Connect an AI tool
The built-in assistant is not the only way to use AI with Clate. Any AI tool that supports MCP can connect to Clate's MCP server and read and edit the project you have open, whichever vendor and model is behind it.
How it works
Clate does not care which model does the work. It offers a small set of design tools through its MCP server, and an AI tool uses them:
Your AI tool ⇄ Clate MCP server ⇄ the project open in Clate
(and its model) (on your computer)
- Your AI tool is the program you talk to, for example a coding assistant in a terminal or an editor, a chat application, or a script you wrote. It runs the model of its vendor and decides what to ask for.
- MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the open standard the two sides use to talk. Clate's server tells the tool which tools it offers, such as List pages and Apply changes, and the tool calls them.
- The Clate MCP server runs inside Clate on your own computer. It does the work in your open project, and every change appears on the canvas right away.
The built-in assistant works exactly like this. It also uses the MCP server, and Clate connects it for you. An external tool gets the same tools and the same limits.
Which AI tools can connect
A tool can connect when it:
- supports MCP servers and lets you add one by its web address (an HTTP server). Clate's server speaks JSON-RPC over HTTP.
- lets the model call tools. Without tool calls a model can only talk about your design and cannot change it.
- runs on the same computer as Clate. The server does not accept connections from other computers.
This covers coding assistants for the terminal or the editor, desktop chat applications with MCP support, and your own programs that use an MCP library. Clate does not depend on a particular vendor. For how to add an MCP server, and which models you can choose, see the documentation of your tool.
Clate's built-in assistant works with Claude Agent for now, and we plan to support other vendors in the near future. You do not have to wait: with MCP you can use another AI tool today.
What belongs to Clate and what belongs to your tool
| Responsibility | Clate | Your AI tool and its vendor |
|---|---|---|
| The design tools and what they can change | Yes | No |
| Undo for every change | Yes | No |
| Which model answers and how good the answers are | No | Yes |
| Your account, sign-in, and charges | No | Yes |
| Where your requests and the content they include go | No | Yes |
| How you ask, for example in a chat, a terminal, or a script | No | Yes |
Results can differ between tools and models. A stronger model usually plans better and makes fewer mistakes. If the AI misunderstands, ask again in smaller steps, as described in What to ask.
Before you start
- Open a project in Clate. The tools work on the open project.
- Check that the server is on. On the Welcome page, open the Clate menu, choose Settings, and make sure that Enable MCP Server has a check mark. The server uses port 26700, or the next free port up to 26719.
Add Clate to your AI tool
Add a new MCP server in your tool with these settings:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Any label you like, for example clate. The server calls itself Clate MCP Server. |
| Type | HTTP (sometimes called "streamable HTTP") |
| Address | http://127.0.0.1: followed by the port, for example http://127.0.0.1:26700 |
| Sign-in or token | None. Leave the fields empty. |
Many tools read a configuration file. For example, a project configuration for Claude Code looks like this:
{
"mcpServers": {
"clate": {
"type": "http",
"url": "http://127.0.0.1:26700"
}
}
}
Other tools use a similar entry with the same address, or a form where you type it. Use port 26700 in the address, or the next port if another program uses 26700.
The port can change. Clate uses 26700 when it is free, and the next free port up to 26719 otherwise. Clate does not show the port in its menus. If your tool cannot connect, try the ports from 26700 up to 26719 in the address.
If your tool only supports local programs
Some tools can only start MCP servers as local programs (stdio) and cannot connect to a web address. Such a tool can reach Clate through a small bridge program that forwards its requests to the address above. Look in your tool's documentation for how to connect to a remote or HTTP MCP server.
Check the connection
Ask your AI tool to list the pages of the project, for example: "Which pages does the open project have?" The
tool should use the Clate tool List pages and answer with the pages of your project. Changes that the tool
makes appear on the canvas right away, and each set of changes is one step in the undo history, so Ctrl + Z
takes it back.
If you write your own program, you can send a standard MCP request to the address as an HTTP POST with a JSON body. For example, this request lists the tools:
{ "jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": 1, "method": "tools/list" }
Privacy and safety
- The server only accepts connections from your own computer.
- There is no password or token. Any program on your computer can use the tools while the server is on. Turn the server off with Settings › Enable MCP Server in the Welcome page menu when you do not want AI tools to reach your design.
- What the AI reads from your project goes to the vendor of your AI tool, under that vendor's terms. Use only projects that you are allowed to share with that vendor. See Privacy.
Limits
- The tools work on the project that is open in Clate. They cannot open or switch projects.
- An AI tool can use the tools listed in The MCP tool reference and nothing else of Clate.
- Clate supports only tools, not other MCP features such as prompts or resources. A tool that needs them will not find them.
- What an AI can create and change is the same for every tool. See What an AI can do.