Install Arcade in Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop loads Arcade from a plugin marketplace, not the npx command the coding agents use. Chat gets tools and both skills. Cowork and Code in the desktop app also get the operator, commands, and hooks when you enable the plugin there.

Install the plugin

Customize → Plugins → Add marketplace → Add from a repository → paste:

ArcadeAI/arcade-plugin

Then install Arcade (arcade@arcade).

From Claude Code in the desktop app, or a terminal:

claude plugin marketplace add ArcadeAI/arcade-plugin
claude plugin install arcade@arcade

There is no documented claude:// link that adds a marketplace. The steps above are the install.

Tools only

If you only want the gateway without skills, skip the marketplace. Open Settings → Connectors, click Add custom connector, and paste:

https://api.arcade.dev/mcp/arcade

Save, then start a new conversation. You get the same tools this way. You lose the skills that teach Claude how to chain tool calls across your apps. See what you give up.

Sign in

Connecting Arcade signs you in and links Claude Desktop to the gateway. After that, the first time Claude reaches for an app, it returns a browser link asking you to authorize that app. Approve it and Arcade holds the token, so you only do this once per app. See signing in for how the two layers fit together.

Try it

Ask Claude for an outcome rather than naming a tool. The first time a task needs an app you have not authorized, Claude hands you a link. Approve it and the rest of the task continues, including steps that land in a different app.

See sample prompts on the main install page, or ask “What apps can Arcade use?”

Next steps

• Tools-only MCP server: what you give up by skipping the plugin
• Install the agent plugin: the full experience in Cursor, Claude Code, VS Code, Copilot CLI, or Codex
• Use Arcade in Claude Desktop with your own gateway: pick exactly which tools Claude can call