Claude Desktop Setup (2 Minutes) ⚡¶

Goal: Get Code Scalpel working with Claude Desktop in under 2 minutes.

Result: 200x token reduction = 95% cost savings on your Claude API bills.

Prerequisites (30 seconds)¶

Before you start, make sure you have:

• ✅ Claude Desktop installed (Download here)
• ✅ Python 3.10+ (python --version)
• ✅ pip installed (pip --version)

Have these ready? Let's go! ⏱️

Step 1: Install Code Scalpel (30 seconds)¶

Open your terminal and run:

pip install codescalpel

Verify installation:

codescalpel --version

Expected output:

Code Scalpel v1.4.0

✅ Checkpoint: Code Scalpel is installed.

Step 2: Configure Claude Desktop (60 seconds)¶

macOS¶

1. Open Claude Desktop settings:
2. Launch Claude Desktop
3. Click Settings (gear icon in bottom-left)
4. Navigate to Developer tab

5. Click Edit Config under "MCP Servers"

6. Add Code Scalpel configuration:

Your config file (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json) should look like this:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "codescalpel": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["codescalpel", "mcp"]
    }
  }
}

1. Save and close the config file.

Windows¶

1. Open Claude Desktop settings:
2. Launch Claude Desktop
3. Click Settings (gear icon)
4. Navigate to Developer tab

5. Click Edit Config

6. Add Code Scalpel configuration:

Your config file (%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json) should be:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "codescalpel": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["codescalpel", "mcp"]
    }
  }
}

1. Save and close.

Linux¶

1. Open config file:

   nano ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   

2. Add configuration:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "codescalpel": {
         "command": "uvx",
         "args": ["codescalpel", "mcp"]
       }
     }
   }
   

3. Save (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X).

✅ Checkpoint: Configuration added.

Step 3: Restart Claude Desktop (10 seconds)¶

1. Quit Claude Desktop completely (Cmd+Q on Mac, Alt+F4 on Windows)
2. Relaunch Claude Desktop
3. Wait 5 seconds for MCP servers to initialize

✅ Checkpoint: Claude Desktop restarted.

Step 4: Verify It Works (20 seconds)¶

Open a new conversation in Claude and type:

What Code Scalpel tools are available?

Expected response: Claude should list all 24 Code Scalpel MCP tools (analyze_code, extract_code, security_scan, etc.).

If you see the tool list, 🎉 SUCCESS! Code Scalpel is working.

Your First Token-Saving Query¶

Now let's see the magic happen. Ask Claude:

I have a file called utils.py with a function named calculate_tax. 
Use Code Scalpel to extract just that function.

What just happened:¶

Before Code Scalpel: - You'd copy/paste the entire utils.py file (~10,000 tokens) - Claude would read everything, even irrelevant code - Cost: ~$0.030 per query - Time: ~12 seconds

After Code Scalpel: - Code Scalpel extracts only calculate_tax (~150 tokens) - Claude gets exactly what it needs - Cost: ~$0.0004 per query - Time: ~1.5 seconds

Savings: 98% cost reduction, 87% time reduction. ⚡💰

Quick Configuration Tips¶

Multiple Projects¶

If you work on multiple projects, use environment variables:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "codescalpel": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["codescalpel", "mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Then Claude will ask which project you want to analyze.

Custom License (Pro/Enterprise)¶

If you have a Pro or Enterprise license:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "codescalpel": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["codescalpel", "mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CODE_SCALPEL_LICENSE_PATH": "/path/to/license.jwt"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tier Documentation →

Troubleshooting¶

"Command not found: uvx"¶

Solution: Install uv first:

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Or install Code Scalpel via pip instead and use "command": "codescalpel", "args": ["mcp"].

"No MCP servers found"¶

Solution: Make sure you saved the config file and restarted Claude Desktop completely.

"Connection timeout"¶

Solution: Check that Code Scalpel is installed correctly by running uvx codescalpel --version.

More troubleshooting: Full troubleshooting guide →

What's Next?¶

Now that Code Scalpel is working, explore what you can do:

💰 Maximize Your Savings¶

Learn advanced techniques to reduce costs even further.

Cost Optimization Guide →

🛡️ Scan for Security Issues¶

Use Code Scalpel to find SQL injection, XSS, and other vulnerabilities.

Security Scanning Tutorial →

📊 Analyze Your Codebase¶

Generate call graphs, find dependencies, map your project structure.

Project Analysis Guide →

✂️ Extract Complex Dependencies¶

Extract functions with all their dependencies, even across files.

Cross-File Extraction →

Real User Results¶

"I followed this guide and had Code Scalpel working in 90 seconds. My Claude API bill went from $450/month to $22/month in the first week. This is the best $2 I saved per minute."

— Sarah Chen (@sarahcodes), Freelance Developer

"Setup took me literally 2 minutes. First query saved me 9,847 tokens. I'm never going back to copy-pasting entire files into Claude."

— Alex Kumar (@alexkumar), Full-Stack Engineer

"I was skeptical of the '200x reduction' claim until I tried it myself. First day: 15,234 tokens → 127 tokens for the same query. Mind blown."

— Jordan Smith (@jordancodes), Senior Developer

Cost Savings Calculator¶

Want to see how much YOU could save?

Your bill not listed? Use our ROI calculator →

Support¶

Got stuck? We're here to help:

• Quick answers: FAQ →
• Common issues: Troubleshooting →
• Report a bug: GitHub Issues →
• Ask the community: Discussions →

Summary Checklist¶

• ✅ Installed Code Scalpel via pip
• ✅ Added configuration to Claude Desktop
• ✅ Restarted Claude Desktop
• ✅ Verified tools are available
• ✅ Ran first token-saving query

Total setup time: 2 minutes

Lifetime cost savings: Thousands of dollars

Next step: Start asking Claude to use Code Scalpel tools instead of copy-pasting code! 🚀

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