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Grain

Installation

Supported Environments

Grain works in: Claude Desktop, Claude Code, VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Codex. grain connect sets up Grain in these agents. We test Claude Desktop and VS Code.

Install the CLI

One command. It brings its own runtime, so the machine needs no Node, npm or VS Code.

macOS and Linux:

curl -fsSL https://grain.tools/install.sh | sh

Windows (PowerShell):

irm https://grain.tools/install.ps1 | iex

The installer verifies the download’s checksum, installs Grain into .grain in your home folder, starts it in the background, and adds its bin folder to your PATH. It never asks for administrator rights. Open a new terminal, then connect your AI agents:

grain connect

To try the browser workspace, which is in Beta and may be unstable, run grain ui.

To leave your shell profile and PATH untouched, set GRAIN_NO_MODIFY_PATH=1 before running the installer and add the folder yourself. grain uninstall removes Grain and keeps your connections and downloaded drivers.

Minimal or container Linux environments without systemd are supported. Grain starts when an agent or editor needs it instead of staying running.

Install the Extension

The extension provides both the editor workspace and the local MCP daemon. It is a VS Code extension, so it installs the same way in VS Code, Cursor, and Windsurf. Search Grain SQL in your editor’s Extensions view, or install it from the command line:

code --install-extension pattrnlabs.grain

Set up each client

Every client runs grain --stdio. Codex, VS Code, Cursor and Windsurf pick up the PATH the installer set, so grain is enough. Claude Desktop does not read your shell’s PATH, so give it the full path: /Users/you/.grain/bin/grain on macOS (run echo "$HOME/.grain/bin/grain" to print yours), or C:\Users\you\.grain\bin\grain.cmd on Windows (double each backslash inside JSON).

VS Code

  1. Open the Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X).
  2. Search Grain SQL and install it.
  3. Reload the window if prompted.

This gives you the SQL editor tab and the local Grain service in one step. VS Code’s SQL editor uses it directly; Copilot Chat still needs the MCP entry below.

To let Copilot Chat’s agent mode reach the same service, run MCP: Open User Configuration and add grain --stdio under the servers key. The full JSON is in Connect your agent.

Cursor

Install the extension from Open VSX the same way as VS Code (step above), or register the MCP server directly:

Settings → MCP Servers → Add new MCP server → type command, name grain, command grain --stdio.

Windsurf

Install the extension from Open VSX the same way as VS Code, or add the server through Cascade’s MCP settings (Windsurf Settings → Cascade → MCP Servers → Add server, or edit the config file directly):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "grain": {
      "command": "grain",
      "args": ["--stdio"]
    }
  }
}

Copilot

GitHub Copilot Chat’s agent mode reads VS Code’s own MCP configuration, so use the same servers entry as the VS Code section above.

Codex

Add a grain entry to your Codex CLI config (~/.codex/config.toml):

[mcp_servers.grain]
command = "grain"
args = ["--stdio"]

Restart Codex after editing.

Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop has no command-line registration, so it’s configured by file.

  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "grain": {
      "command": "/Users/you/.grain/bin/grain",
      "args": ["--stdio"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop fully after editing. If the file already has an mcpServers object, add only the "grain" entry inside it.

Documentation