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Claude

Claude is available as a desktop app and as Claude Code, Anthropic's CLI tool. Both support MCP and are configured the same way.

PlanExe turns a plain-English goal into a strategic project-plan draft (20+ sections) in ~10-20 minutes. The output is a self-contained interactive HTML report you open in a browser.

Video walkthrough

Prerequisites

  • Claude desktop app or Claude Code installed.
  • One of the following:
  • An API key from home.planexe.org (cloud server, no installation needed).
  • PlanExe running locally via Docker (docker compose up, port 8001).

Quick setup

  1. Configure MCP in Claude (see connection options below).
  2. Verify the connection with /mcp in Claude Code or Settings > MCP in the desktop app.
  3. Ask Claude to create a plan — it handles the full workflow (prompt drafting, creation, status polling, download).

Success criteria

  • /mcp (Claude Code) or Settings > MCP (desktop) shows planexe as connected.
  • You can fetch prompt examples (example_prompts).
  • You can create a plan (plan_create) and poll it to completion (plan_status).
  • You can download the report (plan_file_info or plan_download).

Option A: Connect to the cloud server (mcp.planexe.org)

This is the fastest way to get started. No Docker or local installation required.

1. Get an API key

Create an account and obtain an API key at home.planexe.org. Your key will be prefixed with pex_.

2. Add the MCP server

Run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add --transport http \
  planexe \
  https://mcp.planexe.org/mcp \
  --header "X-API-Key: pex_YOUR_API_KEY"

Replace pex_YOUR_API_KEY with your actual API key.

3. Verify

Start Claude and check that the server is connected.

In Claude Code, type /mcp to see the server status. In the Claude desktop app, go to Settings and check the MCP section. You should see planexe listed with its tools (example_plans, example_prompts, model_profiles, plan_create, plan_status, plan_stop, plan_retry, plan_file_info, plan_list).

Option B: Run Docker locally + connect directly via HTTP

This connects Claude directly to the local MCP server over HTTP. No mcp_local proxy needed.

1. Start PlanExe locally

Follow the Getting Started instructions to set up PlanExe, then start the services:

docker compose up

Wait until the mcp_cloud service is healthy (listening on port 8001).

2. Add the MCP server

claude mcp add --transport http \
  planexe \
  http://localhost:8001/mcp

Authentication is disabled by default for local Docker (PLANEXE_MCP_REQUIRE_AUTH=false), so no API key is needed.

3. Verify

In Claude Code, type /mcp to see the server status. In the Claude desktop app, check Settings > MCP.

Note: With this option, plan_file_info returns a download_url. Ask Claude to fetch it, or open the URL in your browser. For local disk saves, use Option C instead (adds the plan_download tool).

Option C: Run Docker locally + use the mcp_local proxy

The mcp_local proxy runs as a stdio process and forwards calls to the Docker MCP server. It adds the plan_download tool which saves artifacts directly to disk.

1. Start PlanExe locally

Follow the Getting Started instructions, then:

docker compose up

2. Add the MCP server

claude mcp add --transport stdio \
  --env PLANEXE_URL="http://localhost:8001/mcp" \
  --env PLANEXE_PATH="/Users/your-name/Desktop" \
  planexe \
  -- uv run --with mcp /path/to/PlanExe/mcp_local/planexe_mcp_local.py

Make these adjustments:

  • Replace /path/to/PlanExe with the actual path to your PlanExe clone.
  • Replace /Users/your-name/Desktop with the directory where downloaded plans should be saved.
  • Optional: Adjust http://localhost:8001/mcp if PlanExe is running on a different port.

3. Verify

In Claude Code, type /mcp to see the server status. In the Claude desktop app, check Settings > MCP.

Using mcp_local with the cloud server

You can also use the mcp_local proxy to connect to the cloud server. This gives you the plan_download tool while using the hosted service:

claude mcp add --transport stdio \
  --env PLANEXE_URL="https://mcp.planexe.org/mcp" \
  --env PLANEXE_MCP_API_KEY="pex_YOUR_API_KEY" \
  --env PLANEXE_PATH="/Users/your-name/Desktop" \
  planexe \
  -- uv run --with mcp /path/to/PlanExe/mcp_local/planexe_mcp_local.py

Alternative: manual JSON configuration

Instead of using claude mcp add, you can create a .mcp.json file in your project root.

Cloud server (HTTP):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "planexe": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.planexe.org/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-API-Key": "pex_YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Local Docker (HTTP):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "planexe": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:8001/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Local proxy (stdio):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "planexe": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--with",
        "mcp",
        "/path/to/PlanExe/mcp_local/planexe_mcp_local.py"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PLANEXE_URL": "http://localhost:8001/mcp",
        "PLANEXE_PATH": "/Users/your-name/Desktop"
      }
    }
  }
}

Managing the MCP server

# List configured servers
claude mcp list

# Get details for the planexe server
claude mcp get planexe

# Remove the server
claude mcp remove planexe

Interaction

A typical conversation for creating a plan looks like this:

  1. Explore — "Tell me about the PlanExe MCP tools you have access to."
  2. Get examples — "Get the prompt examples."
  3. Describe your goal — "I want a prompt about building a community solar farm in rural Denmark." Claude drafts a detailed prompt (~300-800 words) based on the examples and your idea.
  4. Approve and create — "Go ahead, create this plan." Claude calls plan_create, which returns a plan_id.
  5. Wait — Plan generation takes ~10-20 minutes. Claude polls plan_status automatically every few minutes. Alternatively, plan_create returns an sse_url — a GET endpoint (text/event-stream) that streams real-time progress events until the plan completes. Claude Code agents can run curl -N <sse_url> in a background shell to monitor progress instead of polling.
  6. Download — "Download the report." Claude fetches the HTML report via plan_file_info (cloud) or plan_download (local proxy).

If a plan fails, Claude can retry it with plan_retry. If a plan_id is lost, plan_list recovers recent plans.

Troubleshooting

  • Server disconnected: /mcp shows disconnected — check that Docker is running (docker compose ps) or that mcp.planexe.org is reachable.
  • Authentication errors: Verify your API key at home.planexe.org. Keys are prefixed with pex_.
  • stdio transport: Make sure uv is installed and on your PATH.
  • Plan stuck in pending: If plan_status stays pending for >5 minutes, the worker likely hasn't picked it up. Check Docker logs or report the issue.
  • Plan failed: Call plan_retry to requeue the same plan_id (defaults to baseline profile).
  • For more help, see the Troubleshooting guide or ask on the PlanExe Discord.