Connect your AI assistant to DeltaWalker
MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is an open standard that lets an AI assistant use a program on your computer when you ask it to. DeltaWalker Desktop includes an MCP connection. This site has setup steps for Claude Code, Codex and Claude Desktop, and says below which of them Deltopia has checked.
This is for DeltaWalker Desktop Beta 5, a beta for Macs with Apple Silicon. It is the app offered in the DeltaWalker Desktop section of the download page. It is not part of DeltaWalker Classic, whose scripting and integration pages are separate, and it is not part of DeltaWalker Web, the version that runs in your browser.
Don’t have the app yet? Download DeltaWalker Desktop.
What you can ask for
You ask in plain language. The assistant reads what DeltaWalker can do, writes a short script for it, and shows you the script in DeltaWalker. You read it, and it runs only if you choose Allow Once. For example:
List the comparisons I have open in DeltaWalker and tell me what each one compares.
Open a folder comparison of
~/Projects/site-oldand~/Projects/site-newin DeltaWalker, and tell me how many items differ.
In the active folder comparison, list the items that exist on only one side.
Your assistant decides what script to write, so what it does in practice depends on how you phrase the request and on the assistant. The examples above use only what DeltaWalker Desktop’s automation interface offers: opening and reading comparisons.
How permission works
You stay in control in two places.
- You turn it on, in DeltaWalker. MCP access is off by default. It is a setting, Allow AI agents to run automation scripts (MCP), under Settings > General > AI agents. To find it, click the gear icon at the top right of the window to open Application Settings, then choose General. Turning it off again cuts access at once: DeltaWalker closes the session, and an approval dialog that is waiting is closed and its script does not run. Your client gets a connection error, and cannot reconnect until you turn the setting back on.
- You approve every script. For each run, DeltaWalker shows you the script and who asked: “Requested by client via MCP”. You choose Deny or Allow Once. There is no “always allow”: the next script asks again.
A script can do what DeltaWalker’s automation interface can do, and that includes changing things, such as merging a difference, saving a file or synchronizing folders. That is why every script is shown to you first. Permissions in detail
Requirements
- DeltaWalker Desktop Beta 5 (1.0.0-beta.5) or later, on a Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or later) running macOS 12 Monterey or later. Download it here. Intel Macs, Windows and Linux are not available yet.
- An AI client on the same Mac that can start a local MCP server, such as one in the table below.
- DeltaWalker running, with the setting turned on. The connection works only while the app is open.
- No licence or purchase during the beta. Nothing in DeltaWalker Desktop Beta 5 is locked, and that includes this. The beta ends on February 1, 2027 at 00:00 UTC; after that the app opens on a notice that the beta is over, with a link back to the download page.
Setup steps by client
These are the clients the setup guide has steps for. A row is a set of steps, not a promise that the client works with DeltaWalker Desktop: the last column says what Deltopia has checked, and where it has not, the steps follow that client’s own documentation. DeltaWalker Desktop is for Macs with Apple Silicon, so every row is macOS on Apple Silicon.
| Client | How to connect | Checked by Deltopia |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | One command: claude mcp add | Not yet checked — steps follow Claude Code's documentation |
| Codex (command line) | One command, codex mcp add, or an entry in ~/.codex/config.toml | Not yet checked — steps follow Codex's documentation |
| Claude Desktop: extension | The DeltaWalker extension file (.mcpb, not code-signed) | Not yet checked — steps follow Claude Desktop's documentation |
| Claude Desktop: manual configuration | A manual entry in claude_desktop_config.json | Not yet checked — steps follow Claude Desktop's documentation |
| claude.ai and ChatGPT in a web browser | Cannot connect: a web page cannot start a program on your Mac | Not applicable |
The setup guide has the exact commands, how to check the connection, a first task to try, and what to do when something does not connect.
Questions
Does this run on my Mac, or in the cloud?
The connection is local. Your AI client starts a small program, called the launcher, that is part of DeltaWalker Desktop, and the launcher talks to the DeltaWalker running on the same Mac. DeltaWalker does not need to be reachable from the internet, and you should not make it so.
A local connection does not by itself keep your content on your Mac. Whatever DeltaWalker returns to your assistant, such as file names, paths, comparison results or text a script prints, is processed by that AI client and the service behind it, under its terms and its privacy policy. Check what you are comfortable sharing before you allow a script, and read the script first.
Does DeltaWalker have to be running?
Yes. The assistant can reach DeltaWalker only while the app is open and the setting is on. Otherwise the connection fails with “DeltaWalker is not running. Start it, then reconnect.” Start the app, then reconnect your client. If you often start your AI client first, the setup guide shows how to make the launcher wait for the app.
Why do I have to approve every script, and why is there no “always allow”?
A script can change files, not only read them, and the assistant writes it for each request. Showing you each script, with who asked for it, keeps the decision with you. Choosing Allow Once approves that script and nothing else, and pressing Escape or clicking outside the dialog denies it.
How do I turn it off, and how do I reconnect?
Click the gear icon at the top right of the window, choose General, and turn off Allow AI agents to run automation scripts (MCP) in the AI agents section. Access ends at once: the session is closed and your client gets a connection error, and reconnecting fails with “DeltaWalker is not running. Start it, then reconnect.” until the setting is back on. To use it again, turn the setting back on and reconnect your client. You also reconnect after you quit and reopen DeltaWalker, and after a connection has been idle for 30 minutes. How to reconnect, client by client
Do I need a licence?
Not during the DeltaWalker Desktop beta, which has nothing locked. The beta ends on February 1, 2027 at 00:00 UTC; after that the app opens on a notice that the beta is over, with a link back to the download page.
Does the browser version support this?
No. DeltaWalker Web, the version that runs in your browser, does not have this setting and cannot be connected to an AI client. AI clients that run in a browser, such as claude.ai and ChatGPT on the web, cannot use this connection either.
Does DeltaWalker Classic support this?
No. DeltaWalker Classic does not include an MCP server. It has its own JavaScript scripting: see Script DeltaWalker Classic.
Is it available for Windows or Linux?
Not yet. DeltaWalker Desktop Beta 5 is available only for Macs with Apple Silicon.