Install on macOS

Complete guide to install and configure ContextForge MCP on macOS.

Prerequisites

Node.js 18 or higher
Install via Homebrew: brew install node
Or download from nodejs.org
Claude Desktop or Claude Code
Download Claude Desktop from claude.ai/download
ContextForge Account
Create a free account

Step 1: Install ContextForge MCP

Open Terminal and run:

npm install -g contextforge-mcp

Step 2: Verify Installation

# Check if contextforge-mcp is installed
which contextforge-mcp

# Should output something like:
# /usr/local/bin/contextforge-mcp
# or /opt/homebrew/bin/contextforge-mcp

Option A: Claude Code (CLI)

Quick Setup Wizard

Recommended

Run the interactive setup wizard:

npx contextforge-setup

Alternative: Manual Command

claude mcp add contextforge -s user -e CONTEXTFORGE_API_KEY=your-api-key-here -- contextforge-mcp

Verify Setup

# List configured MCPs
claude mcp list

# Or run verification
npx contextforge-setup --verify

Option B: Claude Desktop

1. Find the config file

Open Terminal and run:

# Open the Claude config folder
open ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/

# Or create/edit the config file directly
nano ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Config file path

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

3. Add ContextForge configuration

Add or edit the file with this content:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "contextforge": {
      "command": "contextforge-mcp",
      "env": {
        "CONTEXTFORGE_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: Replace your-api-key-here with your actual API key from your dashboard

4. Restart Claude Desktop

Quit Claude Desktop completely (Cmd + Q) and reopen it.

Updating ContextForge MCP

When a new version is available, you can update with:

npm install -g contextforge-mcp

If you run into issues or want a clean reinstall:

npm uninstall -g contextforge-mcp && npm install -g contextforge-mcp

After updating, restart Claude Desktop or your Claude Code session for changes to take effect.

macOS Troubleshooting

command not found: contextforge-mcp

Check that npm's global bin is in your PATH:

# Find npm prefix
npm config get prefix

# Add to your shell profile (~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc)
export PATH="$PATH:$(npm config get prefix)/bin"

# Reload profile
source ~/.zshrc

Permission denied

If you get permission errors with npm, consider using a Node version manager like nvm or fix npm permissions.

Library folder not visible

The Library folder is hidden by default. In Finder, press Cmd + Shift + . to show hidden files, or use Terminal.

Claude Desktop doesn't show ContextForge

Make sure you fully quit Claude Desktop (Cmd + Q). Check the menu bar for any Claude icon and quit from there too.