Claude

OpenKnowledge works with Claude Code through MCP plus an installed skill that teaches the agent how to use the tools. Both surfaces are supported:

• Claude Code CLI — the claude command in your terminal.
• Claude Desktop app — Claude Code in the Code tab.

Claude Desktop's regular chat can use the tools too — see Claude Desktop chat.

Install

There are two ways to connect Claude Code, depending on how you run OpenKnowledge:

• macOS desktop app. The first time you open a project, a consent dialog detects Claude Code and configures it for you. To re-trigger the dialog, choose File → Set up OpenKnowledge integrations….
• Web app / terminal (Linux, Windows, Intel Mac — see the web app guide). Run ok init in your project: it registers the OpenKnowledge MCP server with Claude Code and the other editors it detects. Every ok start repairs the entry if it has drifted (it never adds one you removed).

Open with AI

From the editor, Open with AI ▸ Claude dispatches the current file, folder, or project to Claude Code in one click. Two entry points: the sidebar's right-click menu (file / folder / empty space) and the macOS File → Open with AI menu. You can also hand the current doc to Claude from the bottom Ask AI composer.

Claude Code receives a short prompt asking it to open the target in OpenKnowledge's web preview, then grounds the rest of the conversation through MCP. See Editor → Open with AI for the full UX.

Verify

Open the project in Claude Code and ask:

“List the first 5 documents you come across in this project.”Copy

Claude Code should call the OpenKnowledge exec tool and respond with some of your documents.

If Claude Code doesn't use the OpenKnowledge exec tool, restart it so it picks up the new MCP entry. If it's still missing and ok init reported your config was left unchanged, OpenKnowledge couldn't edit ~/.claude.json safely and left it untouched — the summary names the reason in parentheses; fix the config and re-run ok init.

Live editing

When Claude Code writes to a doc, you'll see the change land live in OpenKnowledge. Just ask Claude Code to open it for you.

Claude Desktop chat

ok init and the consent dialog also register the MCP server with Claude Desktop when it's installed — user-level, in ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json on Windows. Claude Desktop picks up the entry only after you quit and relaunch it.

After relaunching, ask in any chat:

“List the first 5 documents you come across in this project.”Copy

Claude Desktop should call the OpenKnowledge exec tool and respond with some of your documents.