Connecting Remote MCP to Claude Desktop (Free Plan / Mac + NVM)

This guide is for users who have deployed their Open Brain to Supabase but cannot see the “Add Custom Connector” button in the Claude web settings because they are not PAID users. Follow this guide and it’ll work even if you’re using a free tier.

Step 1: Find Your Absolute Node Paths

Claude Desktop does not load your shell profile, so it doesn’t know where node or npx are hidden by NVM.

1. Open your terminal.
2. Type which node and copy the result (e.g., /Users/yourname/.nvm/versions/node/v23.7.0/bin/node).
3. Type which npx and copy the result (e.g., /Users/yourname/.nvm/versions/node/v23.7.0/bin/npx).

Step 2: Create a Local Bridge Script

To keep your sensitive keys out of your main config file and avoid JSON syntax errors, we use a “wrapper” script.

1. In your terminal, type: nano ~/open-brain-bridge.sh
2. Paste the following, replacing the paths and URL with your own:

#!/bin/bash
# 1. Set the path so the script can find node
export PATH="[INSERT_YOUR_NODE_BIN_FOLDER_HERE]:$PATH"
# 2. Run the bridge tool with your secret URL
exec [INSERT_YOUR_NPX_PATH_HERE] -y mcp-remote "[YOUR_MCP_CONNECTION_URL_WITH_KEY]"

#!/bin/bash
# 1. Set the path so the script can find node
export PATH="[INSERT_YOUR_NODE_BIN_FOLDER_HERE]:$PATH"

# 2. Run the bridge tool with your secret URL
exec [INSERT_YOUR_NPX_PATH_HERE] -y mcp-remote "[YOUR_MCP_CONNECTION_URL_WITH_KEY]"

3. Press Ctrl+O, Enter, then Ctrl+X to save.
4. Make it executable: chmod +x ~/open-brain-bridge.sh

Step 3: Configure Claude Desktop

1. Open Claude Desktop.
2. Go to Settings > Developer > Edit Config.
3. Ensure your claude_desktop_config.json includes both your preferences and the pointer to your new script:

{
  "preferences": {
    "sidebarMode": "chat"
  },
  "mcpServers": {
    "open-brain": {
      "command": "/Users/[YOUR_USERNAME]/open-brain-bridge.sh",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

{
  "preferences": {
    "sidebarMode": "chat"
  },
  "mcpServers": {
    "open-brain": {
      "command": "/Users/[YOUR_USERNAME]/open-brain-bridge.sh",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Step 4: Final Connection

1. Fully Quit Claude Desktop (Cmd+Q).
2. Relaunch.
3. Click the (+) icon in a new chat, go to Connectors, and toggle open-brain ON.

Why this version is superior for privacy:

• Hidden Credentials: Your MCP_ACCESS_KEY and Supabase URL are tucked away in a local .sh file, not sitting in a standard config file that other apps might scan.
• Path Stability: It bypasses all “Command not found” or “Server disconnected” errors by explicitly defining the environment.
• Standardized Naming: It uses the correct mcp-remote package, avoiding the 404 registry errors we encountered.