MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that lets AI clients talk to apps on your own machine. SSHOW exposes the project you have open as a set of MCP tools, so an assistant like Claude can read its structure, make edits, and take screenshots to check the result — while you watch it happen on screen.
Note MCP runs only in the SSHOW desktop app. It opens a small server on your own computer (loopback only), which the browser editor can't do — so this page applies to the desktop build, not s.show in a browser. One catch: the Mac App Store edition leaves MCP out — to use it on a Mac, install the direct download instead (the Windows builds, including the Microsoft Store one, keep it).
Get the desktop appWhat the assistant can do
The assistant works through a small set of tools — it reads your project, makes edits, and checks its work by screenshot, and can also undo and redo, jump your window to a scene, and select what it changed. Every tool maps to something you could do by hand in the editor, nothing more.
Turn it on
Four steps from a fresh install to your first AI edit.
-
1
Open the desktop app
MCP lives in the SSHOW desktop app. Install it first if you're working in a browser.
-
2
Enable MCP
Open Settings → MCP server and switch it On. Nothing listens until you do, and it stops the moment you switch it off.
-
3
Connect your AI client
Use Copy CLI command or Copy JSON config in Settings, then paste it into your assistant. SSHOW fills in the address and access token for you.
-
4
Open a project
The assistant only sees projects you have open. With several open, it works on the one you last focused — or you can ask it to switch to a specific project. Open the one you want and ask away.
Connecting a client
Two ways to register SSHOW, depending on your assistant. Both buttons appear in Settings → MCP server while it's running.
- Claude Code — CLI command
- Copy CLI command gives you a one-line claude mcp add command. Paste it into your terminal and Claude Code registers SSHOW as an HTTP server.
- Claude Desktop & Cursor — JSON config
- Copy JSON config gives you an mcpServers block that wraps SSHOW with the mcp-remote bridge — Claude Desktop reads only stdio servers from its config file, so the bridge turns the local HTTP server into one. Paste it into claude_desktop_config.json (Node.js / npx required), then fully quit and reopen the app — the config is read only at startup.
Safety & limits
MCP is built to stay private and reversible by default.
- Off by default — the server starts only after you switch it on, and stops the moment you switch it off.
- Local only — it binds to 127.0.0.1 (your own machine), so nothing on the network or internet can reach it.
- Always reversible — every edit goes through the normal history, so you or the assistant can undo it.
- No cloud — the bridge runs entirely on your computer; your project isn't sent anywhere to make this work.
Note Because the server listens locally, your AI client must run on the same machine as SSHOW. Remote or web-only clients can't connect.