MCP and Claude Setup

From first install to productive AI sessions in minutes.

AI Integration | MCP and Claude 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.

What You Need

Standard Setup

Step 1: Install Claude Desktop

Download the Claude here: Claude Download

Step 2: 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. Install FrameworX
2. Go to Documents\FrameworX\AISetup    
3. Locate the platform-industrial-platform.skill

Then, on Claude Desktop:

1. Go to Menu > File > Settings...
2. Go to Capabilities > Skills > Go to Customize
3. Click the '+' button, then "Upload a skill"
4. Select "frameworx-industrial-platform.skill"
5. Make sure the skill toggle is set to On
6. Close the Settings window — the skill is now active for all future conversations

Step 3: Install the MCP Bundle

The MCP Bundle is two.mcpb files that installs the DesignerMCP tools into Claude Desktop with one click — no manual configuration needed.

Prerequisites: FrameworX Designer v10.1.3+ must be installed first. The MCP bundle ships with the product installation.

The mcpb files are located at Documents\FrameworX\AISetup 

  Repeat this procedure for EACH of the following files:
    - frameworx-designer-mcp.mcpb
    - frameworx-filesystem.mcpb

  1. Open Claude Desktop
  2. Go to Menu > File > Settings... > Extensions
  3. Click "Advanced Settings"
  4. Click "Install Extension"
  5. Select the .mcpb file
  6. Click "Install"
  7. Click "Install" again on the confirmation popup
  8. Close the Settings window — the connectors is now active for all future conversations

Note: Anthropic is regularly updating the settings UI, if those steps are not found, check Claude's official documentation for the current location

Step 4: Set Permissions and Verify

After installing both files, follow the Set Permissions and Verify section below for each extension.

Advanced: Different Computers

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

Step 1: 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.

Step 2: 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.

Step 3: 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.

Step 4: Restart Claude Desktop

For changes to take effect, follow the Restart Claude Desktop procedure in Appendix.

Step 5: Set Permissions and Verify

After installing both files, follow the Set Permissions and Verify section below for each extension.

Advanced: Manual JSON Configuration

If the MCP Bundle does not work for your environment, or you prefer manual control, you can configure Claude Desktop by editing the JSON configuration file directly.

Prerequisites:

• FrameworX Designer v10.1.3+ installed
• .NET 8.0 Runtime installed

Step 1: 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

Step 2: 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\\Exchange"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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.

Step 3: Restart Claude Desktop

For changes to take effect, follow the Restart Claude Desktop procedure in Appendix.

Step 4: Set Tool Permissions

After installing both files, follow the Set Permissions and Verify section below for each extension.

Appendix

Set Permissions and Verify

  Repeat this procedure for EACH of the following extensions:
    - FrameworX AI Designer
    - FrameworX File Access

Set Tool Permissions

Without this step, Claude will ask you to approve every single tool call, which breaks longer building sessions.

1. Go to Menu > File > Settings... > Extensions
2. Find the extension in the list
3. Click "Configure"
4. Set Tool Permissions to Always Allow
5. Close the Settings window — the permissions now are set

Verify It Works

1. In Settings → Developer, verify that FrameworX AI Designer and FrameworX File Access shows status "running"
2. Open a new chat and Click the '+' button, the Connectors, both extension tools should appear in the list

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.

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.

Best Practices

Building Large Solutions

When creating a solution with many tags, devices, and displays, we recommend breaking the work into smaller steps rather than trying to build everything in a single prompt. Start by describing the full solution to give the AI context, then build each part separately. If you run out of tokens mid-conversation, start a new chat and ask the AI to review what was created so far before continuing.

Recommended workflow:

1. Describe the entire solution scope (without building anything yet)
2. Create the tag structure (UNS hierarchy)
3. Configure Alarms and Historian
4. Build the first display
5. Build additional displays one at a time
6. Continue with remaining components (scripts, reports, etc.)

Prompt Structure

For best results, structure your prompts using clearly defined sections: role, context, instructions. The example below shows a basic well-structured prompt.

Tell the AI its role (e.g., "You are a FrameworX automation engineer...")

<context>
Describe your project context: what the solution does,
which protocols and devices are involved, tag naming conventions, etc.
</context>

<instructions>
Provide step-by-step instructions for what you want built.
Be specific about naming, structure, and preferences.
</instructions>

For a comprehensive guide on prompt engineering techniques, see: Claude – Prompting Best Practices and AI Designer Best Practices.

Model Recommendation

We recommend using Claude Sonnet without Extended Thinking. Sonnet provides the best balance between speed and quality for FrameworX MCP workflows.

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)