MCP Tools

Claude Yard exposes its functionality as Model Context Protocol (MCP) tools. This lets any MCP-compatible client — including Claude Code itself — spawn sessions, send keystrokes, open browsers, and manage the layout.

Available tools

Tool	What it does
spawn	Create a new terminal session (shell or Claude)
send_keys	Send keystrokes to a terminal panel
get_state	Get current panels, sessions, and layout
set_layout	Arrange panels in the workspace
open_browser	Open a browser panel with a URL

Additional tools may be available depending on which modules are loaded. Run node cli.mjs tools to see the full list.

Connect a client

The MCP server uses stdio transport. Configuration depends on your client.

Claude Code

Add to your Claude Code MCP config (~/.claude/claude_code_config.json or project-level .mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "claude-yard": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/volter/mcp-server.mjs"]
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop config (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "claude-yard": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/volter/mcp-server.mjs"]
    }
  }
}

Other MCP clients

Any client that supports stdio transport can connect. The server binary is mcp-server.mjs in the Claude Yard installation directory. Point your client’s MCP config at it with node as the command.

How it fits together

The MCP server is a thin proxy — it translates MCP protocol messages into HTTP calls to the local Claude Yard server. This means it always reflects the current set of available tools, including any added by custom modules.

What this enables

With MCP, you can set up workflows where one Claude instance manages others:

• Parallel task execution — spawn multiple sessions and distribute work across them
• Automated testing — open a browser, run tests in a terminal, and verify results
• Pipeline orchestration — chain sessions together where one Claude’s output feeds another’s input

See Workflows for concrete examples.