> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.caylex.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Claude Desktop

> Configure Claude Desktop to use Caylex as an MCP server.

Claude Desktop supports MCP servers natively. You can add Caylex as an MCP server in the Claude Desktop configuration file to give Claude access to all your connected tools.

## Configuration

Add the following to your `claude_desktop_config.json` file:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="macOS">
    Edit `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`:

    ```json claude_desktop_config.json theme={null}
    {
      "mcpServers": {
        "caylex": {
          "url": "https://navigator.caylex.ai/mcp",
          "headers": {
            "x-api-key": "ck_abc123.your-secret-key",
            "x-user-email": "you@example.com"
          }
        }
      }
    }
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Windows">
    Edit `%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json`:

    ```json claude_desktop_config.json theme={null}
    {
      "mcpServers": {
        "caylex": {
          "url": "https://navigator.caylex.ai/mcp",
          "headers": {
            "x-api-key": "ck_abc123.your-secret-key",
            "x-user-email": "you@example.com"
          }
        }
      }
    }
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

Replace `ck_abc123.your-secret-key` with your actual Navigator Instance API key and `you@example.com` with your email.

## Setup

<Steps>
  <Step title="Get your API key">
    Go to your Navigator Instance in the Caylex dashboard and create or copy an API key. See [Navigators & Permissions](/platform/navigators) for details.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Authenticate with servers">
    Make sure you have authenticated with the servers in your project via an [Auth Link](/auth/auth-links). Use the same email address you put in the configuration file.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Edit the config file">
    Open the `claude_desktop_config.json` file and add the Caylex MCP server configuration shown above.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Restart Claude Desktop">
    Restart Claude Desktop for the configuration to take effect. You should see Caylex listed as an available MCP server.

    <Check>
      Claude Desktop now has access to all tools from your Caylex project. Try asking Claude to interact with one of your connected services.
    </Check>
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Limitations

<Note>
  Claude Desktop uses a **static configuration** — the `x-user-email` is fixed in the config file. This means:

  * The same user credentials are used for all conversations
  * You cannot dynamically switch users without editing the config file
  * This is best suited for personal use or development/testing

  For production applications where you need to support multiple users, use a programmatic integration like the [OpenAI Agents SDK](/integration/openai-agents), [LangChain](/integration/langchain), or [Claude Agent SDK](/integration/claude-sdk) where you can set `x-user-email` dynamically per request.
</Note>

## Further reading

* [Connecting Your Agent](/integration/connecting) — details on headers and runtime flow
* [Server Authentication](/auth/server-authentication) for user-level vs project-level auth