Set up Kilobat in Claude Desktop

Install the CLI

The Kilobat CLI is free and open source, and it includes the MCP server. Install it with Homebrew:

Check it with kilobat --version. kilobat doctor says whether the Kilobat app is running, its network filter is on and Pro is active; the tools work without the app, which adds Wi-Fi names, history and rule enforcement. The CLI needs macOS 14 or later.

Connect the MCP server

1. Easiest, once a release includes it: download kilobat-mcp-<version>.mcpb from the latest CLI release and double-click it. Claude Desktop shows an install dialog. The extension carries its own copy of the CLI, so it needs no Homebrew.

2. Otherwise, install the CLI with Homebrew as above, then open Claude › Settings › Developer › Edit Config. It opens ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json.

3. Add Kilobat with the full path to the CLI, which command -v kilobat prints. On an Intel Mac it is /usr/local/bin/kilobat.

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "kilobat": {
         "command": "/opt/homebrew/bin/kilobat",
         "args": [
           "mcp"
         ]
       }
     }
   }

4. Quit Claude Desktop completely and open it again. Kilobat appears under Connectors in the + menu of the message box.

If it doesn't connect, read ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp-server-kilobat.log.

Add the skills

Claude Desktop doesn't read skills from a folder on disk. Download a skill folder from github.com/seifip/kilobat-skills, starting with skills/kilobat, zip it, and upload it in Customize › Skills with the + button. Skills need code execution, which is under Settings › Capabilities.

The kilobat skill is the entry point: it holds the setup and safety rules and sends the agent to the skill that fits, such as mac-network-troubleshooting or mac-agent-runs. See all nine skills.

Try these prompts

Ask in plain words. The agent picks the tools; these are the ones each request usually needs.

What Claude Desktop can and can't change

Kilobat's MCP server marks every tool as read-only or as a change, and each change tool's description tells the agent to get your confirmation first. The kilobat skill holds the same rule: read freely, ask before changing.

Runs without asking

• Measure Wi-Fi, router, internet and DNS latency, and per-app traffic: diagnose_network, get_status, get_wifi, scan_wifi.
• Find the layer that stops one host, trace a route and compare resolvers: diagnose_connection, trace_route, benchmark_dns.
• Read history, sessions, rules and approvals: get_usage_report, list_sessions, list_rules, list_approvals.
• Ping for latency spikes with run_stutter_test, which sends pings only.

Asks you first

• A speed test, which uses up to 80 MB (run_speedtest; on a metered network, 10 MB or less), and a five-second LAN test (run_lan_test).
• Looking up your public IP with Cloudflare (get_exit_path with public_ip).
• Profiles, app rules, blocked hosts, the new-app mode, budgets, quotas, a network's data cost and pausing updaters (set_profile, set_app_rule, block_destination, set_new_app_mode, set_budget, set_app_quota, set_network_cost, set_updater_pause).
• DNS, which macOS also guards with an administrator password prompt (set_dns).
• Keeping the Mac running with the lid closed, every time (keep_awake with lid_closed). A plain keep_awake changes no settings and ends when it expires.

Can't do

• Let a waiting app connect on its own: decide_approval can block at once, but allowing opens Kilobat's approval window for you to confirm.
• Change AirDrop visibility: set_airdrop_visibility opens System Settings for you.
• Change sleep settings, another app's settings, or anything outside Kilobat. It never reads prompts or replies.
• Enforce rules without the Kilobat app and its network filter (Pro). Without them, rules are saved, not applied, and the agent should say so.

Claude Desktop asks before it uses a connector's tool. Approve Kilobat's change tools one at a time.

If the agent can also run shell commands, the kilobat CLI can do what the MCP tools do. The skills tell it which commands to run freely and which to ask about.

Track agent runs

Claude Desktop isn't a coding agent, so there are no runs for Kilobat to track. Ask Claude to keep the Mac awake for a while with keep_awake; Claude Code has hooks for agent runs.

Sources

• Model Context Protocol docs: Connect to local MCP servers
• Claude Help Center: Using skills in Claude
• Kilobat CLI releases
• Kilobat docs: AI agents and MCP
• skills.sh: supported agents and their skill folders

Checked on 30 October 2026. Agents change their settings often; if a step no longer matches, tell us at the support address.

Other agents