# Getting Started with MCP

## Install

Install the `salus` binary with the one-line installer:

```bash
curl -fsSL https://download.salus.cloud/install.sh | bash
```

This installs `salus` to `/usr/local/bin/salus`. Prefer not to use the terminal? Download the **Claude Desktop extension** instead — the `.mcpb` bundle at [https://download.salus.cloud/salus-mcp.mcpb](https://download.salus.cloud/salus-mcp.mcpb) — and install it into Claude Desktop. Direct per-platform downloads are on the [MCP overview](https://salus.cloud/docs/mcp/).

## Connect it to your AI tools

Run the CLI as an MCP server with the `mcp` subcommand. Point your editor at the `salus` binary and it exposes Salus as a set of tools. For **Claude Code**, add this to `.mcp.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "salus": {
      "command": "/usr/local/bin/salus",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}
```

**OpenAI Codex**, **Cursor** and **OpenCode** run the same `salus mcp` command; their configuration is in [Deploy with an AI coding agent](https://salus.cloud/docs/guides/deploy-with-an-ai-agent/), with step-by-step guides for [Claude Code](https://salus.cloud/docs/guides/claude-code/), [OpenAI Codex](https://salus.cloud/docs/guides/openai-codex/) and [Cursor](https://salus.cloud/docs/guides/cursor/).

## Sign in

There’s no separate login step. The first time your assistant uses Salus, the MCP server prompts you to sign in — it opens your browser to complete authentication, and gives you a link if the browser can’t open automatically. Your session is reused after that.

## 🎉 Start prompting

Ask your assistant something real — the [use cases & sample prompts](https://salus.cloud/docs/mcp/use-cases/) are a good place to start. Remember you control its access level from **Read-only** up to **Full**; start restrictive and widen as you need.

## Troubleshooting

-   **Your editor doesn’t list the Salus tools.** Check the MCP configuration points at the installed binary (`/usr/local/bin/salus`) with the `mcp` argument, then restart the editor so it re-reads the config.
-   **The sign-in browser window never opened.** The server also prints a sign-in link — open it manually and complete authentication there.