What Is Paper?
Paper is a professional design tool for building user interfaces. Think of it like a canvas where you create web pages, app screens, and layouts visually. When you connect it to Claude Code, Claude can see your designs and create new ones for you, right on the canvas.
You describe what you want. Claude draws it. You watch it appear in real time.
Video Tutorial
What You Need
- Claude Code installed and working on your computer.
- Paper Desktop app downloaded from paper.design.
That is all. The setup takes about 30 seconds.
Step 1: Install the Connection
Open your terminal (or the Claude Code window) and paste this command:
claude mcp add paper --transport http http://127.0.0.1:29979/mcp --scope userThis tells Claude Code where to find Paper on your computer. You only need to run this once. It saves the connection so it works every time you open Claude Code.
Step 2: Open Paper
Open the Paper app and create a new file (or open one you already have). You need a file open for Claude to connect to it. An empty file is fine.
Step 3: Check the Connection
Start a new chat in Claude Code and type:
/mcpYou should see paper in the list of connected tools. If it shows up, you are good to go.
Try It Out
Now ask Claude to make something. Start simple:
Create a red rectangle in PaperClaude will ask for permission to use the Paper tools. Say yes. A red rectangle should appear on your canvas. If it does, everything is working.
From here you can ask for anything: a landing page, a mobile app screen, a card layout, a full website mockup. Claude reads your existing designs and builds new elements right alongside them.
Tips
- Keep Paper open. Claude can only connect when the app is running with a file open.
- Be specific. Instead of "make a page," try "create a pricing page with three tiers and a dark background." The more detail you give, the better the result.
- Watch it build. Claude draws each piece one at a time so you can see it come together. If something looks off, just tell Claude to fix it.
What You Learned
You connected Paper to Claude Code with one command. Now Claude can create and edit designs on your canvas. Describe what you want, and watch it appear.
