Installation

The StudyPlug MCP server runs locally and connects to AI clients over stdio. This guide covers setup for Claude Desktop, the most common MCP client, plus general instructions for any MCP-compatible host.

Note

The @studyplug/mcp-server npm package is not yet published. During the beta, use the Running from Source instructions below to run the MCP server from the monorepo.

Claude Desktop

Add the following to your Claude Desktop configuration file.

macOS

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "studyplug": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@studyplug/mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Windows

Edit %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "studyplug": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@studyplug/mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop after saving the file. You should see “studyplug” listed as a connected MCP server in the tools menu (the hammer icon).

Running from Source

If you are developing locally or want to run from the monorepo:

# Clone and build
git clone https://github.com/9001-Solutions/study-plug.git
cd study-plug
pnpm install
pnpm turbo:build

# Run the MCP server directly
node packages/mcp-server/dist/index.js

Point your Claude Desktop config to the local build:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "studyplug": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/studyplug/packages/mcp-server/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Verifying the Connection

Once Claude Desktop restarts with the server configured:

1. Open a new conversation in Claude Desktop.
2. Click the hammer icon in the input area. You should see 4 tools: browse_curriculum, generate_problems, find_by_standard, get_skill_info.
3. Try a prompt like:

What math skills are available for grade 2?

Claude will call browse_curriculum with grade: "grade-2" and subject: "math", then present the results.

Other MCP Clients

Any client that supports the MCP stdio transport can connect. The server reads from stdin and writes to stdout using the MCP JSON-RPC protocol.

# Generic: run the server as a subprocess
npx -y @studyplug/mcp-server

The server exposes its capabilities through the standard initialize handshake. Clients will automatically discover tools and resources.

Troubleshooting

Server not appearing in Claude Desktop

• Confirm the config file is valid JSON (no trailing commas).
• Make sure npx is available on your PATH. Run which npx in a terminal to verify.
• Restart Claude Desktop completely (quit and reopen, not just close the window).

“Cannot find module” errors

• Run npx -y @studyplug/mcp-server manually in a terminal. If it fails, check your Node.js version (18+ required).

Tools show up but return errors

• Check that you are passing valid parameter values. Use browse_curriculum with no parameters first to see available grades.
• Grade slugs are kindergarten, grade-1, grade-2, grade-3, grade-4, grade-5. (Grades 6-8 planned for a future release.)

Next Steps

• Tools Reference — detailed docs for every tool and resource
• Overview — how MCP fits into the StudyPlug ecosystem