Claude Desktop connects the same way as Claude.ai: as a custom connector that signs in with your ContentForge login.
Already connected in Claude.ai?
Custom connectors belong to your Claude account. If you added ContentForge in Claude.ai, it's already in Claude Desktop when you're signed in to the same account. Skip to Check it worked.
Steps
- In ContentForge, go to Settings → API & MCP and click Copy next to MCP server URL in the Connect your AI card.
- In Claude Desktop, open Settings → Connectors and choose Add custom connector. (If the names have changed, look for your app's connector settings.)
- Name it "ContentForge", paste the URL and add it.
- Click Connect. Your web browser opens a ContentForge page.
- Sign in with your ContentForge email and password if asked.
- On the connect page, pick your agency under Account, tick what it may do (Change drafts, and Publish only if you want it to publish), and click Allow.
- Your browser hands you back to Claude Desktop. The connector shows as connected.
Use the main ContentForge address for this, not one of your client domains.
Check it worked
- Start a new chat and make sure ContentForge is switched on in the chat's tools menu.
- Ask: "List my clients in ContentForge." Allow the tool if Claude asks.
- In ContentForge, Settings → API & MCP → Connected apps (sign-in) shows the app as Active.
Using an API key instead
Some people prefer a key, for example on a shared computer where the key can be revoked on its own. Claude Desktop's built-in connectors sign in, so a key is only for setups that let you add an MCP server by hand with a URL and a header. See Cursor and other apps that use an API key for what to enter.
Good to know
- To change what it may do, disconnect it under Connected apps (sign-in) and connect again with the new choices.
- If new ContentForge tools don't show up, quit and reopen Claude Desktop, then start a new chat. Still missing? Disconnect and connect again.
- See MCP troubleshooting if sign-in doesn't finish.