Use Arcade in Claude Desktop
Outcomes
Connect Claude Desktop to an Arcade Gateway.
Prerequisites
- Create an Arcade
- Get an Arcade API key
- Create an Arcade MCP Gateway and select the you want to use
For Claude Desktop, you need to set the Authorization field to Arcade Auth
in the dashboard. If you are using the Arcade Headers auth mode, you won’t
be able to use it with Claude Desktop.
Go to your Claude Desktop setting page
On the bottom left corner of Claude Desktop, click on your avatar to open the settings menu, then click on the “Settings” button.
Add a Custom Connector
On the settings page, click on the “Connectors” tab, and then on the “Add custom Connector” button.
A modal dialog will open asking you for a name and a URL. Enter a name for your connector, and the URL of your Gateway. Then, click on the “Add” button.
authenticate with your Arcade account
You will see a new connector added to your list of connectors. Click on the “Connect” button to authenticate with your Arcade .
Your browser will open a new tab to authenticate with your Arcade . Check that the URL matches the one in the modal dialog, and then click on the “Allow” button.
Configure the MCP Gateway
Now Claude Desktop is connected to your Gateway, it’s a good time to configure the to your needs. Click on the “Configure” button to open the configuration dialog.
In this configuration pane, you can configure which tools are available to Claude Desktop, and whether or not they require human confirmation. On this example gateway, we require human confirmation for all that may have destructive actions, or actions with potentially undesired consequences.
Try it out!
You can now open a new chat within Claude Desktop. Ensure that your connector is enabled, and the ask the to use a !