# Connect a coding agent to Aden Desktop
Source: https://docs.aden.space/docs/help/apps/mcp-apps/desktop-agents

Let Claude Code, Cursor, Codex or Grok on your computer read your Aden tracks and local files through the desktop app.
Coding agents that run on your computer, like Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and Grok CLI, can connect to Aden through the desktop app. They then read your tracks and the files on this machine, and can check and [fix your plugins](/docs/help/apps/desktop/fix-plugins) after you approve. You don't paste an API key, and Aden doesn't run the AI itself.

Keep the desktop app open and signed in. If it is closed, the agent's tools ask you to open it.

## Let your AI set it up [#let-your-ai-set-it-up]

1. In the desktop app, open the **MCP DAW** screen and its Connect tab.
2. Press the button for your assistant (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or Grok), or **Copy prompt** for a coding agent.
3. The prompt opens in a new chat, or paste it yourself. Your AI installs what is missing and asks you to sign in on aden.space in your browser, never in the chat.

It then lists your teams and recent tracks to prove it works.

## Set it up yourself [#set-it-up-yourself]

Most coding agents add a server with one command. Name it aden and have it run the Aden desktop package with npx. Cursor and Windsurf take the same through their MCP settings. The developer docs list the exact commands for each app.

Some agents can't start a program and need a local address instead. The desktop app shows that address and a pairing key on the same screen. Keep the key out of any chat. This route also lets your agent work in your DAW and other apps, after you allow each one.

## ChatGPT and other web apps [#chatgpt-and-other-web-apps]

Apps that run in a browser, like ChatGPT on the web, can't reach your computer. Connect them to mcp.aden.space instead. They get your Aden data, not your local files.

## Related [#related]

* [Let an agent use your apps](/docs/help/apps/mcp-apps/agents-use-your-apps)
* [Developer docs](/docs/developers)