Scaffold MCP connects to Claude Desktop via the Model Context Protocol, letting you upload Word documents, ask Claude to redline them with tracked changes, fill templates, and download clean .docx output — without leaving your Claude session. This article walks through setup, mirrors the video walkthrough below, and answers the questions that come up most after a first session.
Watch the 3-minute walkthrough above, or read the full written guide below.
What the Video Covers
The "Scaffold: Starting in Claude" demo covers the end-to-end workflow in under three minutes:
Connecting the MCP. Adds Scaffold to Claude's settings file, restarts Claude Desktop, and confirms the Scaffold tools appear in the interface.
Uploading a document. Uploads a sample Word document directly into the Claude conversation.
Asking Claude to redline it. Sends a natural language request — "redline this agreement to add mutual indemnification and flag any one-sided termination provisions" — and Claude returns the changes.
Downloading the result. Downloads a .docx file and opens it in Word, showing the AI's edits as standard tracked changes — the same format you would receive from opposing counsel.
The written guide below covers the same setup for readers who prefer text or who found this article through search.
How to Set Up Scaffold MCP in Claude Desktop
Step 1: Create a Scaffold Account
Go to app.scaffoldyourdocs.com/sign-up and create an account. The 7-day free trial does not require a credit card. Once you have confirmed your email, you will land in the Scaffold dashboard.
Step 2: Get Your MCP Configuration
In the Scaffold dashboard, navigate to the MCP setup section. Scaffold will display a configuration snippet — a short block of JSON that tells Claude Desktop how to connect to Scaffold's MCP server. Copy that snippet. It will include your personal API key or authentication token, so treat it like a password.
Step 3: Edit Claude Desktop's Configuration File
Claude Desktop stores its MCP configuration in a JSON settings file on your computer. The location depends on your operating system:
- Windows:
%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json - macOS:
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Open this file in a text editor. If it does not exist yet, create it. You will see a mcpServers section (or you will need to add one). Paste the Scaffold configuration snippet into that section. A minimal example of what the file structure looks like:
{
"mcpServers": {
"scaffold": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@scaffold/mcp"],
"env": {
"SCAFFOLD_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
}
}
}
}
Use the exact snippet from your Scaffold dashboard rather than copying the example above — the dashboard snippet will have your actual credentials.
Step 4: Restart Claude Desktop
Save the configuration file and fully restart Claude Desktop. A simple refresh is not enough — you need to quit and reopen the application so it reads the updated configuration on startup.
Step 5: Confirm the Connection
After restarting, open a new Claude conversation. You should see Scaffold listed in the available tools (typically accessible via the tools icon or hammer icon in the Claude interface). If Scaffold appears there, the connection is live. If it does not appear, double-check that the JSON in your configuration file is valid — a missing comma or bracket will prevent Claude from loading the MCP.
What to Try First Once You Are Connected
First: A Simple Redline Request
The fastest way to validate the connection is to upload a real document and ask for a specific change. Good first prompts:
- "Redline this NDA to make the confidentiality obligations mutual."
- "Review this lease and flag any provisions that heavily favor the landlord."
- "Add a standard limitation of liability clause to this services agreement."
Upload the document using the paperclip or attachment button in Claude, then type your request. Claude will process the document through Scaffold MCP and return a response. When you download the result, open it in Word and verify that the changes appear as tracked changes in the review pane.
The quality of that first output tells you a lot about whether Scaffold MCP fits your workflow. If the edits look reasonable — well-placed, substantively sound, formatted correctly — you have a working setup.
Second: A Template Fill
Once redlining is working, try the template workflow. In Scaffold's dashboard, open the Template Editor and convert a document to a template by marking variable fields — client name, date, counterparty, governing law, and so on. Save the template to your Scaffold account.
Back in Claude, ask it to fill the template: "Fill the retainer agreement template for a new client named [Name], matter starting [Date], flat fee of [Amount]." Claude will use Scaffold MCP to locate the template, fill the fields, and return a completed document.
Understanding what Scaffold MCP adds to Claude. Claude's base capabilities include reading and reasoning about text — it can analyze a contract, explain legal concepts, and draft new language from scratch. What Claude cannot do natively is work with Word documents as Word documents: open a .docx, preserve formatting, apply tracked changes in the Word review format, and export a properly formatted .docx file. Scaffold MCP fills that gap. It acts as a bridge between Claude's AI reasoning and Word's document format, so the output of the AI conversation is a properly formatted, tracked-change-annotated Word document rather than raw text. The attorney gets AI intelligence expressed in the document format they already use for review and negotiation.
Common Questions After Watching the Video
Does this work with ChatGPT instead of Claude? Yes. Scaffold MCP supports Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Gemini. The setup steps vary slightly by AI client — Claude Desktop is shown in the video because it has the most straightforward MCP configuration flow — but the core workflow is the same across supported AI clients.
Do I need to install anything? Claude Desktop needs to be installed, and you will need Node.js (npx) to run the Scaffold MCP server. Most developers already have it; the nodejs.org installer takes a few minutes if not. Scaffold itself is fully web-based — no additional desktop app.
Is document content sent to Scaffold's servers? Document content passes through Scaffold's MCP server to handle the Word file format. Scaffold does not store document content beyond the active session. See the privacy policy at scaffoldyourdocs.com for current terms.
What file formats does Scaffold support? Scaffold MCP works with .docx files. Convert .doc or PDF files to .docx before uploading — Google Docs can export via File > Download > .docx.
What happens if Claude makes an edit I don't want? Every AI edit comes through as a tracked change in Word — reviewable and rejectable, the same as edits from a colleague. You control the final document; nothing is committed without your review.
How many documents can I process on the free trial? The 7-day trial provides full Pro access. Check current limits on the pricing page — it is designed to give you enough throughput to evaluate fit on real documents.
Ready to Try It
The fastest path from here is to follow the setup steps above, connect Scaffold MCP to Claude Desktop, and run one real document from your practice through the workflow. The 7-day free trial gives you full access with no credit card required.
If you run into any issues during setup — JSON formatting errors, MCP not appearing in Claude, connection failures — the Scaffold documentation at scaffoldyourdocs.com covers troubleshooting for each step.