Desktop Setup (Claude Desktop)

Run Crow locally with Claude Desktop using stdio transport. No cloud deployment needed — everything runs on your machine.

Prerequisites

• Claude Desktop installed
• Node.js 18 or later
• Git

Step 1: Clone and Install

git clone https://github.com/kh0pper/crow.git
cd crow
npm run setup

This installs dependencies and creates the local SQLite database at data/crow.db.

Step 2: Configure API Keys

Copy the example env file and add your keys:

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env and add keys for the services you want. Only crow-memory and crow-research work without any keys — external integrations need their own API keys.

Security note: Your .env file contains API keys that act like passwords. Never share it, commit it to GitHub, or post its contents anywhere. The file is already listed in .gitignore so git won't track it, but always double-check before pushing code. See the Security Guide for more about keeping your keys safe.

Step 3: Generate Claude Desktop Config

npm run desktop-config

This outputs a JSON block for your Claude Desktop configuration. Copy it and add it to:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Step 4: Restart Claude Desktop

Quit and reopen Claude Desktop. You should see the MCP server icons in the input area, indicating Crow is connected.

Limitations

• Only works with Claude Desktop (stdio transport)
• Only accessible from the machine running the servers
• No OAuth — direct process connection
• For mobile/web access, use the Cloud Deploy instead