Claude Desktop extension
The Claude Desktop extension packs the release binary with a manifest Claude Desktop reads, so the server is installed from one file and configured through a form, with no JSON to edit. Every release attaches four bundles to its GitHub release. Nothing is published until the first release; see Installation.
Requirements
Section titled “Requirements”Claude Desktop 0.10.0 or later, on macOS 13 or later, Windows or Linux.
Pick a bundle
Section titled “Pick a bundle”| Bundle | Carries |
|---|---|
arcane-mcp-darwin.mcpb | The universal macOS binary (Apple Silicon and Intel) |
arcane-mcp-windows.mcpb | The Windows x64 executable; Windows on Arm runs it under emulation |
arcane-mcp-linux.mcpb | Both Linux binaries and a launcher that picks one by uname -m (x86-64 or arm64) |
arcane-mcp.mcpb | All three, one download for any system |
A per-system bundle declares only its own system, so Claude Desktop refuses it on another one with a clear message.
Install
Section titled “Install”- Download the bundle for your system from the latest release.
- Open it with Claude Desktop: double-click the file, or drag it onto Settings → Extensions.
- Review what the extension asks for and install it, then fill in the settings (below) and enable it.
Settings
Section titled “Settings”| Setting | Variable it sets | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Arcane URL (required) | ARCANE_URL | — |
| Arcane API key (required, a sensitive field that Claude Desktop treats as a secret) | ARCANE_API_KEY | — |
| Default environment ID | ARCANE_ENVIRONMENT_ID | 0 |
| Tool surface | ARCANE_MCP_TOOL_SURFACE | dynamic |
| Read-only mode | ARCANE_MCP_READ_ONLY | off |
| Safe mode | ARCANE_MCP_SAFE_MODE | off |
| Skip TLS verification | ARCANE_SKIP_TLS_VERIFY | off |
| Log level | ARCANE_MCP_LOG_LEVEL | info |
| Icons | ARCANE_MCP_ICONS | on |
Each setting is passed to the server as its environment variable, and a cleared field counts as unset, so the server falls back to the default. Settings the form does not offer (exclusions, timeouts, elicitation) keep their defaults; Configuration describes them all. The server’s logs go to Claude Desktop’s MCP log for the extension.
Platform notes
Section titled “Platform notes”- Linux: the launcher (
server/linux/launch.sh, run through/bin/sh) picksarcane-mcp-linux-amd64orarcane-mcp-linux-arm64byuname -m, restores the binary’s execute bit if the host lost it, and says so in the MCP log when the machine type is unsupported or the extension directory is mountednoexec. - Windows on Arm: the bundle carries the x64 executable, which Windows runs under emulation. For a native arm64 binary, use winget or the release binary with a manual entry.
Pin a version
Section titled “Pin a version”Each bundle is the version of the release it is attached to: keep the file of the version you want, or download it from that release’s page (https://github.com/jmrplens/arcane-mcp/releases/tag/vX.Y.Z).
Verify it
Section titled “Verify it”The bundles are built after checksums.txt is signed, so they are not in it; each has its own build provenance attestation (gh attestation verify arcane-mcp-darwin.mcpb --repo jmrplens/arcane-mcp), and the MCP Registry entry pins the three per-system bundles by SHA-256. See Verifying a release.
Update and uninstall
Section titled “Update and uninstall”The extension never updates itself. To update, install the newer release’s bundle the same way; Claude Desktop replaces the installed version. To remove it, open Settings → Extensions, choose the extension and uninstall it.