Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop supports Remote MCP connectors via its Settings → Developer pane. The flow is config-file driven, so once the JSON snippet is in place, the connector survives restarts and upgrades.

Prerequisites

• Claude Desktop on macOS or Windows, latest version (Remote MCP support requires builds shipped after the connector GA).
• A Consilio account that can sign in at auth.ai.consilio.com.
• Permission to edit Claude Desktop’s config file (some managed Macs restrict this — see Troubleshooting).

Add the connector

1. Open Settings → Developer → Edit config.

   Claude Desktop opens claude_desktop_config.json in your default editor. Default locations:

   • macOS — ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   • Windows — %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add Aurora MCP under mcpServers. Merge with any existing servers you’ve configured — don’t replace the file:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "consilio": {
         "url": "https://mcp.ai.consilio.com"
       }
     }
   }

3. Save and fully quit Claude Desktop, then relaunch. (On macOS, the menu-bar app must exit; just closing the window isn’t enough.)

One URL is all you need

You don’t paste a client ID, secret, scope list, or auth-server URL. Claude Desktop discovers everything else through RFC 9728 Protected Resource Metadata at the endpoint.

Authorise

On your next message that needs the connector, Claude Desktop opens your default browser to auth.ai.consilio.com. Sign in as yourself, approve the consent screen, and return to the app. The browser tab closes itself once the handshake completes.

Verify

Ask:

List the workspaces in matter A12345.

Your assistant invokes the searchWorkspaces tool and prints the workspace names. The first call may take a couple of seconds while the upstream warms up; subsequent calls are sub-second.

A faster smoke test:

What active matters do I have for Coho Capital?

Maps to searchMatters and avoids the alpha-code lookup.

Troubleshooting

Server doesn’t show in the connectors list

Three common causes:

1. JSON syntax error in claude_desktop_config.json. Open it in an editor with JSON linting; a stray comma is enough to silently disable the whole mcpServers block.
2. Claude Desktop wasn’t fully restarted. Use Cmd-Q (macOS) or right-click → Quit (Windows tray) before relaunching.
3. Outdated build. Update via the menu’s Check for Updates.

OAuth browser tab opens but never returns to the app

The localhost callback is being blocked. Check that:

• No corporate firewall is blocking 127.0.0.1 callbacks.
• No other process is sitting on the port Claude Desktop chose for the callback (rare; restart the app to pick a fresh port).
• Your default browser isn’t a sandboxed/managed profile that intercepts redirects to claude:// URLs.

”401 Unauthorized” mid-session

Token expired or audience binding rejected the request. Open Settings → Connectors → Consilio → Reconnect, then try the prompt again.

Config file is read-only (managed Mac / Windows)

Your IT policy is restricting ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/ (or the Windows equivalent). Ask your IT team to whitelist Claude Desktop’s config directory; the file holds connector metadata, not credentials.

”Connector requires PKCE” error

You’re on an older Claude Desktop build. Update to the current release — Aurora MCP requires OAuth 2.1 + PKCE.

What’s next

• Try the same connector on claude.ai so your tool history persists across web and desktop.
• Read the Security model for what the desktop app sees vs. what the gateway sees.
• See the FAQ for support contacts and SLA.