Claude Desktop
Claude Desktop installs local MCP servers through an .mcpb package (MCP Bundle): a file you open with a double click. Cabeção's package bundles the server, so it does not depend on npx, node_modules or the network to start.
Before installing
The package does not create the brain: it only connects Claude Desktop to a brain that already exists. Create it (or connect this machine) first:
npx cabecao init git@github.com:you/my-brain.git
Install
- Download
cabecao-<version>.mcpbfrom the project's releases page. - Open the file with a double click, drag it onto the Claude Desktop window, or use Settings → Extensions → Advanced settings → Install Extension.
- On the configuration screen, choose the brain folder (the default is
~/cabecao).
Claude Desktop now has Cabeção's 17 tools (recall, search, remember, sync...). The usage rules come through the server instructions; there are no hooks as in the Claude Code plugin, so sync happens when the agent calls the sync tool, when you run cabecao sync, or through automatic sync.
The package is built for every version and checked by the project's tests (manifest conforming to the MCPB 0.3 specification, contents checked, and the server starts from the extracted package the way the app would start it); the manifest has also passed the official mcpb validate tool. Installing it in the real Claude Desktop has not been tested yet. If something goes wrong, use the path below and tell us in an issue.
What is in the package
Only three things, about 490 kB:
| File | What it is |
|---|---|
manifest.json | The manifest (MCPB specification 0.3): name, version, the tools, the brain_dir folder option and the command node ${__dirname}/server/cabecao.mjs mcp, with the chosen folder in CABECAO_BRAIN |
icon.png | The icon |
server/*.mjs | The same program published on npm, with no dependencies |
The server runs on the Node.js that Claude Desktop ships. Cabeção needs Node.js 22.16 or newer: on an older Node, the server does not start and the message says so. The system git is still needed for sync.
Updating
The package does not update itself: download the new version's .mcpb and install it over the old one. The brain does not change with that; if the new version brings a schema migration, run cabecao upgrade (see Updating).
Without the package
cabecao install-client claude-desktop writes the server entry in the app's claude_desktop_config.json, keeping what is already there (see Connecting AI clients). Use one or the other: both together register Cabeção twice.