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Claude Desktop Bundle

This contract covers the Claude Desktop .mcpb package. Claude Code uses the separate Claude Code plugin and marketplace workflow.

Bundle workflow

  1. Build: cd extensions/claude-desktop-codeclone && node scripts/build-mcpb.mjs
  2. Claude Desktop: Settings → Extensions → Install Extension → select .mcpb
  3. If you want to bypass auto-discovery, set CodeClone launcher command in the bundle settings to an absolute path.

Settings

Setting Purpose
Workspace root path Optional absolute project root; launcher prefers that workspace .venv when Claude starts outside the repo
CodeClone launcher command Absolute path or bare command for codeclone-mcp
Advanced launcher args JSON array of extra args (transport is always stdio)

Runtime model

Node wrapper launches codeclone-mcp via local stdio. It:

  1. resolves a local codeclone-mcp launcher
  2. validates advanced args
  3. forces --transport stdio
  4. launches the child process with shell: false
  5. proxies stdio until shutdown

The wrapper prefers a workspace-local .venv, then a Poetry environment, then user-local install paths, then PATH.

The bundle does not pass --ide-governance-channel. Agents see the standard 33 default MCP tools (35 with --ide-governance-channel). VS Code session stats, audit trail webviews, and IDE Memory governance (prepare_governance / commit_governance) require the VS Code extension launcher.

Engineering Memory and optional semantic search follow the server contract in Engineering Memory (query_engineering_memory, get_relevant_memory; semantic off by default in pyproject).

Privacy

Local wrapper only — no telemetry, no cloud sync, no remote listener. See Privacy Policy.

Design rules

  • Canonical MCP first: the bundle keeps Claude Desktop on the same documented MCP surface as other clients.
  • Local-only transport: reject transport and remote-listener overrides.
  • Setup honesty: fail with a bounded install hint when the launcher is missing.
  • No hidden runtime dependency games: the bundle does not pretend to bundle Python or CodeClone itself.
  • Small and deterministic: package only the wrapper, manifest, icon, and documentation needed for local installation.

Non-guarantees

  • Bundle presentation inside Claude Desktop may evolve with MCPB client UX.
  • Auto-discovery heuristics for common launcher locations may evolve as long as the explicit launcher setting remains stable.
  • The bundle does not guarantee automatic updates or remote install flows.

Current limits

  • expects either a workspace launcher, a user-local/global launcher, or an explicitly configured absolute launcher path
  • local install surface, not a hosted service layer

Source of truth

  • CLI remains the scripting and CI surface.
  • MCP remains the read-only agent/client contract.
  • Claude Code installs the dedicated marketplace plugin; direct mcp add remains a manual fallback.
  • The Claude Desktop bundle is the installable local package layer for users who want a native Claude Desktop setup path.

For the underlying MCP contract, see MCP usage guide and MCP interface contract.