> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://pomeroy.app/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How an assistant reaches Pomeroy

> Pomeroy runs one MCP server and serves it through two ways in: the direct path on this Mac, and an HTTP endpoint on loopback. This is what each is for.

Pomeroy runs **one MCP server**, inside the app. Every assistant reaches the
same server, sees the same tools, and obeys the same toggles, so connecting a
second assistant adds tools rather than permissions.

What differs is the door it comes through.

<Info>
  **Setting your assistant up is a button, not a document.** Open Pomeroy's
  **Assistants** pane, find yours, press **Set up**. Each assistant has
  [its own page here](/docs/assistants/overview) with the exact configuration.

  This section is the mechanism underneath: what to pick when the button is not
  enough, and what each door means for who can reach your Mac.
</Info>

## The three doors

| Door              | Address                                                | For                                                                                                         |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **The extension** | Installed into Claude Desktop                          | Claude Desktop, and nothing else                                                                            |
| **The pipe**      | `/Applications/Pomeroy.app/Contents/MacOS/pomeroy-mcp` | Any assistant that spawns a local stdio process                                                             |
| **The endpoint**  | `http://127.0.0.1:13579/mcp`                           | Assistants that speak HTTP, and anything that cannot spawn a process, such as a container, a VM or a runner |

All three land on the same socket and the same app. The first two are the
[stdio door](/docs/configuration/stdio), which Pomeroy's Connections pane calls
**Direct** and which cannot be switched off. The third is the
[local endpoint](/docs/configuration/http-endpoint), which is off until you switch it
on.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Stdio" icon="terminal" href="/docs/configuration/stdio">
    The extension and the pipe: no port, no credential, nothing to revoke.
  </Card>

  <Card title="HTTP local endpoint" icon="network" href="/docs/configuration/http-endpoint">
    One address on this Mac, credentialled, for what stdio cannot serve.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Choosing a door

<Steps>
  <Step title="Claude Desktop? Take the extension.">
    One button, nothing to configure. [Set up Claude
    Desktop](/docs/assistants/claude-desktop).
  </Step>

  <Step title="An assistant on this Mac that runs a command? Take the pipe.">
    The default for Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Codex and most of the rest.
    Nothing listens, and nothing needs a credential.
  </Step>

  <Step title="A container, a VM, a runner, or an HTTP-only client? Take the endpoint.">
    Keep the default **Token** mode unless you have a specific reason not to.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## After setup

Assistants differ on whether they notice a new server straight away. Pomeroy
shows the right line for yours when setup finishes, and so does each
assistant's page here.

Broadly: Claude Desktop and Codex want a full quit and reopen; Claude Code,
Gemini CLI and goose want a new session; most editors pick the change up on
their own.

## Several assistants at once

One Mac can serve as many as you like. They share the same toggles and the
same weekly allowance, so connecting a second does not double your actions. No
tier limits how many you may connect.

A connection is a fact about now, not a grant. Nothing about an assistant
survives it, so there is nothing to revoke: the only gate on a tool call is
the app's toggle.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="All 24 assistants" icon="plug" href="/docs/assistants/overview">
    Each with its own page: what Set up does, and the configuration in full.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Why cloud assistants cannot connect" icon="cloud-slash" href="/docs/assistants/cloud-assistants">
    claude.ai, ChatGPT on the web, and what to use instead.
  </Card>

  <Card title="How Pomeroy works" icon="diagram-project" href="/docs/privacy/how-pomeroy-works">
    The architecture the doors share.
  </Card>

  <Card title="What can reach Pomeroy" icon="shield-check" href="/docs/privacy/what-leaves-your-mac#what-can-reach-pomeroy">
    The pledge page's account of inbound access.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>