Claude Code MCP Setup

Advanced command-line integration for FrameworX with Claude Code.
AI Integration | Claude Skill and MCP Setup | Claude Code MCP Setup

You can install both. They register as separate MCP servers and do not conflict.

Two Vocabularies, One Pattern

The two modes use parallel-but-distinct tool names so it is always obvious which mode you are in:

AI Designer operates on .dbsln files (the live solution). AI Console operates on -json/ workspace folders that hold the same configuration as separate JSON files. The create_solution_file and update_solution_file tools (AI Console) and the from_workspace parameter on AI Designer's open_solution / create_solution are the bridges between the two.

Prerequisites

• FrameworX v10.1.3+
• FrameworX 10.1.4 — requires .NET Desktop Runtime 8.0 (installed under fx-10\net8.0\)
• FrameworX 10.1.5 and later: requires the .NET Runtime 10.0 (the .NET Desktop Runtime 10.0 also works, since it includes it). The MCP servers are installed under fx-10\net10.0\. On Windows on ARM64, see below.
• The HTTP MCP servers (DesignerMCPHttp, ConsoleMCPHttp, RuntimeMCPHttp) also need the ASP.NET Core Runtime 10.0 on the machine that runs them; the .NET Desktop Runtime does not include it.
• Claude Code

Path note for the command lines below. The examples target 10.1.5+ with fx-10\net10.0\. If you are still on 10.1.4, substitute fx-10\net8.0\; on a side-by-side install with both runtimes present, pick the folder matching the FrameworX version you want this MCP server to talk to.

Windows on ARM64

On Windows on ARM64 (for example Windows 11 in Parallels on a Mac), install both the ARM64 and the x64 .NET Runtime 10.0:

• ARM64: the MCP servers start with dotnet, which on ARM64 is the ARM64 .NET host. That host does not use an x64 runtime.
• x64: Multiplatform solutions started from Designer or Solution Center run on it.

winget install --id Microsoft.DotNet.Runtime.10 --architecture arm64
winget install --id Microsoft.DotNet.Runtime.10 --architecture x64

Check. Run dotnet --list-runtimes and look for a Microsoft.NETCore.App 10. line whose path has no x64 folder. A 10.x runtime only under C:\Program Files\dotnet\x64\ is the x64 runtime, which dotnet does not use on ARM64.

Symptom. Without the ARM64 runtime, the AI Designer, AI Console and AI Runtime servers close as soon as they start, Claude reports "Connection closed", and no FrameworX tool is available. Running dotnet ConsoleMCP.dll from fx-10\net10.0\ prints "You must install or update .NET to run this application" with "Architecture: arm64". Fix: install the ARM64 runtime, then restart Claude Code. If you cannot install it, register the x64 host instead: claude mcp add --scope user consolemcp "C:\Program Files\dotnet\x64\dotnet.exe" "C:\Program Files\Tatsoft\FrameworX\fx-10\net10.0\ConsoleMCP.dll".

AI Designer Setup (Live in the IDE)

This connects Claude Code to the running FrameworX Designer IDE on the same Windows machine. Claude Code launches DesignerMCP directly as a subprocess — the simplest possible setup.

Step 1: Add the MCP Server

Open a terminal and run:

claude mcp add FrameworX-Designer -- dotnet "C:\Program Files\Tatsoft\FrameworX\fx-10\net10.0\DesignerMCP.dll"

This saves the configuration at project level by default. For other scopes:

• -s project — saves to .mcp.json in the project root (shared via version control)
• -s user — saves to global/user-level config, available in all projects

For a global install:

Step 2: (Optional) Add the Filesystem Server

The filesystem MCP server allows Claude to directly read files produced by get_screenshot and get_solution_export_files. Without it, those tools still work but you must manually provide the files. All other Designer tools work independently.

The filesystem server requires Node.js — install from https://nodejs.org if not already present.

 claude mcp add filesystem -- npx -y -p @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem@2025.8.21 -p zod@3.25.76 -p @modelcontextprotocol/sdk@1.32.1 mcp-server-filesystem "C:\Users\Public\Documents\FrameworX\Exchange"

The package versions are pinned on purpose, because later releases of the filesystem server fail in Claude Code with an invalid outputSchema error. FrameworX 10.1.6 and later ship the FrameworX File Access extension with the same pinned versions.

Step 3: Verify

claude mcp list

You should see FrameworX-Designer (and filesystem if added) in the list.

Alternative: Manual Configuration

If you prefer editing config files directly, add to your .mcp.json or Claude Code MCP settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "FrameworX-Designer": {
      "command": "dotnet",
      "args": [
        "C:\\Program Files\\Tatsoft\\FrameworX\\fx-10\\net10.0\\DesignerMCP.dll"
      ],
      "transport": "stdio"
    },
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "-p",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem@2025.8.21",
        "-p",
        "zod@3.25.76",
        "-p",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk@1.32.1",
        "mcp-server-filesystem",
        "C:\\Users\\Public\\Documents\\FrameworX\\Exchange"
      ]
    }
  }
}

AI Designer — from_workspace parameter

Both open_solution and create_solution accept an optional from_workspace parameter. When supplied, all *.json files in the workspace folder are imported into the solution after it is opened or created. Use this to apply a workspace authored in AI Console to an existing or fresh solution from inside AI Designer.

• open_solution(name, from_workspace="C:\\Path\\Foo-json") — opens the existing .dbsln, auto-backs it up (3-file retention), then imports the workspace files using always-replace upsert semantics.
• create_solution(name, template="HeaderLayout", from_workspace="C:\\Path\\Foo-json") — creates a fresh .dbsln from the template, then imports the workspace files.

Missing folder, empty folder, or pipe exception become warnings — the open / create still succeeds. The response includes a workspaceImport section with per-file results.

AI Designer — designer_action visual targeting

Beyond the existing navigate / find_object / runtime control actions, three new actions point the user's attention at a specific object:

AI Console Setup (File-Based Engineering)

AI Console connects Claude Code to FrameworX without a running Designer. Claude generates JSON configuration files in a workspace folder that is later turned into a deployable .dbsln via the create_solution_file tool, or refreshed in place on an existing .dbsln via update_solution_file (auto-backup, always-upsert) — or by opening the workspace from inside Designer.

Step 1: Add the MCP Server

Local machine (stdio):

claude mcp add FrameworX-Console -- dotnet "C:\Program Files\Tatsoft\FrameworX\fx-10\net10.0\ConsoleMCP.dll"

claude mcp add -s user FrameworX-Console -- dotnet "C:\Program Files\Tatsoft\FrameworX\fx-10\net10.0\ConsoleMCP.dll"

Step 2: Verify

claude mcp list

You should see FrameworX-Console in the list.

Alternative: Manual Configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "FrameworX-Console": {
      "command": "dotnet",
      "args": [
        "C:\\Program Files\\Tatsoft\\FrameworX\\fx-10\\net10.0\\ConsoleMCP.dll"
      ],
      "transport": "stdio"
    }
  }
}

How the File-Based Workflow Works

1. Claude calls create_workspace or open_workspace — creates or opens a <name>-json/ workspace folder under Documents/FrameworX/Exchange/.
2. Claude calls get_table_schema to fetch column definitions, then write_objects to generate JSON files.
3. Each JSON file follows the ExportFormat 1.2 envelope structure.
4. Claude calls create_solution_file(solution_name, workspace=...) to produce a fresh .dbsln, or update_solution_file(solution=..., workspace=...) to refresh an existing one (auto-backup kept, always-upsert semantics). Both spawn SolutionCreator.exe headlessly.
5. (Alternate path) Open the workspace from inside Designer using DesignerMCP's open_solution(name, from_workspace=...) — Designer auto-backs up the target solution and imports the workspace files in place.

Available AI Console Tools

AI Console uses *_workspace tool names (file-based JSON folders). AI Designer uses *_solution (live Designer IDE). The underlying operations are parallel but the vocabulary distinguishes the two modes.

From FrameworX 10.1.6, the table lists the main AI Console tools without a tool count. The tool list in Claude Code shows the complete list for the installed version. AI Console has no rename_objects: rename an object by editing its Name with write_objects.

delete_workspace. From FrameworX 10.1.6, delete_workspace(name) deletes a disposable test workspace folder in one step. It accepts only names starting with ai-test- or QA-TEST- (SANDBOX_REQUIRED otherwise) and refuses with WORKSPACE_IN_USE while a runtime runs under the workspace name. A .dbsln built from the workspace stays in place.

Context Package on repeat calls. From FrameworX 10.1.6, list_workspaces, open_workspace, create_workspace and get_solution_export_files accept context: full (default), summary or none. Pass summary or none only when the conversation already holds the full package. The first bootstrap call of a server process always returns the full package. Details: AI Designer Connector.

create_solution_file — turn a workspace into a new .dbsln

Once a workspace has been authored with write_objects, call create_solution_file to produce the deployable .dbsln. The tool invokes SolutionCreator.exe headlessly and waits for it to finish.

create_solution_file(
  solution_name="Foo",
  workspace="C:\\Users\\Public\\Documents\\FrameworX\\Exchange\\Foo-json",
  template="HeaderLayout",
  platform="Windows"
)

If workspace is omitted, the active workspace folder set by open_workspace / create_workspace is used. Default template is HeaderLayout, default platform is Windows, default output folder is the standard Solutions folder. The response includes the produced .dbsln path, exit code, per-file import attribution (created / modified / skipped / errors), and the headless log. 10.1.5 additionally carries the shared build block with per-Script/Display compile status.

update_solution_file — refresh an existing .dbsln in place

Use update_solution_file when the target .dbsln already exists and you want to apply the workspace changes to it rather than produce a new file. The tool auto-backs up the existing .dbsln (keep-last-3 retention, <name>.dbsln__backup__<timestamp>.backup), then spawns SolutionCreator.exe headlessly. SolutionCreator detects the existing target and switches to open-existing mode. Workspace JSON files are imported using always-upsert semantics — existing objects with the same name are overwritten by the workspace version.

update_solution_file(
  solution="C:\\Solutions\\Foo.dbsln",
  workspace="C:\\Users\\Public\\Documents\\FrameworX\\Exchange\\Foo-json"
)

The solution argument must be an absolute path ending in .dbsln to an existing file; the folder and filename are decomposed internally. If workspace is omitted, the active workspace folder is used. The response includes the target path, the backup path, exit code, per-file import attribution, the headless log, and the shared build block (10.1.5+).

verify_solution_file — inspect a .dbsln after the fact (10.1.5)

Opens an existing current-version .dbsln and returns a per-table Name inventory plus the shared build block drawn from the *Contents tables. Optionally diffs the inventory against a caller-supplied list of expected object names — the response then includes missing[] (expected but not found) and unexpected[] (found but not expected) per table type. Useful for asserting that create_solution_file / update_solution_file produced the solution a specification called for.

AI Designer Setup (Split Host / HTTP)

Use this variant when Claude Code runs on a different machine from the FrameworX Designer. Examples: Claude Code on a Mac terminal driving a Designer inside a Parallels VM, or a laptop connecting to a shared Designer on the LAN.

The Windows machine runs DesignerMCPHttp.exe as a local HTTP MCP server (default port 10150). Claude Code uses the mcp-remote bridge (an npm package) to forward MCP calls to that HTTP endpoint.

Prerequisites. FrameworX Designer installed on the Windows machine. Node.js LTS installed on the Claude Code host (for mcp-remote). Port reachable from the Claude Code host.

Step 1: Start DesignerMCPHttp on the Windows machine

On the Windows machine where FrameworX is installed, open File Explorer and navigate to Documents\FrameworX\Utilities, then double-click StartDesignerMCPHttp.bat. A console window confirms the server is listening on port 10150. Leave it running.

Step 2: Add the MCP Server on the Claude Code host

claude mcp add FrameworX-Designer -- npx -y mcp-remote http://127.0.0.1:10150/mcp

Use 127.0.0.1 for a local VM, or the LAN IP of the Windows box (for example, 192.168.1.50). For a global install add -s user.

From FrameworX 10.1.6, a connection from another machine needs the server’s key (X_API_KEY in DesignerMCPHttp.json), and mcp-remote needs --allow-http for a plain-HTTP address other than localhost:

claude mcp add FrameworX-Designer -- npx -y mcp-remote http://192.168.1.50:10150/mcp --allow-http --header X-API-KEY:<your key> 

To override the port (when DesignerMCPHttp.json has a custom ListenPort), substitute in the URL. The default 10150 matches the shipped config.

Step 3: Verify

claude mcp list

You should see FrameworX-Designer in the list.

AI Console Setup (Split Host / HTTP)

Same split-host pattern as the Designer HTTP variant, applied to a file-based workspace. Use this when Claude Code runs on a different machine than the one hosting the workspace folder, or when you want a shared ConsoleMCP server that multiple Claude Code sessions connect to.

Prerequisites: same as the Designer Split Host / HTTP section above. Node.js LTS must be installed on the Claude Code host because mcp-remote is an npm package.

The Windows machine runs ConsoleMCPHttp.exe on default port 10151.

Step 1: Start ConsoleMCPHttp on the Windows machine

Run ConsoleMCPHttp.exe manually, or install it as a Windows Service for unattended operation. Port and API key live in ConsoleMCPHttp.json alongside the executable (default ListenPort: 10151).

Step 2: Add the MCP Server on the Claude Code host

claude mcp add FrameworX-Console -- npx -y mcp-remote http://127.0.0.1:10151/mcp

Replace 127.0.0.1 with the LAN IP of the workspace host when they are on different machines. From FrameworX 10.1.6 that requires X_API_KEY in ConsoleMCPHttp.json and the key in the command: append --allow-http --header X-API-KEY:<your key> after the URL.

Step 3: Verify

claude mcp list

AI Runtime Setup (Live Runtime Reader, stdio)

AI Runtime (RuntimeMCP) connects Claude Code to a running FrameworX TServer to read live tag values, browse the operational namespace, inspect alarms, and query the historian. Use this when you need to answer questions about what is happening in a running solution, as opposed to configuring it. Same machine as the runtime.

Step 1: Add the MCP Server

claude mcp add FrameworX-Runtime -- dotnet "C:\Program Files\Tatsoft\FrameworX\fx-10\net10.0\RuntimeMCP.dll" /Host:localhost /Port:3101 /UserName:guest /Password:""

Runtime connection parameters:

• /Host: TServer host (default localhost).
• /Port: TServer port (default 3101).
• /UserName and /Password: runtime login (use guest with empty password for anonymous access).

Add -s user for a global install. 11 platform tools ship in 10.1.5: runtime_connect (session bootstrap), runtime_get_value, runtime_browse_object_model, runtime_search_uns, runtime_describe_object (accepts a path= or iri= selector — absorbs the former runtime_find_by_iri), runtime_list_instances, runtime_get_active_alarms, runtime_query_alarm_history, runtime_get_tag_history, runtime_get_aggregated_history (10.1.5 new — server-side bucketed aggregation: Average / Minimum / Maximum / Total / Count / StandardDeviation / Range), and runtime_describe_binding (10.1.5 new — pre-auth health and binding probe). Plus any solution-authored Custom Tools.

Step 2: Verify

claude mcp list

AI Runtime Setup (Split Host / HTTP)

Use this when Claude Code and the running FrameworX TServer are on different machines. Example: an operations console on a laptop connecting to a production TServer on the plant floor.

Prerequisites: same as the Designer Split Host / HTTP section above. Node.js LTS must be installed on the Claude Code host because mcp-remote is an npm package.

The Windows machine runs RuntimeMCPHttp.exe on default port 10120. That HTTP server holds the runtime connection to TServer. Claude Code bridges via mcp-remote.

Step 1: Configure and start RuntimeMCPHttp on the Runtime machine

Edit RuntimeMCPHttp.json alongside the executable to set the target TServer connection (Runtime Host / Port / Username / Password) and the MCP listen port (default 10120). Start RuntimeMCPHttp.exe or install RuntimeMCPHttpService as a Windows Service.

Step 2: Add the MCP Server on the Claude Code host

claude mcp add FrameworX-Runtime -- npx -y mcp-remote http://127.0.0.1:10120/mcp

Replace 127.0.0.1 with the LAN IP of the Runtime machine. From FrameworX 10.1.6, set X_API_KEY in RuntimeMCPHttp.json and append --allow-http --header X-API-KEY:<your key> after the URL. To override the port when RuntimeMCPHttp.json has a custom ListenPort, substitute in the URL.

Step 3: Verify

claude mcp list

write_objects — three input shapes

The write_objects tool's data parameter accepts three shapes (in both AI Designer and AI Console). Pick the one that matches how you are authoring:

Test Your Setup

AI Designer test: Open Designer, then ask Claude Code: "Create a new FrameworX solution with a bottling line" — Claude should call create_solution and start building in the live IDE.

AI Console test: Ask Claude Code: "Create a new FrameworX workspace with 10 motor tags and Modbus communication, then build it" — Claude should call create_workspace, fetch schemas, write JSON files, then call create_solution_file to produce the .dbsln.

Troubleshooting

Quick Reference: Config Files

Next Steps

• Back to main setup: MCP and Claude Setup
• Start from a ready workspace: FrameworX Solution Workspace on GitHub: a CLAUDE.md working agreement, delivery skills and a worked project, ready to clone
• Session skills: Claude-Code-Skills on GitHub, installed with /plugin marketplace add tatsoft-llc/Claude-Code-Skills
• Watch: Claude Builds Industrial Solutions in Minutes (YouTube)
• See it in action: AI Designer In Action
• Technical reference: AI Designer Connector
• Download Designer: FrameworX (free evaluation, unlimited tags, all features)

Community

Questions or feedback:

• Discord: discord.gg/BYhbTfyRyh
• Forum: forum.tatsoft.com
• YouTube: youtube.com/@TATSOFT