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Connect Approval Studio to Claude AI β€” MCP Setup Guide
Integration Guide

Connect Approval Studio
to Claude AI with MCP

Control your entire design-review workflow using natural language. This guide walks you through every step β€” from installation to downloading your ready-to-use config file in seconds.

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard developed by Anthropic that lets AI models connect seamlessly to external tools and data sources. The Approval Studio MCP server runs as a remote service at mcp.approval.studio β€” you simply authenticate with your API token and Claude can interact with your projects, assets, tasks, and team in real time.

What can you ask Claude to do?

Once connected, you control Approval Studio entirely through natural language. Here are just a few examples:

Show me all active projects created in the last week
What assets were approved and rejected since last Friday?
Create a new project called 'Spring Campaign 2026' for Acme Corp
Upload the PDF from this URL and add it to the Packaging project
Ask [email protected] to review the logo by Friday
Send the packaging design to [email protected] for external approval
What projects are stuck with no updates for the last few days?
Find the requirements document and compare it against the uploaded assets
Before you begin
  • An Approval Studio Pro account β€” API & MCP access requires a Pro plan
  • Claude Desktop installed on your computer (Windows or macOS)
  • Node.js 18+ installed β€” needed to run the mcp-remote bridge
1

Install Claude Desktop

Download and install the Claude Desktop app for your operating system. Claude Desktop is what hosts MCP connections and lets you chat with connected tools.

ℹ️
Desktop app required MCP integrations only work with the Claude Desktop app. The browser version at claude.ai does not support MCP servers.
2

Install Node.js

The Approval Studio MCP uses mcp-remote β€” a small bridge that connects Claude to the remote MCP server at mcp.approval.studio. It runs via npx, which is bundled with Node.js.

Download the LTS release from nodejs.org and follow the installer. Verify the installation by opening a terminal:

node --version   # Should print v18.x.x or higher
npx  --version   # Should print a version number
3

Generate Your API Token & Download Config

Enter your Approval Studio login credentials below. We'll authenticate with the Approval Studio API, generate a 30-day API token, and instantly produce a ready-to-use claude_desktop_config.json file β€” just drop it into Claude's config folder in the next step.

πŸ”’
Your credentials stay in your browser This form calls api.approval.studio directly from your browser. Your email and password are never stored or sent to any third-party server.

πŸ”‘ Generate Claude Config File

Sign in with your Approval Studio account to get a 30-day API token

βœ… Config file downloaded!
Your claude_desktop_config.json is ready. Token valid until . Now follow Step 4 to place it in Claude's config folder.
⚠️
Authentication failed Please check your credentials and try again.
⚠️
Pro plan required API and MCP access is available on Approval Studio's Pro plan only. If you receive a 412 error, please contact support to upgrade your account.
4

Place the Config File in Claude

Open Claude Desktop, go to Settings β†’ Developer β†’ Local MCP servers, and click Edit Config. This opens your claude_desktop_config.json file. Replace its contents with the file you downloaded β€” or merge the "ApprovalStudio" block into your existing config if you already have other servers set up.

You can also place the file manually. Select your operating system:

Config file location
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Open Finder β†’ Go β†’ Go to Folder… and paste ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/. Create the folder if it doesn't exist yet, then place the file inside.

mkdir -p "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Claude"
mv ~/Downloads/claude_desktop_config.json \
   "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json"
⚠️
Known issue: Claude's "Edit Config" button opens the wrong folder on Windows Claude for Windows is packaged as an MSIX installer. Due to Windows app virtualization, the app actually reads its config from a different path than the one the "Edit Config" button opens. Always use the path below.
βœ… Correct config file location (all Windows installs)
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc\LocalCache\Roaming\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Press Win + R, paste the full path above and press Enter. Windows will expand %LOCALAPPDATA% automatically. Create the Claude folder if it doesn't exist yet, then drop the config file inside.

:: Command Prompt β€” creates folder and moves the file:
mkdir "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc\LocalCache\Roaming\Claude"
move "%USERPROFILE%\Downloads\claude_desktop_config.json" ^
     "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc\LocalCache\Roaming\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json"
❌ Wrong path (what "Edit Config" opens β€” do not use)
%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Claude's UI points here, but the app does not read from this location on MSIX installations. Files placed here will be silently ignored.

Config file location
~/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Create the directory if it doesn't exist, then move the config file there.

mkdir -p ~/.config/claude
mv ~/Downloads/claude_desktop_config.json ~/.config/claude/
πŸ“
Already have a config file with other MCP servers? Don't overwrite the whole file. Open both files in a text editor and copy just the "ApprovalStudio" entry from the downloaded file into the existing "mcpServers" object.

For reference, here is exactly what the downloaded config file contains:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ApprovalStudio": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://mcp.approval.studio",
        "--header",
        "Authorization:${AUTH_HEADER}"
      ],
      "env": {
        "AUTH_HEADER": "Bearer eyJhbGci…  ← your 30-day token"
      }
    }
  }
}
5

Restart Claude & Verify the Connection

Fully quit Claude Desktop β€” don't just close the window. Make sure the tray or menu-bar icon is gone too. Then relaunch the app.

Once Claude is running, look for the πŸ”Œ MCP indicator near the chat input. Click it to confirm that ApprovalStudio appears in the list of connected servers with a green status.

πŸŽ‰
You're connected! Start with a simple test prompt to confirm everything is working. 
Show me my 5 most recent Approval Studio projects

You can also ask Claude to explain what it can do:

What Approval Studio tools do you have access to?

Troubleshooting

Make sure you fully quit and relaunched Claude (not just closed the window). Check that the config file is in the correct folder for your OS β€” especially on Windows Store installs, which use a virtualized path (see Step 4 above). Verify the JSON is valid using a tool like jsonlint.com.

A 412 response means your account is on the Lite plan. API and MCP access requires a Pro plan. Please contact Approval Studio support to upgrade your account.

Double-check your email address and password. If you've forgotten your password, use the Forgot Password flow on the Approval Studio login page. A 404 can also mean the account has been locked or deactivated β€” contact support if you believe this is the case.

Return to this page, sign in again, download a fresh config file, and replace the old one in Claude's config folder. Restart Claude Desktop and you're back up and running. Tokens are valid for 30 days from the time they are generated.

This is a known bug affecting all Windows installations of Claude. Claude for Windows is distributed as an MSIX package, which uses Windows app virtualization. Because of this, the app reads its config from:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc\LocalCache\Roaming\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

However, the "Edit Config" button in Claude's Developer settings incorrectly opens %APPDATA%\Claude\ β€” a different folder that the app does not actually read from. Always use the %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\… path shown in Step 4.

Do not overwrite your existing claude_desktop_config.json. Instead, open the downloaded file and your existing config side-by-side. Copy only the "ApprovalStudio": { … } block and paste it inside the "mcpServers" object in your existing file. Save, restart Claude.

The Approval Studio MCP uploads assets from publicly accessible URLs, not from local files on your computer. When asking Claude to upload a file, provide a direct URL to the asset (e.g. from cloud storage, a CDN, or a file-sharing service). Direct local file uploads are a current limitation of the MCP protocol.

Ready to streamline your reviews?

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