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Claude Desktop setup

This guide connects kontxt to Claude Desktop so your conversations build on each other across sessions.

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Before you start

Complete the quickstart first — you need kontxt cloned, built, and initialized before configuring Claude Desktop.

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Find your config file

Claude Desktop stores its MCP configuration at: 
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
If the file doesn’t exist, create it.

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Add kontxt

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kontxt": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/kontxt/packages/mcp-server/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}
Use the absolute path to the mcp-server dist file. Relative paths will not work.
To find your absolute path: 
cd kontxt
pwd
# Copy this output and append /packages/mcp-server/dist/index.js

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Restart Claude Desktop

Fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop. MCP servers are initialized on startup — a reload is not enough.

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Verify it’s working

In a new Claude conversation, ask:
“What do you know about me from my memory vault?”
If kontxt is connected, Claude will either surface stored memories or tell you the vault is empty. Either response confirms the connection is working.

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Store your first memory

Ask Claude to store something:
“Remember that I’m building a personal data OS called 4StaX and I prefer TypeScript.”
Claude will call store_memory via kontxt. In your next session it will already know this.

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Troubleshooting

The MCP server didn’t connect. Check that the path in your config is correct and absolute, and that you fully quit and reopened Claude Desktop.
Run node /your/path/packages/mcp-server/dist/index.js directly in your terminal. If it errors, your build may be incomplete — run pnpm build again in the kontxt directory.
Run node packages/cli/dist/index.js init from the kontxt directory to create the vault before starting the MCP server.