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Connect Claude Desktop

Give Claude Desktop access to Swarmtab through the local MCP bridge.

Keep Swarmtab open. In the app, open Connect and select Claude Desktop. Copy its setup snippet: it contains the actual executable path on your computer. The macOS path below is an example; replace it with that path. Do not copy a token or a fixed port.

Setup

Config location: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json.

Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Merge the server, fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "swarmtab": {
      "command": "/Applications/Swarmtab.app/Contents/MacOS/swarmtab-app",
      "args": [
        "bridge"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Keep any other server entries. For JSON, merge the swarmtab entry into the existing server object; do not replace the whole config. For shell commands, run them from your intended project.

Check the connection

Ask the client to list Swarmtab’s tools, then open example.com and read its heading. You should see an agent in the Swarmtab window.

  • Server missing: edit Developer config and fully restart the app.
  • Connection failed: use the full executable path and keep Swarmtab open.

Preview a config change

The separate CLI can preview the entry for a file you choose; the app executable supports only bridge. The CLI is not part of the Mac download yet; if you have it, use its full path if it is not on PATH. For example, from a project with a Cursor config:

swarmtab connect cursor --config .cursor/mcp.json --dry-run

Replace cursor and the path for your client. Omit --dry-run only when you want to write the config. The command asks you to type yes, preserves other servers, and makes a .swarmtab-backup file. It refuses to overwrite an existing Swarmtab entry or backup.

Official Claude Desktop setup guide. Setup text is copied from the app’s client guides, checked there on 2026-10-15. This page is regenerated on build.

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