Claude Desktop Setup
Connect paso to Claude Desktop.
Set up paso as an MCP server in Claude Desktop in three steps.
1. Install paso
First, install paso globally:
npm install -g usepaso
Or use it locally with npx:
npx usepaso
2. Locate Config File
Find your Claude Desktop config file:
macOS:
~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows:
%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Linux:
~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
If the file doesn’t exist, create it with an empty mcpServers object:
{
"mcpServers": {}
}
3. Add paso Server
Edit the config and add a new MCP server entry.
If using global install:
{
"mcpServers": {
"my-api": {
"command": "usepaso",
"args": ["serve"],
"env": {
"USEPASO_AUTH_TOKEN": "your-token-here"
}
}
}
}
If using npx:
{
"mcpServers": {
"my-api": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["usepaso", "serve"],
"env": {
"USEPASO_AUTH_TOKEN": "your-token-here"
}
}
}
}
Replace "my-api" with your paso project name, and set the auth token environment variable if your API requires authentication.
4. Restart Claude
Quit Claude completely and relaunch it. The MCP server will start automatically.
Verify Setup
Open Claude and check the Tools menu. You should see your paso capabilities listed as available tools. Try calling one in a conversation to verify the connection works.
Multiple Servers
You can run multiple paso servers by adding multiple entries:
{
"mcpServers": {
"github-api": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["usepaso", "serve"],
"env": {
"GITHUB_TOKEN": "your-github-token"
}
},
"stripe-api": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["usepaso", "serve"],
"env": {
"STRIPE_API_KEY": "your-stripe-key"
}
}
}
}
Environment variables
Use the env field to pass API tokens and other secrets:
{
"mcpServers": {
"github-api": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["usepaso", "serve"],
"env": {
"GITHUB_TOKEN": "ghp_..."
}
}
}
}
The environment variable name must match what your usepaso.yaml auth config expects (e.g., USEPASO_AUTH_TOKEN, GITHUB_TOKEN).
Troubleshooting
Server doesn’t appear in Claude
- Validate the config JSON (a missing comma breaks everything)
- Quit Claude completely and relaunch (not just close the window)
“command not found”
- Use
npx usepaso serve(no global install needed) - Or install globally:
npm install -g usepaso
Auth failures
- Confirm the env var name matches your
usepaso.yamlauth config - Verify the token has the required API permissions
Server crashes on start
- Run
usepaso validateto check for declaration errors - Run
usepaso servedirectly in a terminal to see the error output
Claude can now reach your API.
Your capabilities are live in Claude Desktop. Try calling one in a conversation.
Next, you might want to:
- Quick Start — create your first declaration
- Testing Capabilities — test before deploying
- Cursor Setup — connect to Cursor IDE