Jesse MCP — connect in Claude Code

Make sure Jesse is running and your .env is set up so the MCP server starts and prints a URL (see MCP server setup if you have not done that yet).

These steps work for both the Claude Code CLI and the Code tab in Claude Code Desktop. Jesse exposes a running Streamable HTTP MCP server; Claude Code does not need to launch Jesse with a STDIO command.

Register Jesse in Claude Code

Run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add --transport http jesse-mcp http://localhost:9002/mcp

If you changed MCP_PORT, use that port in the URL instead. The URL should match the MCP address printed by Jesse and should end with /mcp.

Claude Code Desktop reads the same MCP configuration files as the CLI, so running this command also makes the server available in the desktop app's Code tab. If the server does not appear there right away, restart Claude Code Desktop.

Claude Desktop chat app is separate

MCP servers configured for the regular Claude Desktop chat app through claude_desktop_config.json are separate from Claude Code. For Claude Code, use the command above or configure ~/.claude.json / .mcp.json.

If something fails, turn on MCP_LOG_IN_TERMINAL in .env while you debug—see Environment variables for MCP.

Agent rules (optional but recommended)

Jesse automatically writes and maintains AGENTS.md at the project root every time you run jesse run, so Claude Code can read the rules without you pasting anything. See MCP agent rules for details on what's in the file, how the auto-sync works, and how to add your own notes without losing them on upgrade.

Test the connection

After adding the MCP server, start Claude Code in the same project and run:

/mcp

The MCP panel should show jesse-mcp and the tools exposed by Jesse. You can also confirm the server was saved from your regular terminal:

claude mcp list

Then ask Claude Code:

Use the Jesse MCP server and list the available tools.

If Claude Code cannot find the server, confirm Jesse is still running and that the URL matches the terminal output.

Same machine, same network story

If Claude Code runs on Windows and Jesse runs inside WSL (or the other way around), localhost can refer to different machines. If you see connection errors, run Jesse and Claude Code in the same environment so they share one loopback network.