Install Arcade in Claude Desktop
Add Arcade through Claude Desktop’s plugin marketplace. Chat gets and both skills. Cowork and Code also load the operator, commands, and supported routing hooks when you enable the plugin there.
Outcomes
Install Arcade in Claude Desktop and run a task against one of your apps.
Prerequisites
- Claude Desktop with plugin marketplace support
- An Arcade
Using Claude Code inside the desktop app? You can also install Arcade with the Claude Code marketplace commands below.
Install the plugin
Customize → Plugins → Add marketplace → Add from a repository → paste:
ArcadeAI/arcade-pluginThen 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@arcadeIf Claude Code is already open, run /reload-plugins.
No documented claude:// link adds a marketplace. The steps on this page 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/arcadeSave, then start a new conversation. You get the same tools this way. You lose the skills that teach Claude how to chain calls across your apps. See what you give up.
Sign in
Connecting Arcade signs you in and links Claude Desktop to the gateway. When a task needs an app, your gives you a browser sign-in link for the required permissions. After approval, Arcade stores the authorization. You may need to reconnect if the connection expires or a later task needs additional permissions. You can connect an app before you need it. See signing in for how the two layers fit together.
Try it
Ask Claude for an outcome rather than naming a . 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 Claude can call