AI Integration
Agents can work with pen.dev in two ways:
- Use an integrated agent from the desktop app
- Connect an external MCP client to a running pen.dev desktop or IDE host
Use an integrated agent
Open or create a .pen document in the desktop app. Choose a model, then
enter a request in the agent composer.
See Authentication for account and provider setup and AI agents and Skills for sessions, context, skills, and design variants in the desktop app.
Connect an external MCP client
- Install the pen.dev desktop app or IDE extension
- Open the
.pendocument the agent should use - Enable the client in Settings (⚙️) → MCP
- Start or reload the external client
- Confirm that
pencilappears in the client’s MCP server list
See Installation for Claude Code, ChatGPT and Codex setup.
Continue with Create your first design to try your connected agent.
MCP tools
The public server registers these top-level tools:
| Tool | Availability |
|---|---|
get_style | Standard |
read_skill | Standard |
get_app_state | Standard |
execute | Standard |
browser | When the MCP server targets the desktop app |
spawn_agents | Only when the MCP server starts with -enable_spawn_agents |
Check the client’s live tool list for the tools in your installed version.
Troubleshooting
The integrated agent has no model
Open Settings (⚙️) → Agents and check the selected provider.
The external client cannot connect
- Confirm pen.dev is running and a
.pendocument is open - Reload the client after changing its MCP configuration
A documented tool is missing
Inspect the live tool list. browser and spawn_agents are conditional.
An agent is using the wrong document
Open the intended .pen file and include its full path in your prompt.
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