From first install to productive AI sessions in minutes.

AI Integration | Claude Skill and MCP Setup

Together, the skill conditions Claude's behavior before the first tool fires, and MCP gives Claude the tools to act on that knowledge. The result is an AI co-pilot that truly understands the platform and builds solutions correctly from the first response.

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](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. Download the skill file: frameworx-industrial-platform.skill
2. Open Claude Desktop
3. Click the hamburger menu (?) at the top-left corner
4. Click Settings
5. In the left sidebar, click Capabilities
6. Scroll down to the Skills section
7. Click Upload skill
8. Browse to the downloaded .skill file and select it
9. Make sure the skill toggle is set to On
10. Close the Settings window — the skill is now active for all future conversations

Step 2: Install Prerequisites

Before connecting MCP tools, make sure the following are installed on your Windows machine:

.NET 8.0 Runtime

Required to run the DesignerMCP server.

1. Go to https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/8.0
2. Download and install the .NET Runtime (not the SDK, unless you need it for development)
3. Verify by opening a Command Prompt and typing:

dotnet --list-runtimes

You should see a line containing Microsoft.NETCore.App 8.x.x.

Node.js (Scenario A — Same Computer)

Required for the filesystem server, which enables Claude to read screenshots and inspect external solutions directly. Without it, tools like get_screenshot and inspect_external_solution will not work.

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

node --version

You should see a version number like v22.x.x. If you see an error, restart your Command Prompt and try again.

Step 3: Connect MCP Tools — AI Designer

Choose the scenario that matches your setup. Most users will use Scenario A.

Scenario A: Same Computer (Most Common)

Use this when Claude Desktop and FrameworX Designer run on the same Windows machine. Claude Desktop launches DesignerMCP directly as a subprocess, and the filesystem server gives Claude direct access to screenshots and exported configurations.

Prerequisites:

• FrameworX Designer v10.1.3+ installed
• .NET 8.0 Runtime installed (see Step 2)
• Node.js installed (see Step 2)
• Claude Desktop installed

A1. 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

A2. 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\\Transfers"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Important: Replace <username> with your Windows username. To find it, press Win + R, type cmd, press Enter, and type echo %USERNAME%.

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.

A3. 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.

A4. 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 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

A5. 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.

You're done! Jump to Next Steps.

Scenario B: Different Computers (Advanced)

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
• .NET 8.0 Runtime installed on the Windows machine
• Node.js (LTS version) installed on the machine running Claude Desktop (for the mcp-remote bridge)
• Claude Desktop installed

B1. 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.

B2. 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.

B3. 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.

B4. 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.

B5. 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

B6. 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.

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)

Community

Questions or feedback:

• Discord: discord.gg/BYhbTfyRyh
• Forum: forum.tatsoft.com