Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop integrates with Isartor via a local MCP server. The recommended setup is isartor connect claude-desktop, which registers isartor mcp in Claude Desktop's config so Claude can use Isartor's cache-aware tools.

Step-by-step setup

# 1. Start Isartor
isartor up --detach

# 2. Register Isartor in Claude Desktop
isartor connect claude-desktop

# 3. Restart Claude Desktop

After restart, open Claude Desktop's tools/connectors UI and confirm the isartor MCP server is present.

What the connector writes

isartor connect claude-desktop updates Claude Desktop's local MCP config and keeps a backup next to it.

Typical config paths:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Linux (best-effort path): ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

The generated MCP entry looks like:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "isartor": {
      "command": "/path/to/isartor",
      "args": ["mcp"],
      "env": {
        "ISARTOR_GATEWAY_URL": "http://localhost:8080"
      }
    }
  }
}

If gateway auth is enabled, the connector also writes ISARTOR__GATEWAY_API_KEY into the managed server env block.

What Claude Desktop gets

The Isartor MCP server exposes these tools:

isartor_chat — cache-first lookup through Isartor's L1a/L1b layers
isartor_cache_store — store prompt/response pairs back into Isartor after a cache miss

This gives Claude Desktop a low-risk integration path that fits the current MCP model without relying on Anthropic base-URL overrides.

Advanced / manual setup

If you prefer to edit the config yourself, add a local MCP server entry that runs:

isartor mcp

Isartor also exposes MCP over HTTP/SSE at:

http://localhost:8080/mcp/

That remote MCP surface is useful for clients that support HTTP/SSE registration directly, but isartor connect claude-desktop currently uses the local stdio flow because it is the most reliable Claude Desktop path today.

Disconnecting

isartor connect claude-desktop --disconnect

This restores the backup when one exists; otherwise it removes only the managed mcpServers.isartor entry.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Claude Desktop shows no `isartor` tools	Claude Desktop was not restarted	Quit and relaunch Claude Desktop after `isartor connect claude-desktop`
Tools appear but calls fail	Isartor is not running	Start the gateway with `isartor up --detach`
MCP server is present but unauthorized	Gateway auth enabled	Re-run `isartor connect claude-desktop --gateway-api-key <key>`
You want the original config back	Managed config needs rollback	Run `isartor connect claude-desktop --disconnect`

Note on desktop extensions

Claude Desktop now supports desktop extensions, but Isartor's first-class integration in this repo uses the simpler local MCP server flow today. That keeps setup light and works with the existing isartor mcp implementation immediately.

Isartor Documentation