MCP Setup

The MCP server is built into Conduit and requires minimal configuration. This guide covers how it starts, where it listens, and how to connect external AI agents.

Automatic Start

The MCP server starts automatically when Conduit is running and the vault is unlocked. No manual configuration is needed within Conduit. Once the vault is open, the server is ready to accept connections from external agents.

Connecting External Agents

To use Conduit with external AI agents like Claude Code, add the Conduit MCP server to your agent's configuration file. Go to Settings > MCP in Conduit for a ready-to-use configuration snippet that you can paste directly into your agent config.

Verifying the Connection

Once configured, the AI agent should be able to list connections via the ConnectionList tool. If the server is not responding, ensure that:

• Conduit is running.
• The vault is unlocked.
• Your subscription tier includes MCP access (Pro or Team).
• The socket path in your agent configuration matches the one shown in Conduit settings.

External Agent Instructions

Conduit automatically generates instruction files that teach external AI agents about the available MCP tools. These files are written on every app launch, so they always reflect the latest tool set and connection details for your environment.

Supported Agents

• Claude Code — ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md
• Codex CLI — ~/.codex/AGENTS.md (written only when Codex is detected)

What's Included

Each generated file contains:

• A categorized reference of all MCP tools with descriptions and required parameters.
• Ready-to-use MCP server configuration (CLI command for Claude Code, JSON snippet for Codex).
• Usage tips for terminal, graphical (RDP/VNC), and credential operations.

Preserving Your Own Content

Conduit uses HTML marker comments (<!-- conduit-managed-start --> and <!-- conduit-managed-end -->) to fence the section it manages. Everything outside those markers is left untouched, so your personal instructions, project notes, or other agent rules are never overwritten.

• If the file does not exist, Conduit creates it with just the managed section.
• If the file already contains markers, only the content between them is replaced.
• If the file exists without markers, the managed section is appended to the end.