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 , dashboards, and troubleshootingoperations 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.

Which MCP server do I need?

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

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.

On Claude.ai or Claude Desktop App

1. Download the skill file: frameworx-industrial-platform.skill
2. Open Claude → Settings → 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 and click Upload skill
8. Select Browse to the downloaded zip file
9. Confirm it is toggled on

On Claude Code

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/FrameworX-skill
cp SKILL.md ~/.claude/skills/FrameworX-skill/SKILL.md

Claude Code discovers skills automatically — no restart needed.

Other AI Agents

The same SKILL.md works with any compatible agent:

Step 2: Connect MCP Tools

Three connection modes depending on your setup. Pick the one that matches.

Option A: AI Designer — Stdio (Claude Code, same Windows machine)

1. .skill file and select it
2. Make sure the skill toggle is set to On
3. 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 Use this when Claude Code and FrameworX Designer run on the same Windows machine. This is the simplest setup — Claude Code Claude Desktop launches DesignerMCP directly as a subprocess, and the filesystem server gives Claude direct access to screenshots and exported configurations.

Prerequisites:

• FrameworX Designer v10.13+ installed
• Claude Code installed

Configuration:

• 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": "<ProductPath>dotnet",
      "args": [
        "C:\\Program Files\\Tatsoft\\FrameworX\\fx-10\\net8.0\\DesignerMCP.exe"dll"
      ],
      "transport": "stdio"
    },
    }
}

Replace <ProductPath> with your FrameworX installation directory. Example:

C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Tatsoft\\FrameworX\\fx-10\\MCP\\DesignerMCP.exe

Use double backslashes in the path.

Option B: AI Designer — HTTP/SSE (Claude Desktop or Claude.ai, any machine)

Use this when Claude runs on a different machine than Designer, or when using Claude Desktop App or Claude.ai (the web chat interface). This mode uses HTTP with Server-Sent Events (SSE), which works across machines, across operating systems, and even across VMs.

"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, How it works: DesignerMCPHttp runs as a lightweight HTTP server on the Windows machine alongside Designer. 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 v10.131.3+ 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

1. File Explorer and navigate to

1. 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

cd "<ProductPath>\DesignerMCPHttp"
dotnet DesignerMCPHttp.dll

This starts the HTTP/SSE server on port 4000. Leave this running — it must be started before Claude.

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

Step 2 — Configure Claude

For Claude Desktop App, edit claude_desktop_config.json:

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 Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\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": {
    "DesignerMCPHttpFrameworX-Designer": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "http://127.0.0.1:400010150/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.

Step 3 — Restart Claude Desktop

Close Claude Desktop completely (use Task Manager to ensure it is fully closed) and relaunch.

Network Configuration for Remote Machines

If Designer runs on a different machine than Claude (including a Windows VM accessed from a Mac host):

If FrameworX is on a different computer on the network, replace

127.0.0.1 with the IP address of

Example for a Designer running on that machine. For example, if the Windows machine is at 192.168.1.50:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "DesignerMCPHttpFrameworX-Designer": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "http://192.168.1.50:400010150/sse"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Option C: SolutionMCP — File-Based Workflow (Claude Code, no Designer needed)

Use this when you want Claude Code to generate FrameworX configurations offline — no running Designer required. Claude creates JSON files in an Exchange folder, and the engineer imports them into Designer later for validation and deployment.

This is ideal for:

• Generating solution configurations from specifications or documents
• Working on a machine without FrameworX Designer installed
• Batch-building multiple solutions
• Teams where one person runs Claude Code and another reviews in Designer

Prerequisites:

• FrameworX v10.13+ installed (the SolutionMCP executable and schema DLLs ship with the installer)
• .NET 8.0 Runtime installed
• Claude Code installed

Configuration:

Add to your Claude Code MCP settings (.mcp.json in your project root, or global Claude Code config):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "FrameworX-SolutionMCP": {
      "command": "<ProductPath>\\SolutionMCP.exe",
      "transport": "stdio"
    }
  }
}

Replace <ProductPath> with the MCP directory inside your FrameworX installation. Example:

C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Tatsoft\\FrameworX\\fx-10\\MCP\\SolutionMCP.exe

How the file-based workflow works:

1. Claude calls create_solution or open_solution — this creates or opens a <name>-json/ 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 — ready for Designer import
4. The engineer opens Designer, imports the JSON files, validates, and deploys

Available tools (12):

Tip: You can install both AI Designer and SolutionMCP side by side. They register as separate MCP servers (FrameworX-Designer and FrameworX-SolutionMCP) and do not conflict. Use AI Designer when you want live co-pilot mode, and SolutionMCP when you want offline file generation.

Step 3: Set Tool Permissions (Claude Desktop)

Security Authorization

After restarting Claude Desktop with MCP installed:

1. Go to Settings → Connectors
2. Find FrameworX-Designer (or DesignerMCPHttp) in the list
3. Click Configure and set Tool Permissions to Always Allow

Without this, Claude will prompt for authorization on every tool call. Longer responses that use many tools may fail if permissions are not set to Always Allow.

Claude Code handles tool authorization differently — it prompts inline on first use and remembers the decision for the session. No pre-configuration needed.

Verify It Works

Start a new Claude conversation and try:

Without MCP (skill only): Ask "How do I set up FrameworX MCP tools?" — Claude should provide step-by-step instructions from the skill, not a web search.

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 itWith AI Designer connected: Ask "Create a new FrameworX solution with a bottling line" — Claude should immediately load the New Solution skill and start building, not spend a response outlining a plan.With SolutionMCP connected: Ask "Create a new FrameworX solution with 10 motor tags and Modbus communication" — Claude should call create_solution, fetch schemas, and start writing JSON files into the Exchange folder.

If Claude is web-searching for basic FrameworX setup information, the skill may not be enabled. Check Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

If Claude says MCP tools are not connected, verify the server is running and check your config file for typos.

Troubleshooting

Quick Reference: Config Files

Claude Code MCP (project-level): .mcp.json in your project root

Claude Code skills: ~/.claude/skills/FrameworX-skill/SKILL.md

SolutionMCP workspace: Documents/FrameworX/Exchange/<SolutionName>-json/

Next Steps

• See it in action: [AI Designer In Action](AI Designer In Action)
• Technical referenceReference: [AI Designer Connector](AI Designer Connector)
• Claude Code Integration: Claude Code MCP Setup
• Download Designer: tatsoft.com/fx-101 FrameworX (free evaluation, unlimited tags, all features)

Community

Questions or feedback:

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