Connect Claude Desktop
This adds an app to Claude Desktop’s MCP server list. The app writes the config entry for you, because Claude Desktop has no CLI to defer to.
Cask Film does this by itself at launch while Agent Access is on, as long as Claude Desktop has run on this Mac at least once. Restart Claude Desktop and the tools are there. Cask Film does not replace an entry that points at another copy of the app that still exists, and it stops adding the entry once you click Disconnect for Claude Desktop. Click Connect to turn that back on.
You need:
- Agent Access turned on in the app you are connecting.
- Claude Desktop installed.
- Open the app’s Agent Access settings. In Cask Film that is Settings > General > Agent Access, then Connect Agent, then Claude Desktop. In Cask Flow it is Settings > Agent access, then Connect on the Claude Desktop row.
- Quit and reopen Claude Desktop.
The app adds one entry to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json, named cask-studio for Cask Film and cask-motion for Cask Flow. It leaves every other server in that file alone, and writes a .cask-backup copy of the file before touching it.
Connect both apps to have both tool sets in one chat.
Result
Section titled “Result”Cask Film’s status line reads Connected. Restart Claude Desktop to pick it up. and shows Claude Desktop as Connected in its client list. Cask Flow marks the row Connected. To remove it, run the remove command.
After restarting Claude Desktop, the tools are available in a new chat. Ask the agent what is open in the app; it should answer with your project.
Connect once. The entry keeps working across app restarts, app upgrades, and Agent Access being switched off and back on.
Reduce the approval prompts
Section titled “Reduce the approval prompts”Claude Desktop asks before every tool call. On the first prompt for a given tool, choose Always approve rather than allowing once. That persists across chats and restarts.
Approval is per tool, so each new tool asks once. Revoking those approvals means renaming the server in the config file.
If it doesn’t work
Section titled “If it doesn’t work”| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The client list shows Claude Desktop as not installed | The app cannot find Claude Desktop | Install it, then reopen the list |
| The status says the entry is already there | The entry is there from an earlier setup | Nothing to do. Restart Claude Desktop if its tools are missing |
| No tools after connecting | Claude Desktop reads its config at launch | Quit Claude Desktop fully and reopen it |
| Tools listed but every call errors | The app is closed, or Agent Access is off | Open the app and check its Agent Access switch |
| Tools disappeared after you upgraded the app | The config points at a path that no longer exists | Reopen Cask Film, which repairs the entry at launch, then restart Claude Desktop. In Cask Flow, connect again from Settings |