Guide for Claude Code

Integrate Claude Code with AI Architect for more accurate, codebase-aware AI assistance.

Use Bito's AI Architect with Claude Code to enhance your AI-powered coding experience.

Once connected via MCP (Model Context Protocol), Claude Code can leverage AI Architect’s deep contextual understanding of your project, enabling more accurate code suggestions, explanations, and code insights.

Prerequisites

1. Follow the AI Architect installation instructions. Upon successful setup, you will receive a Bito MCP URL and Bito MCP Access Token that you need to enter in your coding agent.

2. Download BitoAIArchitectGuidelines.md file. You will need to copy/paste the content from this file later when configuring AI Architect.

   • Note: This file contains best practices, usage instructions, and prompting guidelines for the Bito AI Architect MCP server. The setup will work without this file, but including it helps AI tools interact more effectively with the Bito AI Architect MCP server.

Set up AI Architect

Claude Code has the same setup process across all platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux, WSL) using the command line.

Claude Code uses CLI-based configuration, NOT manual JSON editing.

1

Install Claude Code

If you haven't already:

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Verify installation:

claude --version

2

Add Bito AI Architect MCP server

Use the claude mcp add command with the correct parameter order:

claude mcp add \
  --transport http \
  --scope user \
  BitoAIArchitect \
  <Your-Bito-MCP-URL> \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer <Your-Bito-MCP-Access-Token>"

Note:

• Replace <Your-Bito-MCP-URL> with the Bito MCP URL you received after completing the AI Architect setup.

• Replace <Your-Bito-MCP-Access-Token> with the Bito MCP Access Token you received after completing the AI Architect setup.

Important: The server name and URL must come BEFORE the --header option.

Scope options:

• --scope user: Available in all your projects (recommended)

• --scope project: Only in current project (stored in .mcp.json)

• --scope local: Only in current directory (default)

3

Verify installation

List your MCP servers:

claude mcp list

You should see "BitoAIArchitect" in the list.

Test the server:

claude mcp get BitoAIArchitect

4

Add guidelines (optional but highly recommended)

The BitoAIArchitectGuidelines.md file contains best practices, usage instructions, and prompting guidelines for the Bito AI Architect MCP server.

The setup will work without this file, but including it helps AI tools interact more effectively with the Bito AI Architect MCP server.

You can either create:

1. Global guidelines - Apply across all your projects. Best for teams or developers who want consistent standards everywhere.

2. Project-specific guidelines - Apply to a single project only.

Choose one of the following based on your preference:

Option A: Global guidelines

Create .claude directory if it doesn't exist:

mkdir -p ~/.claude

Create or edit CLAUDE.md:

nano ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md

Copy the contents of your BitoAIArchitectGuidelines.md file into this file, then save.

Option B: Project-specific guidelines

Run this command in your project directory:

nano CLAUDE.md

Or run these commands:

mkdir -p .claude

nano .claude/CLAUDE.md

Copy the contents of your BitoAIArchitectGuidelines.md file into this file, then save.

5

Start using Claude Code

In your project directory, run:

claude

Now, in the chat you can ask questions about your indexed repositories. The AI Architect will help Claude Code provide accurate answers based on your codebase.

Try asking something like:

What repositories are available in my organization?

Windows-specific notes

Windows (Native - Command Prompt/PowerShell):

• MCP servers using npx require the cmd /c wrapper:

# For stdio servers on Windows
claude mcp add --transport stdio my-server -- cmd /c npx -y @some/package

Windows (WSL):

• Configuration is stored in Linux file system

• No need for cmd /c wrapper

• Use standard Linux paths (~/.claude/)

Configuration file locations

Platform	Main config	Settings	Global guidelines
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\.claude\claude.json	%USERPROFILE%\.claude\settings.json	%USERPROFILE%\.claude\CLAUDE.md
macOS	~/.claude/claude.json	~/.claude/settings.json	~/.claude/CLAUDE.md
Linux	~/.claude/claude.json	~/.claude/settings.json	~/.claude/CLAUDE.md
WSL	~/.claude/claude.json	~/.claude/settings.json	~/.claude/CLAUDE.md

IMPORTANT:

• ✅ These files are managed automatically by claude mcp commands

• ❌ Do NOT manually create ~/.claude/mcp.json (this file doesn't exist)

• ❌ Do NOT manually edit ~/.claude/claude.json (use CLI commands instead)

Common Claude Code MCP commands

# Add HTTP server with Bearer token (correct parameter order)
claude mcp add --transport http --scope user \
  <name> <url> \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer <token>"

# Add server with environment variables
claude mcp add <name> -e API_KEY="value" -- npx @server/package

# Add server with JSON config (for complex setups)
claude mcp add-json <name> '{"type":"http","url":"...","headers":{...}}'

# List all MCP servers
claude mcp list

# Get server details
claude mcp get <name>

# Remove MCP server
claude mcp remove <name>

# View server status (inside Claude Code session)
/mcp

# Reset project-scoped server approval choices
claude mcp reset-project-choices

Troubleshooting Claude Code

Server not appearing:

# Verify it was added
claude mcp list

# Check for errors
claude --verbose

# Try removing and re-adding
claude mcp remove BitoAIArchitect
claude mcp add --transport http --scope user \
  BitoAIArchitect <Your-Bito-MCP-URL> \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer <Your-Bito-MCP-Access-Token>"

Note:

• Replace <Your-Bito-MCP-URL> with the Bito MCP URL you received after completing the AI Architect setup.

• Replace <Your-Bito-MCP-Access-Token> with the Bito MCP Access Token you received after completing the AI Architect setup.

Connection issues:

# Test the endpoint with proper MCP protocol
curl -s -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <Your-Bito-MCP-Access-Token>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"initialize","params":{},"id":1}' \
  <Your-Bito-MCP-URL>

# Should return HTTP 200 with JSON response for valid credentials
# HTTP 401: Invalid Bito MCP Access Token
# HTTP 404: Invalid Bito MCP URL

Note:

• Replace <Your-Bito-MCP-URL> with the Bito MCP URL you received after completing the AI Architect setup.

• Replace <Your-Bito-MCP-Access-Token> with the Bito MCP Access Token you received after completing the AI Architect setup.

Permission issues (macOS/Linux):

chmod 755 ~/.claude
chmod 644 ~/.claude/claude.json
chmod 644 ~/.claude/settings.json