Connecting MCP to the StateTick Ecosystem

The StateTick MCP lets an AI assistant work inside your project — reading it, editing it and, if you allow it, operating the machine. This tutorial connects it to Claude Code, one step at a time: opening the AI Agent in StateTick, choosing what the agent may do, registering it with Claude, and confirming the connection from the command prompt.

Step 1 — Open StateTick and the AI Agent

1. Start StateTick Studio and open the project you want the agent to work on.
2. In the menu bar, click Device.
3. Choose AI Agent…. The AI Agent window opens.

Step 2 — Read the AI Agent window

The window has three numbered sections. Work through them top to bottom.

1 · Status

Shows whether an AI agent is currently connected. A green dot with AI agent connected means Claude Code is talking to StateTick; the line underneath counts the calls made and when the last one happened. The first time you open the window nothing is connected yet — that is expected.

The Pause checkbox stops the agent from doing anything without disconnecting it. Tick it whenever you want to take back control for a moment.

2 · Access — set the permissions

Choose how much the agent may do in your project:

Setting	What the agent can do
Read-only	Look at the project and answer questions about it. It cannot change anything.
Author	Read and edit the project — create and change its contents.
Full	Everything the agent is allowed to do in the project.

Separately, the Operate the machine (deploy, start/stop, set/force values) checkbox decides whether the agent may act on a running controller. Leave it unticked unless you really want the assistant to deploy, start and stop the program, or set and force live values.

The access you choose here is written into the command in the next section (for example --scope full --operate). If you change it later, register the MCP again so Claude Code picks up the new setting.

3 · Connect

The path field shows where the StateTick MCP server is installed — normally:

C:\Program Files\Statetick\Studio\statetick-mcp.exe

If the field is empty, or you installed StateTick somewhere else, click Browse… and select statetick-mcp.exe in your StateTick Studio install folder.

Step 3 — Add StateTick to Claude Code

There are two ways to register the MCP. Use whichever you prefer — the result is the same.

Option A: one click

Click Add to Claude Code. StateTick registers the MCP with Claude Code for you, using the path and access you selected.

Option B: copy the command

Leave the dropdown on Claude Code command, click Copy, and paste the command into a command prompt. It looks like this:

claude mcp add statetick --scope user -- "C:\Program Files\Statetick\Studio\statetick-mcp.exe" --scope full --operate

The first --scope user registers StateTick for your Windows user, so it is available in every folder you start Claude from. The options after the path are the access you chose in section 2.

Step 4 — Make sure StateTick is running before you open the command prompt

This is the step most people trip over. Claude Code connects to its MCP servers once, when it starts. It does not notice an MCP that was added, or a StateTick that was started, after it was already running.

So before you continue, check:

• StateTick Studio is open, with your project loaded.
• The StateTick MCP has been added (Step 3), and the AI Agent window shows the path to statetick-mcp.exe.
• Pause is not ticked in the AI Agent window.

Step 5 — Open the command prompt and start Claude

1. Press Win, type cmd and press Enter to open a new Command Prompt.
2. Optionally, cd into the folder you want Claude to work in.
3. Type claude and press Enter.

The first time, Claude Code may ask you to sign in and to trust the folder you started it in. Follow the prompts until you reach Claude's input line.

Step 6 — Check the link with /mcp

At Claude's prompt, type /mcp and press Enter. This opens Manage MCP servers.

Under User MCPs you should see statetick marked ✓ connected, followed by the number of tools it offers.

Press Esc to close the list. Back in StateTick, the AI Agent window's Status section shows a green dot and AI agent connected once Claude is talking to it.

Step 7 — Try it

Ask Claude something about the project open in StateTick, for example:

• “List the equipment in this project and the interfaces each one uses.”
• “Which states does the main FSM have, and what conditions move it between them?”
• “Add a global Int called PartCount with a default of 0.” (needs Author or Full)

Claude asks before using a StateTick tool the first time; approve it to let the call through. Keep an eye on the call counter in the AI Agent window — it goes up with every request.

Troubleshooting

What you see	What to do
statetick is not listed under /mcp	The MCP was not registered, or Claude was started before it was. Repeat Step 3, then close the command prompt, open a new one and run claude again.
statetick is listed but failed or not connected	Check StateTick Studio is open and the path in the Connect section points at a real statetick-mcp.exe (use Browse to fix it). Then exit Claude with /exit, restart the command prompt and start claude again.
'claude' is not recognized	Claude Code is not installed, or the command prompt was opened before it was. Install it, then open a new command prompt.
Connected, but the agent refuses to change anything	Access is set to Read-only, or Pause is ticked. Raise the access level, register again (Step 3) and restart Claude.
The agent cannot deploy or start the machine	Operate the machine is unticked. That is the safe default — tick it only if you want this, then register again and restart Claude.

The rule behind almost every fix: StateTick first, MCP added second, a fresh command prompt and claude last.

Where to go next

The MCP works on the same project model you build by hand. If you are new to it, the basics tutorials explain what the agent will be reading and writing: Global Variables, Equipment and States. Everything the agent creates is ordinary project content, so you can review it under version control like any other change.