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# MCP Setup Guides

## Prerequisites

Install and authenticate the Pretorin CLI:

    uv tool install pretorin
    pretorin login

## Install the Pretorin Skill

The skill teaches your AI agent how to use MCP tools for compliance workflows — control ID formats, narrative authoring rules, gap analysis methodology, and more. Install it before setting up MCP:

    pretorin skill install                # both Claude Code and Codex CLI
    pretorin skill install --agent claude # Claude Code only
    pretorin skill install --agent codex  # Codex CLI only
    pretorin skill status                 # check what's installed

The skill is copied to `~/.claude/skills/pretorin/` and/or `~/.codex/skills/pretorin/` and auto-discovered by each agent.

## Claude Code

Quick setup — run a single command:

    claude mcp add --transport stdio pretorin -- pretorin mcp-serve

This registers the server for your current project. To make it available across all your projects, add `--scope user`.

Team setup — add a `.mcp.json` file to your project root so every team member gets the server automatically:

    {
      "mcpServers": {
        "pretorin": {
          "type": "stdio",
          "command": "pretorin",
          "args": ["mcp-serve"]
        }
      }
    }

Claude Code detects the file automatically.

## Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

- macOS: `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
- Windows: `%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json`
- Linux: `~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`

    {
      "mcpServers": {
        "pretorin": {
          "command": "pretorin",
          "args": ["mcp-serve"]
        }
      }
    }

Restart Claude Desktop after saving.

## Cursor

Add to `~/.cursor/mcp.json`:

    {
      "mcpServers": {
        "pretorin": {
          "command": "pretorin",
          "args": ["mcp-serve"]
        }
      }
    }

Restart Cursor after saving.

## OpenAI Codex CLI

Add to `~/.codex/config.toml`:

    [mcp_servers.pretorin]
    command = "pretorin"
    args = ["mcp-serve"]

If you installed Pretorin with `uv tool install` or `pipx`, prefer pinning the absolute path from `command -v pretorin` to avoid PATH drift between shells and GUI apps.

## Windsurf

Add to `~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json`:

    {
      "mcpServers": {
        "pretorin": {
          "command": "pretorin",
          "args": ["mcp-serve"]
        }
      }
    }

Restart Windsurf after saving.

## Other MCP Clients

The Pretorin MCP server follows the standard Model Context Protocol and works with any MCP-compatible client. The server communicates via stdio.

To test the server manually:

    pretorin mcp-serve

The server accepts JSON-RPC messages on stdin and responds on stdout.

## PATH Considerations

If your AI tool can’t find the `pretorin` command, use the full path:

    # Find the full path
    command -v pretorin

Then use that path in your configuration:

    {
      "mcpServers": {
        "pretorin": {
          "command": "/home/user/.local/bin/pretorin",
          "args": ["mcp-serve"]
        }
      }
    }

This is especially important for `uv tool` and `pipx` installations where the binary may not be on the PATH available to GUI applications.

Before debugging scoped MCP write failures, validate the active CLI scope:

    pretorin context show --quiet --check