Install Arcade in Claude Desktop
Claude Desktop installs Arcade from a bundle rather than the npx command the coding agents use. Download it, open it, and Claude Desktop handles the rest. No , and you authorize each app in the browser the first time it comes up.
Outcomes
Install the Arcade bundle in Claude Desktop and run a task against one of your apps.
Prerequisites
- Claude Desktop, updated to a version that supports extensions
- An Arcade
Using Cowork or Claude Code inside the Claude desktop app? Those load the full
plugin, with skills, commands, and the arcade-operator subagent.
Install it with one command instead.
Install the bundle
- Download the Arcade bundle
- Open the downloaded
.mcpbfile, and Claude Desktop offers to install it - Confirm the install, then start a new conversation
Sign in
Connecting Arcade signs you in and links Claude Desktop to the gateway. After that, the first time Claude reaches for an app, it returns a browser link asking you to authorize that app. Approve it and Arcade holds the token, so you only do this once per app. See signing in for how the two layers fit together.
Try it
- “What’s on my calendar tomorrow?”
- “What apps can Arcade use?”
- “Summarize the unread email from this week.”
Add the gateway by hand instead
If you would rather not install a bundle, Claude Desktop can reach the same gateway as a custom connector. Open Settings → Connectors, click Add custom connector, and paste:
https://api.bosslevel.dev/mcp/all-optimizedSave, then start a new conversation. You get the same this way; the bundle just saves you the trip through settings.
Next steps
- Tools-only MCP server: what you give up by skipping the plugin
- Install the agent plugin: the full experience in Cursor, Claude Code, VS Code, Copilot CLI, or Codex
- Use Arcade in Claude Desktop with your own gateway: pick exactly which Claude can call