Claude Desktop

The Claude app for Mac and Windows. A chat window rather than a terminal, which suits people who would rather not touch one. Long research runs work, but a terminal handles them more gracefully — if you are going to research hundreds of professors, consider Claude Code instead.

There are two ways in. The first needs no file editing at all.

Before you start#

You need: Claude Desktop installed. A paid plan if you want two connections through the connector UI.

You will know it worked when: GradWorkbench appears under + → Connectors in a new chat, and can be switched on.

Your workspace address is your app's address with /api/mcp on the end. The block on Settings → Research Access has yours already filled in, with a copy button — use that rather than typing it.

Add it as a connector — the short way#

1. Open Claude Desktop and go to Settings → Connectors.

2. Click Add custom connector.

3. Paste your workspace's MCP address:

https://gradworkbench.vercel.app/api/mcp

Leave Advanced settings alone — that is for pre-registered OAuth credentials, which you do not have and do not need.

4. Click Add. A browser window opens on your workspace asking you to approve the connection. Approve it.

5. Back in Claude Desktop, the connector should now be listed and enabled. Start a new chat and check the + button in the message box — GradWorkbench should be there under Connectors, with its tools available.

Free plans are limited to one custom connector, which matters here: you need two if you want research checked. Everything else — Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise — allows more.

Edit the config file instead#

The connector UI is easier. Use the file when you want a key rather than a sign-in, or when you are setting up several machines the same way.

1. Open Settings → Developer → Edit Config. That opens the folder containing claude_desktop_config.json; open that file in any text editor.

2. Add the gradworkbench entry. If the file already has an mcpServers block, put this inside it rather than replacing the whole file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gradworkbench": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://gradworkbench.vercel.app/api/mcp"
    }
  }
}

That is the sign-in version — Claude Desktop will prompt you to authorise it. To use a key instead, issue one in Settings → Research Access with Read your workspace and Submit research ticked, and add a headers line:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gradworkbench": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://gradworkbench.vercel.app/api/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer sk_your_key_here" }
    }
  }
}

3. Save the file and quit Claude Desktop completely — closing the window is not enough on either platform. Reopen it.

Connect the second one, so research gets checked#

Whatever submits a finding is refused when it tries to confirm that same finding, so the verifier needs its own identity.

As a connector: repeat the Add custom connector steps with the same address. Claude Desktop will list it separately; rename it gradworkbench-verify if it lets you, and if not, remember which is which by the order they were added.

In the config file: add a second entry beside the first. With a key, issue a second key with Read your workspace and Check research ticked — and not Submit research:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gradworkbench": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://gradworkbench.vercel.app/api/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer sk_your_first_key" }
    },
    "gradworkbench-verify": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://gradworkbench.vercel.app/api/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer sk_your_second_key" }
    }
  }
}

Quit and reopen again.

Try it#

In a new chat:

What's in my GradWorkbench workspace? Just summarise it — don't research anything.

If it comes back with your universities and professor counts, you are connected. Go to what to actually say.

When it doesn't work#

Nothing appears after editing the file — the app was not fully quit, or the JSON is invalid. A missing comma between two entries is the usual culprit; paste the file into any JSON validator. Claude Desktop silently ignores a config it cannot parse.

The connector was added but shows an error — check the address ends in /api/mcp.

It connected but the tools aren't offered in a chat — connectors are enabled per conversation. Click + in the message box, choose Connectors, and turn GradWorkbench on for that chat.

"Free users are limited to one custom connector" — you cannot make the second, verifying connection on a free plan through the connector UI. Use the config file with two keys, or use Claude Code.

A research run stops partway — Desktop conversations are more limited in length than a terminal session. Research fewer professors per message, or move to Claude Code.

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