Connect

Connect PinVari to your AI coding agent

PinVari hands your agent the exact element you pointed at, your words and the screenshot over a local MCP server on your Mac (127.0.0.1 only, nothing uploaded). One click inside the app does it. Prefer the terminal? One line.

1Install PinVari and activate it

  1. Download Pinvari.dmg, drag PinVari into Applications and open it.
  2. Paste your licence key when asked (it's in your purchase email). Don't have one yet?
  3. Grant Microphone and Screen Recording when PinVari asks — captures can't start without them.
PinVari creates the MCP connector at ~/.pinvari/mcp/pinvari-mcp the first time it runs, so the app must be installed before you connect any agent — and running when the agent uses it.

2One click: connect from inside PinVari

Open PinVari → Connect → click your agent. PinVari writes the MCP entry into that agent's own config (it never touches your other servers) and drops a small skill so the agent already knows how to pull a capture.

3Or the terminal — one line per agent

claude mcp add --scope user pinvari -- "$HOME/.pinvari/mcp/pinvari-mcp"

--scope user makes it available in every project. Then run claude mcp list — you should see pinvari connected. Type /mcp inside Claude Code to confirm the tools.

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global) or .cursor/mcp.json in a project, replacing YOU with your macOS username:

{ "mcpServers": { "pinvari": { "command": "/Users/YOU/.pinvari/mcp/pinvari-mcp", "args": [] } } }

Cursor → Settings → MCP shows PinVari with a green dot once it's loaded.

Add to VS Code's mcp.json (Command Palette → "MCP: Open User Configuration"):

{ "servers": { "pinvari": { "type": "stdio", "command": "/Users/YOU/.pinvari/mcp/pinvari-mcp", "args": [] } } }

Append to ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.pinvari] command = "/Users/YOU/.pinvari/mcp/pinvari-mcp"

Zed → Settings (~/.config/zed/settings.json):

{ "context_servers": { "pinvari": { "command": { "path": "/Users/YOU/.pinvari/mcp/pinvari-mcp", "args": [] } } } }

Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config (claude_desktop_config.json):

{ "mcpServers": { "pinvari": { "command": "/Users/YOU/.pinvari/mcp/pinvari-mcp", "args": [] } } }

Find your username with whoami in Terminal. The connector runs PinVari's bundled runtime — you do not need Node installed.

What your agent gets, and what it can't do

Tools

pinvari_next_instruction pulls the oldest capture you haven't handled (element, your words, the circled region, the screenshot) as a task; pinvari_mark_done closes it. pinvari_list_captures / pinvari_get_capture browse and inspect. pinvari_request_capture lights up the island and waits for you to point and speak.

It cannot take screenshots on its own

The agent can only read captures you made by holding ⌥⌘A. There is no silent screen grab — the screenshot endpoint refuses unless a capture session you started is open. Everything stays on your Mac: the server listens on 127.0.0.1 only and nothing is uploaded (transcription runs on-device; cloud services are off unless you add your own key in Settings).

No licence yet?

The agent will still connect, but PinVari won't start a capture until this Mac is activated — you'll see an "Activate PinVari" prompt when you press the hotkey or the Record button. A licence is a one-time $39.

"claude mcp add pinvari" gives "missing required argument"

That's the command without its second half. Use the full line above — the part after -- tells Claude Code what to run.

The agent says the PinVari service isn't running

Open PinVari (Applications → PinVari). The connector talks to the running app; it will try to launch it for you, but if PinVari was never installed, install it first.