Claude Cowork Installation Guide

The production connector is live and can be added manually now:

https://mcp.memoryrouter.ai/mcp

Cowork memory is model-directed. Claude chooses when to search or save, because Cowork does not provide this integration the deterministic lifecycle hooks used by Claude Code. Ask explicitly when a lookup matters; the optional Skill improves consistency but is not an authorization boundary.

Prerequisites

1. A Claude account with Cowork access. Open the Cowork tab before following Cowork-specific Customize paths.
2. A MemoryRouter account with at least one vault. A vault is a private memory collection. You choose one during OAuth; no API key is pasted into Claude.
3. Permission to add a custom connector. Individual users can add one through their connector settings. Team and Enterprise members may need an Owner/Primary Owner to add it to the organization first.
4. Optional Skill/plugin permission. Team/Enterprise Owners can disable Skills, custom uploads, or plugin availability by policy.

Estimated time: 3–5 minutes for the connector, plus 2–3 minutes for an optional Skill/plugin.

Install

Choose your setup

A. Connector only (recommended first): fastest, no download, explicit plain-language requests.

B. Connector + standalone Skill: adds behavior and scope guidance. The Skill is instructions that teach Claude when and how to use MemoryRouter; it does not grant permissions.

C. Manual plugin: bundles the connector and namespaced Skills. Use the read/write or read-only variant, never both. This is a local/custom upload—not a public marketplace installation.

A. Add the custom connector

1. Open the Cowork tab.

2. Open Customize → Connectors.

3. Choose Add custom connector.

4. Name it MemoryRouter.

5. Paste:

   https://mcp.memoryrouter.ai/mcp

6. Leave advanced OAuth client ID and client secret fields empty. MemoryRouter publishes discovery metadata and supports dynamic client registration.

7. Choose Connect.

Enable it in a conversation

Configuration alone does not enable every conversation. In the composer:

1. Choose the + button at the lower left.
2. Choose Connectors.
3. Turn MemoryRouter on for this conversation.

You can turn it off per conversation without disconnecting the account-level connector.

B. Optional standalone Skill

Download the verified v2.0.0 Skill ZIP:

Download memoryrouter-skill-2.0.0.zip

Then:

1. Open Customize → Skills.
2. Choose the option to upload a custom Skill.
3. Select the ZIP and wait for validation.
4. Enable the MemoryRouter Skill.
5. Make sure code execution/file creation and Skills are enabled if Claude says the Skill is unavailable. Team/Enterprise policy may require an Owner.

C. Optional custom plugin

Choose exactly one:

• Download read/write plugin v2.0.0
• Download read-only plugin v2.0.0

In Cowork, open Customize, add/upload a custom plugin file, select the ZIP, and enable it. Custom plugins uploaded by an individual in Cowork or Claude Desktop are stored locally on that computer. Do not install both variants for one user.

After installation, type / or choose + to find plugin Skills such as /memoryrouter:memory-scope, /memoryrouter:recall, /memoryrouter:remember, and /memoryrouter:memory-status. Cowork may display readable titles instead of the full internal name.

Authentication and permissions

OAuth and vault selection

After Connect, Claude opens MemoryRouter OAuth:

1. Sign in with Google or GitHub.
2. Select the one MemoryRouter vault this connection should use.
3. Review requested scopes.
4. Approve and return to Claude.

OAuth means Claude receives a revocable access token—not your password or raw Memory Key. One OAuth connection is bound to one vault. To switch vaults, disconnect and reconnect, then choose again.

Read-only versus read/write

• memories:read allows recall and status.
• memories:write allows saving new memories. It is independent of read.
• memories:delete allows irreversible whole-vault deletion only; read/write do not imply it.

A standalone “read-only” Skill is behavioral guidance, not security. Enforce least privilege with the read-only plugin (which pins memories:read) or an organization tool policy that blocks store_memory and deletion. The read/write plugin requests read and write. A connector-only flow may begin with read and ask for reauthorization when a write is first requested.

Personal, project, and organization scope

The OAuth-selected vault is the real data boundary. The optional Skill/plugin also supports visible conversation labels:

/memoryrouter:memory-scope personal
/memoryrouter:memory-scope project acme-launch
/memoryrouter:memory-scope org acme

The Skill refuses ambiguous writes until you set a scope and asks you to confirm that an organization scope uses the intended team vault. These handles are behavioral labels, not server-enforced tool arguments. For strict project or organization isolation, create a dedicated vault and connection.

Connector-only users should use a dedicated vault for strict isolation and state the context plainly in the conversation; slash commands come from the plugin, not the bare connector.

Verify

1. Verify connection and permissions

With MemoryRouter enabled under + → Connectors, ask:

Use MemoryRouter memory_status. Tell me only the connected vault status, memory count, and granted scopes. Do not estimate anything.

Success means Claude shows a MemoryRouter tool call and reports an opaque vault reference/counts. It should not display a raw Memory Key.

2. Verify write and cross-conversation recall

For a read/write connection:

1. Ask: “Use MemoryRouter to remember: my Cowork installation test phrase is silver harbor 31.”
2. Confirm Claude actually called store_memory; a prose promise alone is not proof.
3. Open a new conversation, enable MemoryRouter through + → Connectors, and ask: “Check my MemoryRouter memory for my Cowork installation test phrase.”
4. Confirm Claude calls search_memories and returns silver harbor 31.

Use a unique phrase. Because use is model-directed and storage completes asynchronously, wait a few seconds before the new conversation if recall is initially empty.

3. Verify read-only enforcement

For a read-only plugin/policy, ask Claude to store a harmless test fact. Success means it refuses or receives an insufficient-scope response and no memory is created. Do not widen permissions merely to make this negative test pass.

Troubleshooting

“Add custom connector” is missing or disabled

• Confirm you are in the right surface: Cowork → Customize → Connectors, or ordinary chat → Settings → Connectors.
• Team/Enterprise members should ask an Owner/Primary Owner whether custom connectors are enabled and provisioned.
• Check whether an account plan limit or organization connector policy has been reached.

Connector is configured but Claude cannot see it in chat

Open + → Connectors in that conversation and toggle MemoryRouter on. Account-level configuration and conversation-level enablement are separate steps.

Browser sign-in loops, expires, or selects the wrong vault

Remove/disconnect MemoryRouter from Claude connector settings, add the same URL again, and complete OAuth in one browser session. Choose the intended vault. Leave client ID/secret empty. If corporate browser policy blocks loopback/pop-up flows, ask the administrator to permit the OAuth domains.

Claude says authentication is required

Expected on first protected tool use if connection was not completed. Choose Connect/sign in, then retry. If it repeats, disconnect and reconnect rather than repeatedly asking Claude to call the tool.

“Insufficient scope” when saving

The token is read-only. If saving is intended, disconnect/reconnect with the read/write plugin or approve memories:write when prompted. A 403 is a permission decision, not a transient retry. For read-only users, this is the correct result.

Claude ignores memory

Tool use is model-directed. Ask explicitly: “Check my MemoryRouter memory for…” Confirm MemoryRouter is toggled on. Enable the Skill/plugin for more consistent behavior. For guaranteed automatic lifecycle memory, use Claude Code or Codex.

Recall returns nothing

Run memory_status and confirm the connected vault is the one that contains your data. A common cause is selecting a new/personal vault while expecting a project/team vault. Reconnect to switch.

Skill is missing, greyed out, or rejected

Confirm Skills and code execution/file creation are enabled. Team/Enterprise Owners control those capabilities. Re-download the ZIP rather than re-zipping its contents, and review the artifact if Claude reports an invalid or untrusted package.

Plugin is missing after upload

Custom plugin upload is supported in Cowork and Claude Desktop. Confirm the plugin is enabled under Customize and that you are on the same computer where it was uploaded. Organization-managed plugin visibility depends on marketplace installation preference and group policy.

A scope command is unknown

Slash commands come from the optional plugin. A bare connector has tools but no /memoryrouter:... Skills. Install/enable the plugin or ask in plain language.

Upgrade

Connector only

The production URL stays the same; there is nothing on your computer to upgrade. If authentication or scopes changed, disconnect and reconnect. Claude requires removing/re-adding a custom connector to change its details.

Standalone Skill

Download the current memoryrouter-skill-2.0.0.zip, remove the old custom Skill if necessary, upload the current ZIP under Customize → Skills, enable it, and rerun the verification exercise.

Custom plugin

Upload the current v2.0.0 ZIP under the same plugin name. Organization manual marketplaces replace a plugin when an Owner uploads the same name; GitHub-synced marketplaces update when the owner syncs a repository containing a version bump. After upgrade, check the displayed plugin version and rerun status. Reconnect OAuth only if permission mode changed or authentication is stale.

Uninstall

1. In an active conversation, open + → Connectors and turn MemoryRouter off.
2. Open Claude connector settings, disconnect, and remove the MemoryRouter custom connector.
3. Under Customize → Skills, disable/delete the standalone Skill if installed.
4. Under Customize → Plugins, disable/remove the custom plugin if installed. Organization-managed plugins may require an Owner.
5. If switching from read/write to read-only (or vice versa), remove the old variant first and reconnect OAuth so stale scopes are not reused.

Uninstalling does not delete stored vault memories. Remove individual memories in the MemoryRouter dashboard. Whole-vault deletion is a separate, irreversible forget_all_memories action requiring memories:delete and the exact phrase DELETE ALL MEMORIES; “forget that” is never consent to erase a vault.

Enterprise and admin

For Team and Enterprise, an Owner/Primary Owner should:

1. Enable Cowork, Skills, and the relevant connector/plugin capabilities.
2. Open Organization settings → Connectors → Add, hover Custom, choose Web, paste https://mcp.memoryrouter.ai/mcp, leave optional OAuth client credentials empty, and choose Add.
3. Tell each member to open Customize → Connectors, find MemoryRouter with the Custom label, choose Connect, complete OAuth, and select an authorized vault. Do not distribute raw keys.
4. Set tool policy: search/status allow; write ask; whole-vault delete ask or blocked.
5. For read-only groups, distribute only memoryrouter-readonly and block write/delete tools.
6. Distribute the Skill organization-wide or create a manual/private GitHub-synced marketplace for the plugin. This is an internal marketplace—not a claim of public Claude marketplace approval.
7. Pilot with a real user, test a denied write for read-only, and review organization events before broad rollout.

Manual marketplaces accept plugin ZIPs up to 50 MB. GitHub-synced organization marketplaces require a private/internal repository. Group overrides can make a plugin Required, Installed by default, Available for install, or Not available.

Third-party inference deployments on Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Foundry may use the repository's managedMcpServers templates through device management. Those JSON templates are not files consumed by standard claude.ai Team/Enterprise and must be validated in the target MDM system.

Limitations

• Cowork recall and capture are model-directed, not guaranteed every turn.
• Skills and conversational scope labels guide behavior but do not enforce authorization.
• One OAuth connection binds one vault. Switching vaults requires reconnecting.
• The MCP server has no project/vault argument on individual tool calls. Use separate vaults for strict isolation.
• Per-memory deletion is not an MCP tool. Use the dashboard; never treat a store receipt as a deletion ID.
• The optional bundle is not publicly marketplace-approved/listed; manual artifact and organization distribution paths are the current supported options.
• Remote connector traffic originates from Anthropic's cloud, even when Cowork/Desktop runs on your computer. A private server reachable only from your laptop/VPN would not work.

Support

Email hello@memoryrouter.ai. Include:

• Claude surface (Cowork web/desktop/mobile), account plan, and operating system;
• connector-only, Skill, read/write plugin, or read-only plugin;
• the exact symptom, whether the connector is enabled for the conversation, and the scopes reported by memory_status;
• whether this is an individual or organization-managed install.

Never send a raw Memory Key, OAuth token, authorization code, or memory contents. Account-specific UI paths and OAuth acceptance remain manual checks when support cannot access your organization.