Five steps, each with a check. You need an installed Rillsoft Project 10 and a compatible AI client. The MCP server runs locally in the open application. Your AI client may transmit the supplied project data to its provider, subject to its settings and terms. The setup instructions below state the verification details for each client.
If you do not use Rillsoft Project yet: product information is on the Rillsoft Project page.
1. Enable the MCP server#
In Rillsoft Project open Settings → MCP server, set the active switch and
leave read-only mode switched on for now. The port stays at the default
3928, the API key stays empty.
Check: The status line on the same page shows “running on port 3928”. If it shows “enabled but blocked”, a second instance occupies the port – close it or enter another port.
2. Open an industry example#
Via File → Open choose from the shipped examples the lead project of the
mechanical engineering package: folder 02_maschinenbau, project
“Montagelinie MX-200” (assembly line MX-200; the shipped sample data is in
German) – 60 people in seven teams, four projects and a base load in the
package. All people, companies and dates in it are synthetic, you cannot break
anything – and in read-only mode you cannot change anything anyway.
Check: The Gantt chart shows the project with its phases from order clarification to project closure.
3. Connect your AI client#
The dedicated Claude guide takes you through Code and Desktop setup to a first read-only query.
Choose your client and copy the command or configuration. Each entry says where the file lives, how to check the connection and when we last verified it in the program.
http://127.0.0.1:3928/mcpChoose your AI client
Claude Code
claude mcp add --transport http rillsoft-project http://127.0.0.1:3928/mcp{
"mcpServers": {
"rillsoft-project": {
"type": "http",
"url": "http://127.0.0.1:3928/mcp"
}
}
}The command writes the entry for the current folder; add --scope user to use it everywhere. Check it in the session with /mcp.
Claude Desktop
{
"mcpServers": {
"rillsoft-project": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "[email protected]", "http://127.0.0.1:3928/mcp"]
}
}
}Claude Desktop starts local servers only as a program; the mcp-remote bridge passes the requests on to Rillsoft Project and needs Node.js. Open the file via Settings → Developer → Edit Config, then restart Claude Desktop. Check: under Developer, rillsoft-project shows as running.
Codex
codex mcp add rillsoft-project --url http://127.0.0.1:3928/mcp[mcp_servers.rillsoft-project]
url = "http://127.0.0.1:3928/mcp"The command writes exactly this section to the file; you can also add it by hand. Check it in the session with /mcp.
VS Code
{
"servers": {
"rillsoft-project": {
"type": "http",
"url": "http://127.0.0.1:3928/mcp"
}
}
}Or run MCP: Add Server from the Command Palette and choose HTTP. Check: MCP: List Servers shows rillsoft-project as running, and its output names the tools found.
Cursor
{
"mcpServers": {
"rillsoft-project": {
"url": "http://127.0.0.1:3928/mcp"
}
}
}For a single project, use .cursor/mcp.json in the project folder instead. Check: Settings → MCP shows rillsoft-project with its tools.
Other clients
{
"mcpServers": {
"rillsoft-project": {
"type": "http",
"url": "http://127.0.0.1:3928/mcp"
}
}
}Any client that speaks the Model Context Protocol over Streamable HTTP connects to this address; your client’s documentation names the field names. Web apps such as claude.ai or ChatGPT cannot reach a server on your computer.
With an API key, the client adds the header Authorization: Bearer <KEY>; templates are on GitHub.
Check: The client lists the server’s tools – in read-only mode only the
read-only ones. If the list stays empty, check port and path: /mcp is
exact, /mcp/ is a 404.
4. Ask the first question#
Ask in the client:
Summarize the current project status: dates, progress, open conflicts, in five paragraphs.
Check: The answer names the project name, the period and the phases from the Gantt chart and nothing that is not in the project. If the client asks for confirmation per tool call, you see that it uses read-only tools only. More questions are in the prompt library.
5. Change and take it back with Ctrl+Z#
Switch read-only mode off in the settings and ask a mutating question:
Move the task “Fördertechnik-Montage” (conveyor assembly) two weeks later and show me how the capacity view for industrial mechanics changes.
Watch Rillsoft Project: the task moves, the follow-on dates move with it, the capacity view changes. Then press Ctrl+Z in Rillsoft Project.
Check: The Gantt chart jumps back to the starting state. Every mutating call by the AI is an ordinary editing step – you take it back like any of your own. The difference to moving a date by hand: Rillsoft Project recalculates follow-on dates and capacity – the AI only gave the instruction.
If something is stuck#
| Symptom | Cause and remedy |
|---|---|
client reports 400 | session or protocol revision missing in the request – the client must send initialize and then include Mcp-Session-Id and MCP-Protocol-Version: 2025-06-18 |
client reports 401 | an API key is set in the settings; the client needs Authorization: Bearer <KEY> |
client reports 403 | the request carries an Origin header as browsers send it; the server rejects that. Use an MCP client, not a browser page |
| no port after a crash | the auto-recovery dialog is waiting for an answer. Answer it or start Rillsoft Project with RillPrj.exe /mcp |
| server does not listen immediately | it starts a few seconds after the program; wait briefly |
| start from a script fails | start Rillsoft Project from PowerShell or cmd – Git Bash rewrites the /mcp flag into a path |
Afterwards#
The MCP page explains server, access protection and scripts without AI, the developers page the contract with schemas and error codes. The examples show three cases step by step on the shipped industry packages.
- Product version
- Rillsoft Project 10
- Verification
- Details from the Rillsoft Project 10 product documentation (as of 2026-09-08); reconciliation with the released build is pending.