Setting Up the MCP Server

Prerequisites

  • PTB CLI installed (npm install -g @calibrate-ds/cli)
  • ptb.config.json in your project (run ptb init if you haven't)
  • A Figma access token

Step 1 — Store your Figma token (once)

ptb token set your_figma_token_here

This writes to ~/.config/calibrate-ds/credentials.json. Both the CLI and every MCP server instance read from this file at call time — no shell profile edits, no launchctl setenv, no IDE restart required after setting the token.

Get your token at Figma → Account Settings → Security → Generate New Token

Step 2 — Auto-configure your IDE

Run this from inside your project directory:

ptb mcp setup

PTB detects which AI IDEs are installed on your machine and writes the correct config file for each one. You will see output like:

✔ Created: Claude Code → .mcp.json
✔ Created: Cursor → .cursor/mcp.json

Restart the IDE afterwards to pick up the new config.

Target a specific IDE

ptb mcp setup claude-code
ptb mcp setup cursor
ptb mcp setup windsurf
ptb mcp setup vscode

Manual Configuration

If auto-setup doesn't cover your IDE, copy the relevant block below.

Claude Code

Create or update .mcp.json at your project root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ptb": {
      "command": "ptb",
      "args": ["mcp", "--cwd", "/absolute/path/to/your/project"]
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Create or update .cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ptb": {
      "command": "ptb",
      "args": ["mcp", "--cwd", "/absolute/path/to/your/project"]
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

Edit ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ptb": {
      "command": "ptb",
      "args": ["mcp", "--cwd", "/absolute/path/to/your/project"]
    }
  }
}

Why --cwd? The MCP server is spawned by the IDE, not from your terminal. --cwd tells it which project root to use for ptb.config.json lookup. Replace the path with the output of pwd run from your project root.


Verifying the Connection

Once the IDE is restarted, open a chat and ask:

"Run the PTB setup checklist"

The AI will call get_checklist({ kind: "setup" }) and return a live status report showing which steps are done and which are pending. If the tool call succeeds, MCP is connected.


Keeping MCP Up to Date

After running npm install -g @calibrate-ds/cli to update PTB, restart your IDE. The MCP server is a long-running process and keeps using the old binary until the IDE re-spawns it. Check your IDE's MCP logs for [PTB MCP] vX.X.X started to confirm the version.


Next Steps

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