Time to complete: ~5 minutes
Requirements: macOS 13 or later (Apple Silicon or Intel), Claude Desktop or Cursor

Step 1 — Install LMCP

Open the downloaded LMCP-Installer.pkg from your Downloads folder
Follow the installer — it installs Local MCP to your Applications folder for you (no dragging)
Local MCP opens automatically and appears in your menu bar

Takes about 30 seconds. The installer auto-configures your AI clients — nothing to drag or set up by hand.

When you open Local MCP for the first time, it will:

Appear in your menu bar and start the local MCP server — the app is the server, there is no separate daemon to install
Auto-detect and configure any installed AI clients (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code, Zed)
Keep itself up to date automatically

What runs on your Mac: LMCP runs entirely as a local menu-bar app. No data is sent to the cloud during setup or operation.

Prefer the terminal? You can install the same app with one command: curl -fsSL https://local-mcp.com/install | bash

Step 2 — Connect your AI client

Claude Desktop (recommended for most users)

The installer automatically adds LMCP to your Claude Desktop config. You just need to restart Claude Desktop for the change to take effect.

Quit Claude Desktop completely (Cmd+Q, or right-click the dock icon → Quit)
Reopen Claude Desktop
Start a new conversation

That is it. No manual config editing required.

Manual config (if auto-setup did not run)

Open ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json in a text editor and add:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "local-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "local-mcp@latest", "stdio"]
    }
  }
}

Then restart Claude Desktop.

Cursor

Cursor requires Agent mode to use MCP tools. Standard Chat mode will not show the tools.

Open Cursor Settings → MCP Servers
Add a new server:
- Name: local-mcp
- Command: npx
- Args: -y local-mcp@latest stdio
Save and restart Cursor
Switch to Agent mode when starting a conversation

Claude Code

Run npx -y local-mcp@latest setup in your terminal. It auto-detects and configures Claude Code. Then restart Claude Code.

Other clients (Windsurf, VS Code, Zed)

Add the MCP server config pointing to npx -y local-mcp@latest stdio, then restart the client. For VS Code, use the Cline or Continue extension.

Step 3 — Make your first tool call

Verify the connection:

Run diagnostics on LMCP and tell me which tools are available.

Read your emails:

What are my 5 most recent unread emails?

Check your calendar:

What is on my calendar today and tomorrow?

Get a daily brief:

Give me a morning brief — my emails, calendar events, and reminders for today.

Verifying it is working

After your first tool call, you will see tool use blocks showing which tools were called. If Claude responds with your actual email or calendar data, LMCP is set up correctly.

You can also ask:

Run run_diagnostics and show me the full health report.

Granting permissions

On first use, macOS will prompt you to grant access to Contacts, Calendar, and Reminders. Click Allow. If you denied access, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security to re-enable.

Common issues

“I do not see any LMCP tools in Claude Desktop”

Quit Claude Desktop completely (Cmd+Q) and reopen. Then verify:

cat ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

You should see "local-mcp" in mcpServers. If not, re-run the installer.

“Cursor is not using the tools”

Switch to Agent mode — tools are not available in standard Chat mode.

“Claude says it cannot access my email”

Check that Mail.app is open, your account is configured in it, and LMCP has the needed permissions in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Automation.

“The install command failed”

Try:

npx -y local-mcp@latest setup

What is next

Have a question? Ask Claude to use the report_problem tool, or open the LMCP tray icon and click Report Problem.

Getting Started with LMCP