> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://learn.cleftnotes.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Set up your AI agent

> Start from the agent you already use and find the one route that connects it to your Cleft notes

Start from the agent you already use. Every route on this page gives that
agent read-only access to your notes and shows you where to remove it when
you are done. You do not need to know what MCP is to finish; the words are
explained further down.

## Pick your agent

> [card] [Claude Desktop](https://learn.cleftnotes.com/user-guides/integrations/agent-access/overview.md#choose-your-app)
>
> One-click extension install

> [card] [ChatGPT desktop app](https://learn.cleftnotes.com/user-guides/integrations/agent-access/overview.md#choose-your-app)
>
> One command, shared with Codex

> [card] [Cursor](https://learn.cleftnotes.com/user-guides/integrations/agent-access/overview.md#choose-your-app)
>
> A link Cursor confirms

> [card] [VS Code](https://learn.cleftnotes.com/user-guides/integrations/agent-access/overview.md#choose-your-app)
>
> One command for every folder

> [card] [Zed](https://learn.cleftnotes.com/user-guides/integrations/agent-access/overview.md#choose-your-app)
>
> A block for your settings file

> [card] [Windsurf](https://learn.cleftnotes.com/user-guides/integrations/agent-access/overview.md#choose-your-app)
>
> Text setup for its own file

> [card] [Claude Code](https://learn.cleftnotes.com/user-guides/integrations/agent-access/overview.md#choose-your-app)
>
> One command per project

> [card] [Codex](https://learn.cleftnotes.com/user-guides/integrations/agent-access/overview.md#choose-your-app)
>
> One command for the whole Mac

> [card] [Gemini CLI](https://learn.cleftnotes.com/user-guides/integrations/agent-access/overview.md#choose-your-app)
>
> One command for the whole Mac

> [card] [OpenCode](https://learn.cleftnotes.com/user-guides/integrations/agent-access/overview.md#choose-your-app)
>
> A block for your project file

> [card] [Another tool](https://learn.cleftnotes.com/user-guides/integrations/agent-access/overview.md#choose-your-app)
>
> Text setup for any MCP tool

> [card] [Another agent with a shell tool](https://learn.cleftnotes.com/user-guides/integrations/agent-access/command-line.md#another-agent-with-a-shell-tool)
>
> One command, with no MCP setup

> [card] [A shell script](https://learn.cleftnotes.com/user-guides/integrations/agent-access/command-line.md)
>
> One line, from a script or any agent

Terminal agents have two routes. Their cards lead to the MCP setup, which
gives the agent Cleft's tools by name. The
[command line](https://learn.cleftnotes.com/user-guides/integrations/agent-access/command-line.md) is the
other: one line in an instructions file or prompt, with no MCP setup. Pick
whichever you find easier to remove later.

The ChatGPT route here is for the desktop app on this Mac. ChatGPT web does
not read this Mac's Codex configuration and needs a separate hosted setup.

## Compare the routes

| Agent | How Cleft connects | Applies to | Cleft can see it on this Mac | Where to remove it |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Claude Desktop | An extension you confirm in Claude Desktop, or the setup as text | The whole Mac | Yes | Extensions and/or `claude_desktop_config.json` |
| Claude Code | One command in Terminal | The project folder you run it in | No | Both Cleft MCP entries in each project |
| Codex | One command in Terminal | The whole Mac | No | Cleft entries in user and any project `config.toml` |
| ChatGPT desktop app | The same command as Codex | The whole Mac | No | The same Codex configuration |
| Cursor | A link Cursor opens and confirms, or the setup as text | The whole Mac | Yes | Cleft entries in `~/.cursor/mcp.json` |
| VS Code | One command in Terminal | Every folder you open | Yes | Cleft servers under **MCP: List Servers** |
| Gemini CLI | One command in Terminal | The whole Mac | No | User-scoped `cleft` and `cleft-cloud` entries |
| Zed | A block for `~/.config/zed/settings.json` | The whole Mac | Yes | Cleft entries in `context_servers` |
| OpenCode | A block for the project's `opencode.json` | That project | No | Cleft entries in each project's `mcp` |
| Windsurf | The setup as text for `~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json` | The whole Mac | No | Cleft entries in Windsurf's MCP settings |
| Another tool | The setup as text for that tool's MCP settings | Depends on the tool | No | Cleft entries in that tool's MCP settings |
| Another agent with a shell tool | One command ending in `--help` | The instructions file or chat where you put it | No | Remove the line and stop the agent |
| A shell script | One line ending in `--help` | The script you put it in | Not needed | Remove the line and stop the script |

For the exact MCP entries and commands, follow [Disconnect an app](https://learn.cleftnotes.com/user-guides/integrations/agent-access/overview.md#disconnect-an-app). For a shell agent or script, follow [Stop an agent reading your notes](https://learn.cleftnotes.com/user-guides/integrations/agent-access/command-line.md#stop-an-agent-reading-your-notes). Turning Agent Access off alone does not stop an agent you already set up.

"Cleft can see it" means Cleft says **Found on this Mac** or **Not found on
this Mac** under that app. It can only look for apps with a desktop
application, so it says nothing either way about a command line tool.

Every route reads the same notes and none of them can change one. See
[what a connected app can and cannot do](https://learn.cleftnotes.com/user-guides/integrations/agent-access/overview.md#what-a-connected-app-can-and-cannot-do).

## The words the setup uses

* **MCP** stands for Model Context Protocol. It is the way an AI app asks
  another program for tools. Cleft's helper offers six read-only tools over
  it: list, count, open, search, and export notes, and list your tags.
* **The Cleft helper** is a small program inside the Cleft app on your Mac. Your
  agent starts it when it needs your notes and stops it when it is done. It
  reads the source you chose and nothing else.
* **A source** is where the helper reads from: your Local Export folder on this
  Mac, or your Cleft account library with Plus. You choose one in Agent Access
  before you set up an app.
* **The command line** is the same helper, run directly. Any agent that runs
  commands, and any script, can use it with one line and no configuration.
* **An instructions file** is the file a terminal agent reads at the start of
  every session: `CLAUDE.md`, `AGENTS.md`, or `GEMINI.md`. Putting the command
  line there is how you give that agent standing access.
* **Confirmed by you** is the furthest Cleft can honestly report. Cleft cannot
  see inside your agent, so it never says an app is connected. You run the
  step, then tell Cleft you did.

## Let your agent read these docs

This site is also an MCP server, so your agent can search these pages and
answer setup questions itself. In Claude Code, run:

```bash theme={null}
claude mcp add --transport http cleft-docs https://learn.cleftnotes.com/mcp
```

For Cursor, add this to `~/.cursor/mcp.json`:

```json theme={null}
{ "mcpServers": { "cleft-docs": { "url": "https://learn.cleftnotes.com/mcp" } } }
```

For any other tool, give it the URL `https://learn.cleftnotes.com/mcp`. The
menu at the top of every page also offers **Copy MCP server URL** and one-step
installs for Cursor and VS Code. An agent that reads plain text instead can
start from `https://learn.cleftnotes.com/llms.txt`, which lists every page.

The docs server reads this site only. It cannot reach your notes; only the
Cleft helper on your Mac does that, and only after you set it up.

## Try these once connected

* "Catch me up on what I said this week."
* "Find where I said we should delay the launch, and name the note."
* "Give me a brief on everything I have said about the budget."
* "Search my notes for the tag `client-call` and list the titles."

Cleft tells your agent that your notes are your words, not instructions. The
agent should quote them and name the note each quote came from.

## Not on the list

Xcode is an MCP server for other agents, not a client of Cleft, so there is
nothing for Cleft to hand it. Android Studio accepts only HTTP servers, and the
Cleft helper runs on your Mac over standard input, so it cannot be added there.
For another MCP tool, pick **Another tool** in Agent Access to get setup as
text. For an agent that can run commands, use [the command-line route](https://learn.cleftnotes.com/user-guides/integrations/agent-access/command-line.md#another-agent-with-a-shell-tool).


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