> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.nika.sh/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Use Nika with Claude Desktop

> Wire the read-only Nika oracle into Claude Desktop — the exact claude_desktop_config.json path per platform, the stanza, and the verify step.

Claude Desktop is a different app with a different config file than Claude
Code's `~/.claude.json` — it reads `claude_desktop_config.json` from the
platform app-config dir. The binary comes first:
`brew install supernovae-st/tap/nika`
([other paths](/getting-started/installation)).

Add the `nika` server under `mcpServers`:

```json theme={"system"}
{ "mcpServers": { "nika": { "command": "nika", "args": ["mcp"] } } }
```

The file lives at:

| Platform | Path                                                                                     |
| -------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| macOS    | `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`                        |
| Windows  | `%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json`                                            |
| Linux    | `~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` (community builds — same dir the app uses) |

`nika wire claude-desktop` ships in the next release and writes exactly
this — idempotent, every unrelated server preserved.

<Note>
  Each [engine release](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika/releases/latest)
  also ships one-click `.mcpb` bundles (macOS arm64 · Linux x64, with
  checksums) if you prefer not to touch JSON at all.
</Note>

## Verify

Restart Claude Desktop, then check its tools list — the eight `nika_*`
tools appear ([the oracle's contract](/reference/mcp-server): validate,
explain, schema, cost — no execution, no mutation). The config-file
convention is the MCP quickstart's own
([modelcontextprotocol.io](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/quickstart/user)).

Then prove the loop end-to-end:
[integrate in 10 minutes](/integrations/quickstart).