fo-semantic-mcp Setup for Claude Desktop

About Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop is Anthropic's standalone desktop application for macOS and Windows. It supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP), enabling you to connect fo-semantic-mcp for AI-assisted D365 F&O development.

Claude Desktop uses a claude_desktop_config.json configuration file to manage MCP servers.

Configuration Steps

1. Locate Your Claude Desktop Config File

   Claude Desktop stores its MCP configuration in a JSON file. The location depends on your operating system:

   Windows macOS
   C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\Roaming\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

   Or type %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json in Windows Explorer

   ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

   Open Finder, press Cmd+Shift+G, and paste the path above

   File doesn't exist?

   If the file or folder doesn't exist, create them. Claude Desktop will use this file for MCP server configurations.

2. Get Your API Key

   Sign in to xplusplus.ai and get your API key from the dashboard.

   Get API Key
3. Add MCP Server Configuration

   Open your claude_desktop_config.json file and add the fo-semantic-mcp server configuration:

   { "mcpServers": { "fo-semantic-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "fo-semantic-mcp" ], "env": { "FOINDEX_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here", "FO_LOCAL_ASSETS_PATH": "C:\\Users\\YourName\\AppData\\Local\\Microsoft\\Dynamics365\\10.0.xxxx\\PackagesLocalDirectory", "FO_SEARCH_DEFAULT_THRESHOLD": "0.5", "FO_SEARCH_TIMEOUT_MS": "30000", "FO_SEARCH_DEFAULT_LIMIT": "10", "FO_SEARCH_MAX_LIMIT": "50" } } } }

   Configuration Options

   FOINDEX_API_KEY (required) - Your API key from xplusplus.ai
   FO_LOCAL_ASSETS_PATH (recommended) - Path to your local F&O PackagesLocalDirectory
   FO_SEARCH_DEFAULT_THRESHOLD - Relevance threshold 0-1 (default: 0.5)
   FO_SEARCH_TIMEOUT_MS - Request timeout in milliseconds (default: 10000)
   FO_SEARCH_DEFAULT_LIMIT - Default number of results (default: 10)
   FO_SEARCH_MAX_LIMIT - Maximum number of results (default: 50)

4. Restart Claude Desktop

   After saving the config file, completely quit and restart Claude Desktop:

   • Windows: Right-click Claude in the system tray and select "Quit", then reopen
   • macOS: Cmd+Q to quit, then reopen from Applications

   The MCP server will be automatically downloaded and started via npx on first use.

5. Verify the Connection

   In Claude Desktop, you should see an MCP tools indicator showing the connected server. Try asking Claude to search for F&O artifacts:

   Find all tables related to customer management in D365 F&O Show me forms that display SalesTable data What classes handle inventory transactions?

Finding Your PackagesLocalDirectory

To enable local XML file reading, you need to set FO_LOCAL_ASSETS_PATH to your F&O installation:

Typical Windows path:

PowerShell command to find it:

How It Differs from Claude Code

Both support MCP servers, but use different configuration files. If you use both, you'll need to configure fo-semantic-mcp in both locations.

Troubleshooting

MCP server not appearing?

• Ensure Node.js 18+ is installed and npx is in your PATH
• Verify the JSON syntax is valid (no trailing commas, proper quotes)
• Check that you completely quit Claude Desktop (not just minimize)
• Look for errors in the Claude Desktop developer console

No results returned?

• Verify your API key is correct and has available quota
• Try lowering the FO_SEARCH_DEFAULT_THRESHOLD value (e.g., 0.3)
• Try a simpler, more specific search query

Timeout errors?

• Increase FO_SEARCH_TIMEOUT_MS to 30000 or higher
• Check your internet connection
• Try again - the first request may take longer as npx downloads the package