Claude Desktop Integration

Use Claude Desktop to manage your RenderDoc templates and generate documents through natural conversation. Built on the Model Context Protocol (MCP), this integration lets your AI assistant work directly with your RenderDoc workspace.

Features

• Natural Language Templates - Describe what you need and let Claude create templates
• Cross-Workspace Access - Work across all your workspaces with a single token
• Draft-Only Safety - Templates created via MCP are drafts until you publish them in the dashboard
• Document Generation - Preview and generate documents directly from chat
• Data Import - Parse Excel/CSV files and auto-map columns to template variables
• Audit Trail - All MCP operations are logged for security and compliance

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Prerequisites

• Claude Desktop installed
• RenderDoc account with at least one workspace
• Personal Access Token (PAT) from RenderDoc

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Setup

Step 1: Generate a Personal Access Token

1. Log in to your RenderDoc Dashboard
2. Go to Settings → Personal Access Tokens
3. Click Create Token
4. Enter a label (e.g., "Claude Desktop")
5. Select expiry (max 30 days)
6. Click Create and copy the token immediately - it won't be shown again

warning

Keep your PAT secure. Anyone with this token can access your templates across all workspaces.

Step 2: Configure Claude Desktop

Add RenderDoc to your Claude Desktop configuration:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "renderdoc": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@renderdoc/mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "RENDERDOC_USER_TOKEN": "pat_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace pat_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx with your actual PAT.

Step 3: Restart Claude Desktop

Close and reopen Claude Desktop. You should see "renderdoc" in your available MCP servers.

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Available Tools

Once connected, Claude has access to these RenderDoc tools:

Workspace Tools

Tool	Description
list_workspaces	List all workspaces you have access to
get_workspace	Get details of a specific workspace

Template Tools

Tool	Description
list_templates	List templates in a workspace
get_template	Get template details and schema
create_draft_template	Create a new draft template
update_draft_template	Update a draft template
validate_schema	Validate template schema before creating
get_schema_reference	Get the template schema documentation

Data Tools

Tool	Description
parse_data_file	Parse Excel or CSV data to JSON
map_variables	Auto-map data columns to template variables

Generation Tools

Tool	Description
preview_template	Generate a preview document
generate_document	Generate a production document
get_job_status	Check document generation status

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Example Conversations

Creating a New Template

You: Create an invoice template for my consulting business with company logo, client details, line items table, and payment terms.

Claude: I'll create an invoice template for you. First, let me check your workspaces...

[Claude uses list_workspaces, then create_draft_template]

I've created a draft invoice template in your "Production" workspace. It includes:

• Header with logo placeholder and company name
• Client details section
• Line items table with quantity, description, rate, and amount
• Subtotal, tax, and total calculations
• Payment terms footer

Would you like me to generate a preview so you can see how it looks?

Generating Documents from Data

You: I have a spreadsheet with customer data. Can you generate invoices for each customer?

Claude: Of course! Please share the spreadsheet file.

[You attach customers.xlsx]

Claude: [Uses parse_data_file] I found 15 customers in your spreadsheet with columns: Name, Email, Amount, Due Date.

Let me map these to your invoice template... [Uses map_variables]

The mapping looks good:

• Name → customer.name (95% confidence)
• Amount → invoice.total (90% confidence)
• Due Date → invoice.dueDate (85% confidence)

Should I generate the invoices?

Editing Existing Templates

You: Add a discount field to my invoice template

Claude: [Uses get_template, then update_draft_template]

I've added a discount field to your invoice. Changes made:

• Added discount variable (number, default: 0)
• Added discount row between subtotal and total
• Updated total calculation: subtotal - discount + tax

This is saved as a draft. Preview it in your dashboard before publishing.

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Security & Permissions

Token Security

• 30-Day Max Expiry: PATs expire automatically to limit exposure
• SHA-256 Hashing: Tokens are stored as hashes, not plain text
• IP Tracking: Last used IP is recorded for security monitoring
• Revocable: Instantly revoke tokens from your dashboard

Draft-Only Operations

Templates created or modified via MCP are always saved as drafts. This prevents AI from accidentally publishing breaking changes to production templates.

To publish a template:

1. Log in to your RenderDoc dashboard
2. Review the draft changes
3. Click Publish to make it live

Audit Logging

All MCP operations are logged in your team's activity feed:

• Template created/updated
• Documents generated
• Data files parsed
• Token used (with IP address)

View activity in Settings → Activity in your dashboard.

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Tier Limits

MCP operations use your existing RenderDoc quota:

Feature	Free	Starter	Pro	Enterprise
Templates	5	25	Unlimited	Unlimited
Workspaces	1	3	10	Unlimited
Document Generation	50/mo	500/mo	2,500/mo	Custom
PAT Creation	1	3	10	Unlimited

info

Template previews do not consume your document quota.

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Troubleshooting

"Invalid token" Error

• Verify the token starts with pat_
• Check if the token has expired
• Generate a new token from your dashboard

"Workspace not found" Error

• Ensure you have access to the workspace
• Your role must be EDITOR or ADMIN to create/modify templates

Claude Desktop Not Connecting

1. Check your config file path and JSON syntax
2. Ensure npx is available in your PATH
3. Restart Claude Desktop completely
4. Check the Claude Desktop logs for errors

Templates Not Appearing

• Templates must be in a workspace you have access to
• Check if you're looking at the right workspace
• Refresh by asking Claude to list templates again

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Privacy & Data

• Local Processing: Claude Desktop runs locally on your machine
• API Calls: Only MCP tool calls go to RenderDoc servers
• No Training: Your templates and data are not used for AI training
• Data Retention: Documents follow your team's retention policy

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Support

• Documentation: docs.renderdoc.dev
• Email: [email protected]
• MCP Protocol: modelcontextprotocol.io

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Related: AI Toolkit | Personal Access Tokens | Templates