Install on Windows

Complete guide to install and configure ContextForge MCP on Windows.

Prerequisites

Node.js 18 or higher
Download from nodejs.org. Use the LTS version (Windows Installer .msi)
Claude Desktop or Claude Code
Download Claude Desktop from claude.ai/download
ContextForge Account
Create a free account

Step 1: Install ContextForge MCP

Open PowerShell or Command Prompt (as Administrator recommended) and run:

npm install -g contextforge-mcp

Tip: If you get permission errors, right-click on PowerShell and select "Run as Administrator"

Step 2: Verify Installation

Check that the installation was successful:

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

# Should output something like:
# C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Roaming\npm\contextforge-mcp

Option A: Claude Code (CLI)

Quick Setup Wizard

Recommended

Run the interactive setup wizard in PowerShell:

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

Press Win + R and type:

%APPDATA%\Claude

This opens the folder. Look for claude_desktop_config.json. If it doesn't exist, create it.

2. Full config file path

C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

3. Add ContextForge configuration

Edit the file with Notepad or VS Code and add:

{
  "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

Close Claude Desktop completely (check the system tray) 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.

Windows Troubleshooting

'contextforge-mcp' is not recognized

This usually means npm's global bin folder isn't in your PATH.

# Find npm global folder
npm config get prefix

# Add to PATH (PowerShell as Admin)
$env:Path += ";C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\npm"

# Or add permanently via System Properties > Environment Variables

Permission denied errors

Run PowerShell as Administrator: Right-click PowerShell → "Run as administrator"

Node.js not found

After installing Node.js, restart your terminal. If still not working:

# Verify Node installation
node --version
npm --version

Config file not loading

Make sure the JSON is valid (no trailing commas, proper quotes). Use a JSON validator or VS Code to check syntax.

Claude Desktop doesn't show ContextForge

Make sure you completely closed Claude Desktop (check the system tray icon near the clock). Then reopen it.