Connect the Maha Cognitive Gateway to Claude
The Cognitive Gateway is our Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, published on Smithery as mayone/cognitive-gateway. This guide connects it to Claude Desktop directly, using mcp-remote pointed at the server’s HTTP endpoint — the method we’ve found most reliable.
Bring Maha workflows into Claude Desktop.
Use the Gateway to read Maha OS telemetry from a paired device, run cognitive-defense actions with approval, and work with publishing and research tools without leaving Claude.
Request an access token ↗00 // Prerequisites
- Node.js and npm installed (provides
npx). - Claude Desktop.
- A Maha Cognitive Gateway access token (see step 1).
01 // Get an access token
The Gateway requires an access token. Request one via our contact page. You’ll use it in place of YOUR_TOKENbelow. Keep it private — treat it like a password.
02 // Add the server to Claude Desktop
In Claude Desktop, open Settings → Developer → Edit Config to open claude_desktop_config.json. Add the maha-os entry below (merge it into any existing mcpServers block), replacing YOUR_TOKEN with your token:
{
"mcpServers": {
"maha-os": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-remote",
"https://mcp.maha-os.com/mcp",
"--header",
"Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"
]
}
}
}*On first run, npx fetches mcp-remote, which bridges Claude Desktop to the Gateway’s HTTP endpoint at https://mcp.maha-os.com/mcp.
03 // Restart & verify
Fully quit Claude Desktop (Cmd+Q / quit, not just close the window) and reopen it — MCP servers load at startup. In a new conversation, open the tools/connector menu and confirm maha-os appears with its tools listed. If nothing shows, see Troubleshooting.
04 // Available tools
defense_get_baselineReads live biometric telemetry. Returns UNLINKED unless the Maha OS mobile client is bridged.defense_trigger_circuit_breakerSends a cognitive-defense intervention to a linked device. Write action — requires approval.publish_analyze_mswlScores a literary agent’s wishlist against the manuscript and suggests a hook.publish_generate_queryDrafts a tailored query letter from the book proposal and author dossier.publish_log_queryLogs a query submission to the tracking file. Write action.publish_export_shunnFormats a chapter into Shunn manuscript standard.publish_fetch_sovereign_dataRetrieves author dossier and proposal data by manuscript ID.publish_synthetic_market_auditAudits a manuscript framework against market and discourse trends.
05 // Test prompt
A good first test is a tool that runs entirely server-side. Ask Claude:
Claude will ask to approve the tool call, then return a structured audit. If it answers from general knowledge without calling the tool, the connection isn’t active — see Troubleshooting. (Note: defense_get_baseline returns UNLINKED unless a Maha OS mobile device is bridged — that’s expected, not an error.)
06 // Troubleshooting
- Tools don’t appear: fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop — servers load at startup. Check the config JSON is valid (no trailing commas).
- Auth errors / 401 / 403: confirm
YOUR_TOKENis replaced with a valid token and the header readsAuthorization: Bearer <token>. - Calls fail: confirm your network connection, token, and server configuration before retrying the request.
- Command not found: verify Node/npm are installed and the global npm bin directory is on your PATH.
- Logs: on macOS, see
~/Library/Logs/Claude/for the maha-os server log.