AI Integration

Connect DAAAM to your AI.

DAAAM runs a local server that any MCP-compatible AI tool can query. Ask Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or any other connected AI about your footage. It searches your real archive and returns ranked results, timecodes, GPS locations, and file paths.

Your footage never leaves your machine. The AI connects to a local process. No cloud, no API key, no upload.

Jump to:The easy way Claude Desktop Claude Code ChatGPT Cursor Other clients

Start here

The easy way: from inside DAAAM.

DAAAM knows the exact paths on your machine. The Settings panel generates the right config for you. No guessing, no editing paths by hand.

Open DAAAM Settings → Connect to AI

Click the gear icon in DAAAM, then select Connect to AI.

Choose your AI tool

Claude Desktop: toggle the switch. DAAAM writes the config file for you. Restart Claude Desktop and you're done.
Any other client: click Copy config to get the JSON block for your machine, or Copy command for the one-liner.

Paste into your AI tool's config

Follow the client-specific instructions below for exactly where to paste it.

Anthropic

Claude Desktop

The one-click path. DAAAM handles the config file automatically, so you don't need to touch any JSON.

Open DAAAM → Settings → Connect to AI

Toggle Connect Claude Desktop. Done. DAAAM writes the entry into Claude's config file on your behalf.

Restart Claude Desktop

Quit and reopen Claude Desktop. The DAAAM tools appear under the plug icon in the toolbar.

Manual setup (if you prefer to edit the file yourself)

Open ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json and merge in the block from DAAAM Settings. Create the file if it doesn't exist.

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "daaam": {
      "command": "/Applications/DAAAM.app/Contents/MacOS/dam_api",
      "args": ["mcp"],
      "env": {
        "DAM_DB_PATH": "/Users/you/Library/Application Support/ai.daaam.desktop/dam_index.db"
      }
    }
  }
}

The exact command and DAM_DB_PATH values are specific to your machine. Copy them from DAAAM Settings → Connect to AI → Copy config. Do not use the placeholder paths above.

Anthropic

Claude Code

Claude Code (the CLI) uses the claude mcp add command. Copy the exact command from DAAAM Settings. It has your real paths already filled in.

Copy the command from DAAAM Settings

Go to Settings → Connect to AI → Copy command. It generates a one-liner with your exact paths.

Paste it into your terminal

shell

claude mcp add daaam --env DAM_DB_PATH="/path/to/dam_index.db" -- "/Applications/DAAAM.app/Contents/MacOS/dam_api" mcp

This registers DAAAM with Claude Code globally. The real command from Settings has your actual paths, so don't use this placeholder.

Verify

Run claude mcp list and you should see daaam in the list.

OpenAI

ChatGPT Desktop

ChatGPT Desktop (Mac and Windows) supports MCP servers. The config format is the same JSON block, just in a different file.

Get your config block from DAAAM

Go to Settings → Connect to AI → Copy config. This gives you the JSON block with your exact paths.

Open ChatGPT's MCP config file

On macOS, the file is at:

path

~/Library/Application Support/com.openai.chat/mcp_servers.json

On Windows:

path

%APPDATA%\OpenAI\ChatGPT\mcp_servers.json

Create the file if it doesn't exist. ChatGPT also exposes MCP settings through Settings → Integrations in newer versions, so check there first.

Paste the config block

The file uses the same mcpServers format as Claude Desktop. If the file already has other entries, merge the daaam key in rather than replacing the whole file.

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "daaam": {
      "command": "/Applications/DAAAM.app/Contents/MacOS/dam_api",
      "args": ["mcp"],
      "env": {
        "DAM_DB_PATH": "/Users/you/Library/Application Support/ai.daaam.desktop/dam_index.db"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart ChatGPT

Quit and reopen ChatGPT. The DAAAM tools should appear in the tools panel when you start a new conversation.

Note: ChatGPT's MCP support is rolling out incrementally. If you don't see a tools panel after restart, check that your ChatGPT Desktop app is up to date and that MCP is enabled in Settings → Integrations.

Cursor

Cursor supports MCP servers. Add DAAAM globally (for all projects) or per-project.

Get your config block from DAAAM

Settings → Connect to AI → Copy config.

Add to Cursor's MCP config

Global (works in all projects):

path

~/.cursor/mcp.json

Per-project (only for the current workspace):

path

.cursor/mcp.json

Paste the mcpServers block into whichever file you choose. Create it if it doesn't exist.

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "daaam": {
      "command": "/Applications/DAAAM.app/Contents/MacOS/dam_api",
      "args": ["mcp"],
      "env": {
        "DAM_DB_PATH": "/Users/you/Library/Application Support/ai.daaam.desktop/dam_index.db"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Cursor

Cursor picks up MCP config changes on restart. The DAAAM server will be available in the Agent panel.

Universal

Any other MCP-compatible client

Windsurf, Continue, Cherry Studio, and any other tool that supports the MCP standard all use the same config format. Get the JSON block from DAAAM Settings and follow that tool's documentation for where to place it.

The block to add is always the same:

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "daaam": {
      "command": "/Applications/DAAAM.app/Contents/MacOS/dam_api",
      "args": ["mcp"],
      "env": {
        "DAM_DB_PATH": "/Users/you/Library/Application Support/ai.daaam.desktop/dam_index.db"
      }
    }
  }
}

Copy your actual config from DAAAM Settings → Connect to AI. The paths above are placeholders.

What your AI can do

Six tools. Everything your AI needs to navigate your archive.

Once connected, your AI has access to these tools, available in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or any other connected client.

Tool	What your AI can do
Search your catalogue	Natural-language search using the same engine as the app. Filters by country, city, device type.
Browse your library	Page through every asset, newest first. Useful for "show me everything from the Zimbabwe trip."
Inspect a clip	Full metadata: vision captions, transcript, capture time, GPS, chunk count.
View your boards	List all storyboards and collections. Get the ordered frames in any board.
Check what's indexed	Asset count and database path, confirming there's a catalogue before running queries.
Drive awareness	Every result reports the physical drive the original lives on, and whether it's mounted.

Privacy. The MCP server runs as a local process on your machine. It communicates with the AI client over stdio. No network port is opened, no footage is uploaded, and no catalogue data reaches any external server. The only data your AI can reach is your local DAAAM database.

Your archive. Your AI's context.

Ask your AI about your footage the same way you'd ask a colleague who'd watched every clip.

Download DAAAM About MCP →