Start a local stdio server

The MCP executable is included in the published 1.0.0-rc.4 package on npm's next channel. Verify the exact version before installing so later channel moves do not change your setup:

Copynpm view @kanjieteam/kjdraw@1.0.0-rc.4 version

If your registry mirror does not return 1.0.0-rc.4, wait for it to synchronize or follow the source-checkout installation. Install the pinned version in a host-owned Node.js 22+ project:

Copynpm install @kanjieteam/kjdraw@1.0.0-rc.4
node node_modules/@kanjieteam/kjdraw/bin/kjdraw-mcp.mjs --check-tool-schemas

Create empty proposals and results directories, then start the verified executable with absolute host-selected paths:

Copynode /absolute/project/node_modules/@kanjieteam/kjdraw/bin/kjdraw-mcp.mjs --workspace /absolute/project --blank drawing.kjd --units millimeter --proposal-dir proposals --candidate-dir results

Use --input drawing.kjd or --input drawing.dxf instead of --blank to inspect an existing drawing. Relative drawing and output paths are resolved inside --workspace; the server rejects path escapes, symbolic-link traversal and conflicting output files. --candidate-dir is an explicit host policy that lets exact create proposals produce new KJD, DXF and SVG candidates. It does not let the model choose a path or overwrite the input.

For a persistent desktop-client connection, use the absolute installed script path in the client's stdio configuration instead of relying on a temporary package-manager cache. The AI client installer performs a safe user-level merge for supported clients.

Configure an MCP client

To see the protocol from a real host process before editing desktop-client configuration, run the maintained TypeScript MCP client starter. It performs initialize, tool discovery and a reviewable circle proposal against the packaged stdio server.

The exact outer configuration key varies by client. The server entry itself has this shape; replace every placeholder with a real absolute path selected by the host:

Copy{
  "command": "node",
  "args": [
    "/absolute/project/node_modules/@kanjieteam/kjdraw/bin/kjdraw-mcp.mjs",
    "--workspace", "/absolute/project",
    "--blank", "drawing.kjd",
    "--units", "millimeter",
    "--proposal-dir", "proposals",
    "--candidate-dir", "results"
  ]
}

Restart the client after saving its configuration. Ask Use KJDraw to draw a circle with a 5 mm radius. A successful create flow calls a KJDraw proposal tool and reports a candidate-ready result with new candidate paths. The original host drawing remains unchanged.

Inspect one tool call

MCP clients perform this JSON-RPC exchange. It is useful for understanding logs and building a test harness; an end user does not type it into chat:

Copy{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2025-11-25","capabilities":{},"clientInfo":{"name":"host-test","version":"1"}}}
{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"notifications/initialized"}
{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":2,"method":"tools/list","params":{}}
{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":3,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"cad_propose_circles","arguments":{"expectedRevision":0,"units":"millimeter","circles":[{"center":{"x":20,"y":20},"radius":5}]}}}

The proposal response has status: "awaiting-host-approval"; with the candidate-directory policy, the server can additionally materialize the exact create proposal as a new candidate set. There is no MCP approve, save, open or arbitrary-command tool. A trusted host owns review, authentication and any later mutation of an existing drawing.

Verify the boundary

Check all of these before treating a client as connected:

1. tools/list contains KJDraw tools such as cad_read_drawing and cad_propose_circles.
2. The call uses the current drawing revision and canonical drawing units.
3. The response contains structured proposal geometry, not only model prose.
4. A create flow writes new candidates only under the host-selected directory.
5. The input KJD or DXF bytes and revision remain unchanged until a trusted host applies an approved operation.

Run node node_modules/@kanjieteam/kjdraw/bin/kjdraw-mcp.mjs --check-tool-schemas to validate both supported unit profiles without starting a client. Continue with Agent workflows for proposal previews and approval handling, or Connect your model for direct provider adapters.