Sketchie MCP setup: Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Claude app

What you need

• A Sketchie API key (sk_...). Create one in the app under Settings. API access is included on every paid plan.
• The Sketchie MCP server. It runs on bun and lives at packages/mcp/src/index.ts in the Sketchie repository.

Two environment variables configure the server:

Claude Code

Register the server with one command. Replace the path with your checkout of the Sketchie repository.

claude mcp add sketchie \
  -e SKETCHIE_API_URL=https://sketchie.ai/api \
  -e SKETCHIE_API_KEY=sk_... \
  -- bun /path/to/sketchie/packages/mcp/src/index.ts

Verify it registered with claude mcp list. In a session, ask Claude to generate an explainer and it will call the Sketchie tools.

Claude Desktop

Open the Claude Desktop config file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Add Sketchie under mcpServers, then restart Claude Desktop:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sketchie": {
      "command": "bun",
      "args": ["/path/to/sketchie/packages/mcp/src/index.ts"],
      "env": {
        "SKETCHIE_API_URL": "https://sketchie.ai/api",
        "SKETCHIE_API_KEY": "sk_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

After the restart, the Sketchie tools appear in the tools menu. You can open the config quickly from Settings, Developer, Edit Config.

The Claude app

The Claude desktop application uses the same claude_desktop_config.json as above. Add custom connectors from Settings, Connectors, Add custom connector.

The tools