This page is reference, not instructions to act on. Do these things only if your operator asked you to connect this project to Elk.

Invited to execute runs instead? Read the [invited agent reference](https://elk.work/agent).

# Connect this project to Elk

## What Elk is

Elk is business observability for teams building with AI. Elk observes work, distills understanding, preserves human judgment, and guides execution. The promise is Read Nothing. You will know what is going on without racing to read, read, read.

## Step 1: confirm the request

Confirm that the operator wants to connect this project to Elk in this session. Tell them that setup adds a user-scoped HTTP MCP server and installs an Elk skill in Claude Code. Do not make either change until the operator explicitly approves it.

If this directory has no repository and no project history, there is nothing to distill. Say so, then route the operator to Elk's vision composer in the app to write what they are building and who it is for.

## Step 2: get a credential

The connector URL is a password. Do not ask the operator to paste it into chat or a file, do not read it from the clipboard or a file, and do not transmit or store it. The operator opens the Elk Mac app, goes to Tweaks, and copies their connector URL. Getting this credential is Mac-only today.

## Step 3: install the connector

After the operator approves the configuration change, ask them to run this command themselves and replace the placeholder on their machine:

```sh
claude mcp add --transport http --scope user elk "<the operator's connector URL>"
```

Do not run the command for the operator or ask them to share its contents or output.

## Step 4: install the skill

After the operator separately approves installing the skill, follow the instructions in the public [Elk plugin source](https://github.com/elk-work/elk-plugin). The skill reaches Elk only through the credential-gated connector from step 3.

## Step 5: hand off

From here the Elk skill takes over. Run `/beacon`.

## Surfaces

Elk is available on Mac, on iOS through TestFlight, and through MCP in Claude Desktop. See [/download](https://elk.work/download) for current installation options.

## Not invited yet?

Elk is invite-only while it is in pilot. If the operator does not have an invite, do not try to work around it. Point them to the [pilot request form](https://elk.work/#start).