Connect your AI to Desktop

Use the one-click buttons

1. 1

   Open Settings

   Press the gear icon, then scroll to Connect your AI.

2. 2

   Find your client

   Each row shows a status: Not connected, Connected, Needs update, or Config file not readable. Clients that are not installed show "not detected on this computer".

3. 3

   Press Connect

   Desktop adds a bigideasdb-desktop entry to that client's config and tells you if a backup was saved. Press Update if the row says Needs update, or Remove to take it out.

4. 4

   Restart the client

   Most clients read their config at launch. Quit and reopen the client, then ask it what tools it has.

Which AI agents Desktop's own chat uses

Desktop's chat panel runs an agent that is already on your computer: Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode or Ollama. Open Settings, AI agent to see which were found, pick one and press Test. Test runs one tiny request on your own plan. If none is found, install one, sign in once in a terminal, and press Look again.

• Model picker: a chip in the chat box shows the agent's model. Open it to pick another, or type a custom model id. The choice is saved for each agent and applies from your next message. You can also type /model.
• Ollama lists the local models it found. Pick one before you chat.
• How chat works: you type, Desktop starts your agent with the project's tools, and the agent calls tools such as reddit_search or idea_create. Results are saved into the project. Chat limits in Settings cap spend and tool calls for each run.
• No AI credits: BigIdeasDB provides none and sends no AI bill. Your agent's provider charges your own plan.

ChatGPT desktop

ChatGPT desktop can use local servers that are listed in the shared Codex config file (~/.codex/config.toml). If you press Connect on the Codex row, ChatGPT desktop picks up the same server. If it does not show the tools, use the Guided setup under ChatGPT in Settings.

1. 1

   Open ChatGPT desktop settings

   Go to Settings.

2. 2

   Add a custom MCP server

   Choose a local command.

3. 3

   Enter the values

   Desktop shows the name, command, arguments and environment variable. Copy them in and save.

4. 4

   Keep Desktop open

   ChatGPT calls the tools on this computer.

Any other client

If a client is not listed, or its config file cannot be read, the row offers Show what to add. Copy the snippet into that client's MCP settings by hand. Any client that supports local (stdio) MCP servers will work.

Skills as MCP prompts

In Settings, Skills, you can turn on "Offer my global skills to other AI clients as MCP prompts". Your saved skills then show up as prompts inside the clients you connected. See Projects, chat and skills.