Claude Desktop Integration¶

ContextFS integrates with Claude Desktop via the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Installation¶

contextfs install-claude-desktop

This automatically configures Claude Desktop. Restart the app to activate.

Manual Configuration¶

If automatic installation doesn't work, add to your Claude Desktop config:

macOSWindowsLinux

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "contextfs": {
      "command": "/path/to/contextfs-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Edit %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "contextfs": {
      "command": "C:\\path\\to\\contextfs-mcp.exe"
    }
  }
}

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "contextfs": {
      "command": "/path/to/contextfs-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Note: ContextFS auto-detects the source tool (claude-desktop vs claude-code) based on environment. No manual configuration needed.

Available Tools¶

After installation, Claude Desktop has access to these tools:

`contextfs_save`¶

Save memories to the store.

Save to memory: We decided to use PostgreSQL for better JSON support.

Type: decision
Tags: database, architecture

`contextfs_search`¶

Search memories semantically.

Search memory for: database decisions

`contextfs_list`¶

List recent memories.

Show my recent memories

`contextfs_recall`¶

Recall a specific memory by ID.

Recall memory abc123

`contextfs_update`¶

Update an existing memory.

Update memory abc123 with new tags: auth, jwt, production

`contextfs_delete`¶

Delete a memory by ID.

Delete memory abc123

`contextfs_index`¶

Index the current repository.

Index this codebase for search

`contextfs_index_status`¶

Check or cancel background indexing.

Check indexing progress

`contextfs_sessions`¶

List conversation sessions.

Show recent sessions

`contextfs_update_session`¶

Update session label or summary.

Update session xyz with label "feature-complete"

`contextfs_delete_session`¶

Delete a session and its messages.

Delete session xyz

`contextfs_import_conversation`¶

Import a JSON conversation export as episodic memory.

Import this conversation JSON to memory

`contextfs_list_tools`¶

List source tools that have created memories.

Show which tools have saved memories

Usage Examples¶

Saving Decisions¶

You: We just decided to use React 18 with TypeScript for the frontend. Save this to memory.

Claude: I'll save that decision to memory.

Uses contextfs_save with type="decision", tags=["frontend", "react", "typescript"]

Searching Context¶

You: What database decisions have we made?

Claude: Let me search our memory for database decisions.

Uses contextfs_search with query="database decisions"

Found 3 relevant memories: 1. [decision] PostgreSQL for user data - JSON support 2. [decision] Redis for session caching 3. [fact] Database connection pool size is 20

Building on Prior Context¶

You: Implement user authentication following our patterns

Claude: Let me check what authentication decisions we've made.

Uses contextfs_search with query="authentication patterns"

Based on our prior decisions, I'll implement using JWT with RS256...

Prompts¶

ContextFS provides built-in prompts accessible via Claude Desktop:

Session Guide¶

Helps Claude understand how to use ContextFS effectively:

Use the contextfs-session-guide prompt

Index Repository¶

Guides through indexing a codebase:

Use the contextfs-index-repo prompt

Best Practices¶

1. Save Important Decisions¶

When you make architectural decisions, explicitly save them:

"Save to memory: We're using GraphQL instead of REST for the mobile API because of bandwidth constraints"

2. Search Before Implementing¶

Ask Claude to check memory before major implementations:

"Before implementing auth, check our memory for any authentication decisions"

3. Use Tags Consistently¶

Establish tag conventions for your project:

auth, database, api - feature areas
production, development - environments
urgent, deprecated - status

4. Summarize Sessions¶

At the end of important conversations:

"Summarize what we accomplished and save it to memory"

Troubleshooting¶

Tools Not Appearing¶

Restart Claude Desktop completely
Check the config file syntax (valid JSON)
Verify contextfs-mcp is in your PATH:
```
which contextfs-mcp
```

Permission Errors¶

Ensure the MCP executable has proper permissions:

chmod +x $(which contextfs-mcp)

Connection Issues¶

Check Claude Desktop logs:

macOS: ~/Library/Logs/Claude/
Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Claude\logs\

Uninstall¶

contextfs install-claude-desktop --uninstall