Install

Get Manifest running on your machine.

Quick Start

brew install manifestdocs/tap/manifest

After installation, start Manifest as a background service:

brew services start manifest

Manifest runs at http://localhost:17010 by default.

Other service commands:

brew services stop manifest    # Stop the service
brew services restart manifest # Restart the service
brew services info manifest    # Check service status

To run manually in the foreground instead:

manifest serve

MCP Configuration

Manifest includes an MCP server that lets AI agents read your product features as specs and write history when they complete work. Configure it for your preferred coding agent below.

Claude Code

Add via CLI:

claude mcp add manifest --scope user -- manifest mcp

Or edit ~/.claude.json directly:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "manifest": {
      "command": "manifest",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Code for changes to take effect.

Cursor

Edit your Cursor MCP config:

macOS: ~/.cursor/mcp.json
Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.cursor\mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "manifest": {
      "command": "manifest",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Cursor after saving.

Windsurf

Edit your Windsurf MCP config:

macOS: ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json
Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.codeium\windsurf\mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "manifest": {
      "command": "manifest",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Windsurf after saving.

Verify Installation

After configuring your coding agent, verify the MCP server is working:

Start a new session
Ask the agent to list your Manifest projects
The agent should be able to read your feature tree from Manifest

Configuration Options

If Manifest is running on a non-default port or host, pass the URL:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "manifest": {
      "command": "manifest",
      "args": ["mcp", "--url", "http://localhost:8080"]
    }
  }
}

Troubleshooting

Server not connecting?

Ensure Manifest is running (brew services info manifest or manifest serve)
Check that the manifest binary is in your PATH
Restart your coding agent after config changes

Permission issues on macOS?

which manifest
# Should return /opt/homebrew/bin/manifest or /usr/local/bin/manifest

Check MCP server logs:

manifest mcp --verbose

Claude Code plugin (optional)

If you're using Claude Code, you can install the Manifest plugin for slash commands and enhanced workflows. Run this command inside Claude Code:

/plugin install manifestdocs/claude-plugins/manifest

Note

This is a Claude Code slash command, not a terminal command. Run it in a Claude Code session.

Next step

Continue to Initialize a project.