Connect Your AI App

TimeBolt sets up Claude Desktop and the ChatGPT desktop app for you from its Local MCP menu. Claude Code takes one command in the terminal.

Keep TimeBolt open whenever you want the assistant to use it, and open TimeBolt before the AI app. If the AI app was already running when TimeBolt started, start a new thread in ChatGPT or Codex, a new session in Claude Code, or quit and reopen Claude Desktop.

Claude Desktop

Connect from TimeBolt

Open TimeBolt and go to Local MCP > Connect to Claude Desktop… in the menu bar. When the Connected to Claude Desktop message appears, click OK.

Fully quit Claude Desktop

Closing the window is not enough; Claude only reads new connections when it starts.

Mac: with Claude in front, press Command + Q.
Windows: right-click the Claude icon in the system tray (near the clock) and choose Quit. If it keeps running, end it in Task Manager.

Open Claude Desktop again

Start a new chat and ask "Which TimeBolt tools can you use?" Claude should list TimeBolt's tools.

The first time Claude uses a TimeBolt tool, it asks for your permission. Tools that only read information (such as get_timeline or get_render_status) are marked as read-only, so you can safely choose to always allow them.

What the Local MCP menu shows for Claude Desktop

Menu item	Meaning
Connect to Claude Desktop…	Not connected yet.
Disconnect from Claude Desktop…	Connected.
Reconnect to Claude Desktop…	Claude has an old TimeBolt entry, for example after TimeBolt was moved or updated. Click it, then fully quit and reopen Claude.

TimeBolt only adds or changes its own timebolt entry in Claude's settings file:

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

If that file contains a mistake, TimeBolt leaves it alone and tells you why instead of overwriting it.

ChatGPT Desktop and Codex

This connects the ChatGPT desktop app (the current app with Chat, Work and Codex modes), the Codex CLI and the Codex IDE extension, which all share the same settings.

Connect from TimeBolt

Open TimeBolt and go to Local MCP > Connect to ChatGPT Desktop.... When the Connected to ChatGPT Desktop message appears, click OK.

Restart ChatGPT

Fully quit the ChatGPT desktop app and open it again (Command + Q on Mac; on Windows quit it from the system tray). In the Codex CLI or IDE extension, start a new session.

Start a new thread

Threads that were already open before you connected do not see TimeBolt; new threads do. Ask "Which TimeBolt tools can you use?" to check.

What the Local MCP menu shows for ChatGPT Desktop

Menu item	Meaning
Connect to ChatGPT Desktop...	Not connected yet.
Disconnect from ChatGPT Desktop...	Connected.
Turn On in ChatGPT Desktop...	TimeBolt was switched off in ChatGPT's MCP settings. Click it to switch it back on.
Repair ChatGPT Desktop Connection...	ChatGPT has an old TimeBolt entry, for example after TimeBolt was moved or updated. Click it, then start a new thread.
Show ChatGPT Desktop Config (has errors)…	ChatGPT's settings file has a mistake, so TimeBolt will not edit it. Click it to open the file, fix the mistake, and connect again.

TimeBolt writes to two files, and touches nothing else in them:

~/.codex/config.toml (on Windows, %USERPROFILE%\.codex\config.toml): the timebolt server entry. TimeBolt backs up the file before changing it.
~/.codex/AGENTS.md: a short, clearly marked note that tells the assistant to use TimeBolt's tools rather than taking screenshots and clicking TimeBolt's window.

⚠️

Windows and WSL: if you switched Codex to run inside WSL, it reads a different settings folder and may not be able to reach TimeBolt. Use Codex in its default Windows mode.

Claude Code

Claude Code does not have a menu item in TimeBolt. Add TimeBolt to it once with one of these options. Adding it with --scope user makes it available in every project, not only the folder you are in.

Option 1: Copy the Claude Desktop connection (Mac and WSL)

First connect Claude Desktop as described above, then run this in a terminal and select timebolt:

claude mcp add-from-claude-desktop --scope user

Option 2: Add TimeBolt by its address (any computer)

TimeBolt's MCP server has an address like http://127.0.0.1:12345/mcp (the number is different on each computer). To find yours, connect Claude Desktop or ChatGPT Desktop from the Local MCP menu first, then look in:

claude_desktop_config.json (locations above): the http://127.0.0.1:…/mcp address in the timebolt entry, or
~/.codex/config.toml: the url line under [mcp_servers.timebolt].

Then add it to Claude Code, replacing the address with yours:

claude mcp add --transport http --scope user timebolt http://127.0.0.1:12345/mcp

Check that it works

Run /mcp inside Claude Code, or claude mcp list in a terminal. timebolt should be listed as connected while TimeBolt is open.

TimeBolt normally keeps the same address every time it starts. If that port is ever taken by another app, TimeBolt moves to a new one and updates Claude Desktop and ChatGPT automatically, but not Claude Code. If Claude Code stops finding TimeBolt, remove it with claude mcp remove timebolt and add it again.

Disconnecting

Local MCP > Disconnect from Claude Desktop… removes TimeBolt from Claude Desktop.
Local MCP > Disconnect from ChatGPT Desktop... removes TimeBolt's entry and its note from ChatGPT's files.
Local MCP > Disconnect All MCPs does both.

Restart the AI app afterwards to finish. For Claude Code, run claude mcp remove timebolt.

Introduction What You Can Ask