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MCP

Claude Desktop

The Claude app on your computer connects directly to RhinoArtisan. Available on every Claude plan — and, from RhinoArtisan 7.0.0.4, with nothing else to install: no Node.js, no configuration files to edit.

You need: the Claude Desktop app, opened at least once. The classic installer and the Microsoft Store version both work.

Setup A — download the connector

Install RhinoArtisan as a Claude Desktop extension:

Download RhinoArtisanMCP.mcpb (Windows)

Drag the downloaded file into Claude Desktop’s Settings → Extensions (double-clicking it also works when Windows has the file type associated) and confirm. Rhino does not need to be running: the tools appear automatically whenever Rhino with RhinoArtisan is open. If you moved the MCP port, change it in the extension’s settings.

Setup B — one command in Rhino

  1. In Rhino, run:
ArtisanMcpConnectClaude

Press Enter. RhinoArtisan registers itself in Claude Desktop’s configuration and prints where the entry went. Any other servers you had configured are left untouched, and a copy of the previous file is kept next to it as .bak.

  1. Quit Claude Desktop completely — File → Exit, or from the system tray; closing the window is not enough — and open it again.

That’s it. Run the command again whenever you want to refresh the entry (for example after changing the port); ArtisanMcpConnectClaude Remove=Yes unregisters RhinoArtisan.

Tip: skip the “Add custom connector” option in Claude’s settings — those connectors run in Anthropic’s cloud and can’t see RhinoArtisan on your computer. Use the downloadable connector or the command above instead.

Check it’s connected

Click the + button in the chat box → Connectors — RhinoArtisan appears in the list with its tools.

Rhino does not need to be open when Claude starts. Claude keeps the connection, and RhinoArtisan’s tools show up automatically as soon as Rhino is running with RhinoArtisan loaded — and disappear again when you close it. If you ask for a tool while Rhino is closed, Claude simply tells you to start it.

Try it

With Rhino open, ask Claude:

“Create a round 1 ct diamond.”

The stone appears in your Rhino viewport. Not working? See Troubleshooting.

Manual setup

Prefer to edit the configuration yourself? Open the Claude menu → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. This opens a file called claude_desktop_config.json (on Windows it lives in %APPDATA%\Claude\; the Microsoft Store version keeps it under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Claude_…\LocalCache\Roaming\Claude\).

Claude Desktop only launches local stdio servers from that file, so the entry points at the small bridge program the RhinoArtisan installer ships, which relays Claude to the server running inside Rhino:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "RhinoArtisan": {
      "command": "C:\\Program Files\\RhinoArtisan 7\\MCP\\ArtisanMcpBridge.exe",
      "args": ["http://127.0.0.1:9280/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Adjust the path if you installed RhinoArtisan in another folder. Without the bridge, the mcp-remote adapter does the same job but needs Node.js on the machine:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "RhinoArtisan": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "http://127.0.0.1:9280/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Save, then quit Claude Desktop completely and open it again.

Using a different port? If Rhino printed another address when you ran ArtisanMcpStart Port=…, run ArtisanMcpConnectClaude again (it registers the current port) — or, in a manual setup, use that address instead of http://127.0.0.1:9280/mcp. See Changing the port.