MCP and Claude Setup

From first install to productive AI sessions in minutes.

AI Integration | MCP and Claude Setup

Note: AI Runtime is a separate integration that connects AI to running solutions for live data queries and operations interactions. This page covers the Designer integration — the build-time experience. See AI Runtime Connector for runtime setup.

Looking for Claude Code? If you use Claude Code from the command line, see Claude Code MCP Setup for advanced integration options including file-based engineering without a running Designer.

What You Need

Requires a Claude Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise plan.
Any LLM with MCP protocol support can be used; Claude is our recommendation.

Step 1: Install the Claude Skill

The Claude Skill is a portable SKILL.md file that follows the Agent Skills open standard. Install it once — it activates automatically whenever you mention FrameworX, SCADA, HMI, or related topics.

1. Install FrameworX
2. Go to Documents\FrameworX\AISetup    
3. Locate the  platform-industrial-platform.skill

Then, on Claude Desktop:

1. Go to Menu > File > Settings...
2. Go to Capabilities > Skills > Go to Customize
3. Click the '+' button, then "Upload a skill"
4. Select "frameworx-industrial-platform.skill"
5. Make sure the skill toggle is set to On
6. Close the Settings window — the skill is now active for all future conversations

Step 2: Install the MCP Bundle

The MCP Bundle is a single .mcpb file that installs the DesignerMCP tools into Claude Desktop with one click — no manual configuration needed.

Prerequisites: FrameworX Designer v10.1.3+ must be installed first. The MCP bundle ships with the product installation.

The mcpb files are located at Documents\FrameworX\AISetup 

  Repeat this procedure for EACH of the following files:
    - frameworx-designer-mcp.mcpb
    - frameworx-filesystem.mcpb

  1. Open Claude Desktop
  2. Go to Menu > File > Settings... > Extensions
  3. Click "Advanced Settings"
  4. Click "Install Extension"
  5. Select the .mcpb file
  6. Click "Install"
  7. Click "Install" again on the confirmation popup

Note: Anthropic is regularly updating the settings UI, if those steps are not found, check Claude's official documentation for the current location

Step 3: Set Permissions and Verify

Set Tool Permissions

Without this step, Claude will ask you to approve every single tool call, which breaks longer building sessions.

1. In Claude Desktop, click the hamburger menu (?) at the top-left
2. Click Settings
3. In the left sidebar, click Extensions
4. Find FrameworX-Designer in the list
5. Set Tool Permissions to Always Allow
6. Close the Settings window

Verify It Works

1. In Settings → Extensions, verify that FrameworX-Designer shows status "running"
2. Open a new chat and click Search and Tools — Designer tools should appear in the list
3. In FrameworX Designer, verify the orange "AI Designer" badge appears

Test it: Open a new conversation and ask "Create a new FrameworX solution with a bottling line" — Claude should immediately start building, calling create_solution and writing objects.

You're done! Jump to Next Steps.

Advanced: Different Computers

Use this when Claude Desktop and FrameworX Designer run on different machines — for example, Claude Desktop running on a Mac with FrameworX Designer inside a Windows virtual machine (Parallels, VMware), or FrameworX running on a separate Windows computer on the network.

In this setup, DesignerMCPHttp runs as a lightweight HTTP server on the Windows machine. Claude Desktop connects to it over the network using mcp-remote, an open-source MCP-to-HTTP bridge. All communication happens exclusively through the MCP tools — no shared folders or filesystem server is needed.

Prerequisites:

• FrameworX Designer v10.1.3+ installed on the Windows machine
• Node.js (LTS version) installed on the machine running Claude Desktop (for the mcp-remote bridge)
• Claude Desktop installed

1. Start DesignerMCPHttp on the Windows Machine

On the Windows machine where FrameworX is installed:

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to your Documents folder: Documents\FrameworX\Utilities
2. Double-click StartDesignerMCPHttp.bat

You should see a console window confirming the server is listening on port 10150. Leave this window open — the server must stay running.

Important: The MCP server must be started before Claude Desktop. If you ever restart the server, you must also restart Claude Desktop.

2. Install Node.js on the Claude Desktop Machine (if not already installed)

On the machine where Claude Desktop runs (e.g., your Mac):

1. Go to https://nodejs.org
2. Download the LTS (Long Term Support) version
   • Windows: Windows Installer (.msi), 64-bit
   • macOS: macOS Installer (.pkg)
3. Run the installer — accept defaults. On Windows, make sure "Add to PATH" is checked.
4. Verify by opening a terminal and typing:

node --version

You should see a version number like v22.x.x.

3. Configure Claude Desktop

Find and open the configuration file:

• Windows: Press Win + R, type %APPDATA%\Claude and press Enter. Open claude_desktop_config.json.
• macOS: Open Finder, press Cmd + Shift + G, type ~/Library/Application Support/Claude and press Enter. Open claude_desktop_config.json.

If the file doesn't exist, create a new text file with that exact name.

Replace the entire contents with:

If FrameworX is in a VM on the same host machine (e.g., Parallels/VMware on Mac — use 127.0.0.1):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "FrameworX-Designer": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "http://127.0.0.1:10150/sse"
      ]
    }
  }
}

For Mac + Parallels/VMware: You may need to configure port forwarding in your VM settings to route port 10150 from the Mac host to the Windows guest.

If FrameworX is on a different computer on the network, replace 127.0.0.1 with the IP address of that machine. For example, if the Windows machine is at 192.168.1.50:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "FrameworX-Designer": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "http://192.168.1.50:10150/sse"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Make sure port 10150 is open in Windows Firewall on the FrameworX machine.

Save and close the file.

4. Restart Claude Desktop

1. Fully close Claude Desktop:
   • Windows: Right-click the Claude icon in the system tray and click Quit, or end it via Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc).
   • macOS: Right-click the Claude icon in the Dock and click Quit, or press Cmd + Q.
2. Relaunch Claude Desktop.

5. Set Tool Permissions

1. In Claude Desktop, click the hamburger menu (?) at the top-left
2. Click Settings
3. In the left sidebar, click Connectors
4. Find FrameworX-Designer in the list
5. Click Configure
6. Set Tool Permissions to Always Allow
7. Close the Settings window

6. Verify It Works

1. Go to Settings → Developer and verify FrameworX-Designer shows status "running"
2. Open a new chat and click Search and Tools — Designer tools should appear
3. In FrameworX Designer on the Windows machine, verify the orange "AI Designer" badge appears

Test it: Ask "Create a new FrameworX solution with a bottling line" — Claude should immediately start building.

Advanced: Manual JSON Configuration

If the MCP Bundle does not work for your environment, or you prefer manual control, you can configure Claude Desktop by editing the JSON configuration file directly.

Prerequisites:

• FrameworX Designer v10.1.3+ installed
• .NET 8.0 Runtime installed

1. Find the Configuration File

• Press Win + R, type %APPDATA%\Claude and press Enter
• Open the file claude_desktop_config.json in any text editor (Notepad works fine)
• If the file doesn't exist, create a new text file with that exact name

2. Paste the Configuration

Replace the entire contents of the file with:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "FrameworX-Designer": {
      "command": "dotnet",
      "args": [
        "C:\\Program Files\\Tatsoft\\FrameworX\\fx-10\\net8.0\\DesignerMCP.dll"
      ],
      "transport": "stdio"
    },
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "C:\\Users\\Public\\Documents\\FrameworX\\Exchange"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Save and close the file.

Note: The DesignerMCP path above is the default installation location. If you installed FrameworX to a different drive or folder, adjust accordingly. Use double backslashes in all paths.

3. Restart Claude Desktop

1. Fully close Claude Desktop — don't just close the window. Right-click the Claude icon in the system tray (bottom-right corner near the clock) and click Quit. If you don't see it there, open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc), find any Claude processes, and end them.
2. Relaunch Claude Desktop.

4. Set Tool Permissions

1. In Claude Desktop, click the hamburger menu (?) at the top-left
2. Click Settings
3. In the left sidebar, click Connectors
4. Find FrameworX-Designer in the list
5. Click Configure
6. Set Tool Permissions to Always Allow
7. Repeat for the filesystem entry — set it to Always Allow as well
8. Close the Settings window

5. Verify It Works

1. In Claude Desktop, go to Settings → Developer
2. Verify that both FrameworX-Designer and filesystem show status "running"
3. Open a new chat and click Search and Tools — Designer tools should appear in the list
4. In FrameworX Designer, verify the orange "AI Designer" badge appears

Test it: Open a new conversation and ask "Create a new FrameworX solution with a bottling line" — Claude should immediately start building, calling create_solution and writing objects.

Troubleshooting

Quick Reference: Config Files

Next Steps

• See it in action: AI Designer In Action
• Technical Reference: AI Designer Connector
• Claude Code Integration: Claude Code MCP Setup
• Download Designer: FrameworX (free evaluation, unlimited tags, all features)