Install Manifest

Manifest runs as a single process that serves the web UI and API server on port 4242. Install it with Homebrew or download from GitHub.

Install

Install with Homebrew:

Or download the latest binary from GitHub Releases.

Or run directly with npx (Node.js 22+ required):

Start the Server

Then open http://localhost:4242 in your browser. The web UI is embedded in the binary, so there is no separate frontend to install.

Connect Your AI Agent

With Manifest running, connect your coding agent.

Pi

This installs the @manifestdocs/pi extension, giving Pi full access to Manifest tools, skills, and prompts.

Claude Code

This makes Manifest available in every Claude Code session. For per-project config, use --scope project instead.

Other Agents

Any MCP-compatible agent can connect to Manifest. Add the following to your agent's MCP config:

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

This works with Cursor, Windsurf, Codex, Gemini CLI, Copilot, and others. See your agent's docs for the config file location.

Verify

Confirm your agent can reach Manifest:

1. Make sure the Manifest server is running (manifest serve).
2. Start a new session in your coding agent.
3. Ask: "List my Manifest projects"

If the agent returns a project list (or an empty list for a fresh install), the connection is working.

Next step

Continue to Initialize a project.