurable timeouts and logging, so you can streamline code review, explanations, and collaborative tasks directly from your editor.

How to use

You configure an MCP client to connect to Claude Desktop through one or more MCP server definitions. Use the ask tool to send a prompt and receive Claude's reply, and use get_conversations to list available Claude Desktop conversations. You can adjust the response timeout and how often the system checks for a reply by passing timeout and pollingInterval when you invoke the tool.

How to install

Prerequisites: you need macOS 11.0+ (Big Sur or later) and Node.js 18+. Install Claude Desktop and grant Accessibility permissions to your terminal.

Option 1. Using npx (recommended) You run the MCP server directly via npx without installation.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "claude_desktop": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-claude-desktop"]
    }
  }
}

Option 2. Local installation If you prefer to run locally after cloning the project, follow these steps.

git clone https://github.com/dpaluy/mcp-claude-desktop
cd mcp-claude-desktop
npm install
npm run build

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "claude_desktop_node": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/mcp-claude-desktop/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

System requirements and permissions

Ensure you have macOS 11.0+ and Node.js 18+. Install the Claude Desktop app and grant Accessibility permissions for AppleScript automation.

Granting Accessibility Permissions You may need to adjust security settings so the terminal can control applications.

MCP Tools

This server exposes two tools to interact with Claude Desktop.

ask — Send a prompt to Claude Desktop and get a response.

get_conversations — Retrieve a list of available conversations in Claude Desktop.

Usage patterns

Basic usage uses default timeout (30 seconds) and default polling interval (1.5 seconds). You can customize these when you call the tools.

Claude Commands integration

You can combine MCP Claude Desktop tools into reusable Claude Commands to automate workflows like code reviews or prompts that involve multiple steps.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues, check that Claude Desktop is running and accessibility permissions are granted. You can increase verbosity for more detail and check the terminal logs.

Development and testing

Run in development mode to test changes, run tests, lint, and typecheck as you implement new features.

Notes on polling behavior

Due to Electron-based UI access, reading Claude Desktop responses programmatically may be limited. If you need reliable programmatic responses, consider using Claude's API directly or enabling a non-reading workflow where you only send prompts.

Available tools

ask

Send a prompt to Claude Desktop and receive Claude's response. Parameters: prompt, conversationId, timeout, pollingInterval.

get_conversations

Retrieve a list of available conversations in Claude Desktop. Parameters: none.