How to Connect Claude/AI (MCP) to AppControl

AppControl includes an optional MCP (Model Context Protocol) server feature that allows AI agents and IDEs like Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and Gemini CLI to access and answer questions about your PC’s activity using historical AppControl data. MCP is an open standard that lets AI tools connect to local data sources and applications in a secure, user-controlled way.

This feature is off by default and must be enabled manually. All AppControl data remains stored locally on your PC. Nothing is shared unless you choose to connect an AI tool, and you must explicitly approve access to each type of data.

AI integration operates on collected data, so the longer you have AppControl running (and MCP integration enabled) the more information it’ll collect about the system and will be provide better and more detailed answers.

It’s easy to get started:

Start by Enabling MCP in AppControl

1. Open AppControl
2. Click the top-right menu → Settings
3. Find AI Assistant Integration
4. Switch it to On

This starts the AppControl MCP server locally on your PC. Even when enabled, your data is not shared until you connect AppControl to an AI tool of your choice.

Next, Connect AppControl to Claude or Other AI Tools

AppControl works with Claude Desktop for Windows and other MCP-compatible AI tools and agents.

To use it with Claude Desktop:

Install Claude Desktop for Windows
Add the AppControl MCP server using the provided extension

Claude will then be able to query your AppControl data, such as:

• What caused a CPU or GPU spike
• Which apps were running at a specific time
• Background processes or unusual activity

Open Source MCP Extension
The AppControl MCP server is available as an open source project on GitHub.

You can install it in two ways:

• MCP package (recommended) for easy setup in Claude Desktop
• Standalone executable for advanced or custom setups

Setup Option A — MCPB Package (Claude Desktop)

Download appcontrol.mcpb from the latest release.
Open Claude Desktop app, go to Settings -> Extensions -> Advanced Settings and click “Install Extension”.
Choose your newly downloaded .mcpb file — Claude Desktop will install it automatically.
Restart Claude Desktop app by right-clicking the Claude tray icon and selecting “Quit” then start it again.

Setup Option B — Claude Code plugin marketplace

Add the marketplace in Claude Code:

Install the plugin:

Reload plugins:

Setup Option C — Standalone Executable

Download appcontrol-mcp.exe from the latest release on GitHub.
Place it somewhere permanent, e.g. C:\MCP\appcontrol-mcp.exe.
Configure your AI client as shown below.

Configuration

If you installed via the MCPB package in Claude Desktop, no further configuration is needed. For the standalone executable, add the server to your AI client’s MCP configuration.

{
 "mcpServers": {
   "appcontrol": {
     "command": "C:/MCP/appcontrol-mcp.exe",
     "args": [],
     "timeout": 15000
   }
 }
}

{
 "servers": {
   "appcontrol": {
     "command": "C:/MCP/appcontrol-mcp.exe"
   }
 }
}

{
 "mcpServers": {
   "appcontrol": {
     "command": "C:/MCP/appcontrol-mcp.exe"
   }
 }
}

{
 "mcpServers": {
   "appcontrol": {
     "command": "C:/MCP/appcontrol-mcp.exe"
   }
 }
}

Example Prompts

Available Tools

The MCP server exposes 9 read-only tools:

List tracked binaries with filters — unsigned-only, currently-running, first-seen-after date, path substring, or publisher ID.

Get detailed info for one or more binaries by ID (batch with comma-separated IDs) — path, hash, signature, publisher, first-seen time, and running status.

List currently running processes with binary ID, name, path, PID, and start time. Filterable by fields.

List code-signing publishers (certificate identities) — name, country, and linked binary/rule counts.

List quarantine rules — blocked binaries and publishers with rule type and creation time.

Query security event history — binary first-seen events, quarantine blocks, alerts, and process starts. Filterable by event type, time range, and binary ID.

Get service stats, current timestamp, and uptime/idle intervals showing when the PC was on, off, or idle.

Get time-series resource metrics — system-wide (CPU, memory, disk, GPU, temps) or per-binary with top-N/min-value filtering to find heavy resource consumers.

Get CPU, GPU, and temperature sensor info for the monitored system.

All tools are read-only. The MCP server cannot modify rules, block/allow binaries, or change any service configuration.

Building from Source

Need help? Want more ideas on prompts? Talk with the AppControl team in our forum, or Discord server.

Claude is a trademark of Anthropic, PBC. Cursor, Windsurf, Gemini, VS Code, Copilot, and OpenAI Codex are trademarks of their respective owners. AppControl is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of these companies.