Install Bilig WorkPaper in Claude Desktop with MCPB

Use this path when you want a local Claude Desktop bundle instead of editing claude_desktop_config.json by hand. The bundle contains the published @bilig/headless package, runs the WorkPaper MCP stdio server with Node, and needs no API key.

Download the bundle

Use the release asset when you want the shortest install path:

curl -fsSLO https://github.com/proompteng/bilig/releases/latest/download/bilig-workpaper.mcpb
curl -fsSLO https://github.com/proompteng/bilig/releases/latest/download/bilig-workpaper.mcpb.sha256
shasum -a 256 -c bilig-workpaper.mcpb.sha256
open bilig-workpaper.mcpb

Open the downloaded .mcpb file with Claude Desktop. Claude should show an install dialog for Bilig WorkPaper.

Open the downloaded .mcpb file with Claude Desktop when you are installing from the release asset.

Reproduce from source

From the repository root:

pnpm mcpb:workpaper:build

The command resolves the latest published @bilig/headless, installs its production dependencies into a local bundle folder, writes a MCPB manifest, and packs:

build/mcpb/bilig-workpaper.mcpb

Resolve the current published @bilig/headless version before building. This keeps the guide from baking a stale version into setup commands:

BILIG_HEADLESS_VERSION=$(npm view @bilig/headless version)
pnpm mcpb:workpaper:build -- --package-version "$BILIG_HEADLESS_VERSION"

When bumping this version, update the release asset URL, checksum, and package smoke command in this page together.

Install in Claude Desktop

Open either the downloaded release asset or the locally generated file with Claude Desktop:

open build/mcpb/bilig-workpaper.mcpb

Claude should show an install dialog for Bilig WorkPaper. After installing, ask Claude:

List the Bilig WorkPaper tools.
Read Summary!A1:B5, set Inputs!B3 to 0.4, read Summary!B3, and report the
recalculated value plus the persistence checks.

The server should expose:

list_sheets
read_range
read_cell
set_cell_contents
set_cell_contents_and_readback
get_cell_display_value
export_workpaper_document
validate_formula

The write tool changes one input cell, recalculates dependent formulas, saves the WorkPaper document, and returns checks such as persisted, restoredMatchesAfter, previousSerialized, and newSerialized.

Privacy and local data

The bundle runs locally through Claude Desktop stdio and does not send workbook contents, formulas, cell values, or generated workpaper.json files to Proompt Engineering. The generated manifest includes the public Bilig WorkPaper MCPB privacy policy, which covers data collection, local storage, third-party sharing, retention, and support contact details.

What is inside the bundle

The generated MCPB folder is intentionally small:

build/mcpb/bilig-workpaper/
  manifest.json
  icon.png
  package.json
  README.md
  server/index.js
  node_modules/

server/index.js imports the file-backed WorkPaper MCP server from the packaged @bilig/headless dependency, seeds a local workpaper.json on first run, and passes through the bundled package version. The manifest points Claude Desktop at that launcher with:

{
  "server": {
    "type": "node",
    "entry_point": "server/index.js",
    "mcp_config": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["${__dirname}/server/index.js"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

If Claude Desktop does not show the tools, run the plain stdio smoke test from the MCP client setup guide first. That separates bundle installation issues from server protocol issues.

If this saves you a custom spreadsheet-tool spike but misses a Claude Desktop workflow, open one concrete implementation gap: https://github.com/proompteng/bilig/discussions/new?category=general.