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Claude Desktop Setup

Configure ACE MCP with Anthropic's Claude Desktop application - Complete step-by-step guide for all platforms.

Prerequisites
1

Node.js 18+ installed

Check with: node --version

2

Claude Desktop installed

Download Claude Desktop →

3

ACE CLI installed and logged in

4

ACE server running

1
Locate the Config File

Claude Desktop stores its MCP configuration in a JSON file. Find the config file for your operating system:

Config file location:

Open in Finder: Press Cmd + Shift + G and paste the path

File Doesn't Exist?

If the config file doesn't exist, create it. Make sure to create the parent directory if needed.

2
Add ACE Configuration

Open the config file in a text editor and add the ACE MCP server configuration:

Important: Customize Your Namespace

Replace my-project with a unique namespace for your project. Each project should have its own namespace to keep memories isolated.

If You Have Existing MCP Servers

Add ACE alongside your existing servers by adding the "ace": {...} block inside the existing mcpServers object.

3
Restart Claude Desktop

Close and reopen Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect:

Restart Claude Desktop

Quit the application completely (not just close the window) and reopen it.

macOS Users

Make sure to fully quit Claude (Cmd + Q), not just close the window, to reload the MCP configuration.

4
Verify Connection

In Claude Desktop, you should now see ACE tools available. Try these prompts to test:

Store a memory:

"Remember that we use PostgreSQL for the database"

Query architecture:

"What do you know about our architecture?"

Track an issue:

"Track an issue: login form has slow performance"

Success!

If Claude responds by using ACE tools (you'll see tool usage in the interface), your setup is complete!

Troubleshooting

"ace: command not found"

The ACE CLI is not in your PATH. Try these fixes:

  1. Reinstall ACE globally: npm install -g @ace3-memory/ace
  2. Check if npm global bin is in PATH: npm bin -g
  3. Add npm global bin to your PATH in ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
ACE tools not appearing

If ACE tools don't appear in Claude Desktop:

  1. Verify ACE server is running: ace status
  2. Check your config file for JSON syntax errors
  3. Fully quit and restart Claude Desktop
  4. Verify the config file path is correct for your OS
"Connection refused" errors

ACE server may not be running:

  1. Start ACE server: ace start
  2. Check health: curl http://localhost:7777/health
  3. Check if port 7777 is blocked by firewall

Available ACE Tools

Once configured, Claude Desktop can use these 20+ ACE tools:

ace_rememberace_recallace_get_contextace_searchace_track_issueace_resolve_issueace_find_solutionsace_track_decisionace_best_practicesace_get_statsace_log_workace_architectureace_patternsace_manage_tagsace_graph_connectace_graph_traverseace_create_planace_generate_planace_observe

Pro Tips

Project-Specific Namespaces

Use different namespaces for different projects (e.g., my-app-frontend, my-app-backend).

Session Start/End

Use /start-session and /end-session prompts to manage work sessions.

View Dashboard

Visit ace3-ai.com/dashboard to visualize your memories in a knowledge graph.

AI Builder

Ask Claude to "generate a project plan" to automatically create issues, decisions, and architecture docs.

Next Steps