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How-to guidesHow-to guidesRegister an agent (Claude Desktop / MCPB)

Register an agent (Claude Desktop / MCPB)

The MCPB path is the right choice when you’re using Claude Desktop or Claude Code on a personal machine and want a one-file install.

Step 1 — Install the extension

  1. Download agentvalet-latest.mcpb.
  2. Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Extensions.
  3. Drag the .mcpb file into the extensions window.

If drag-and-drop doesn’t work (Windows 11 Store builds sometimes block it), use Settings → Extensions → Advanced settings → Install extension and pick the file from disk.

If neither path works, you can register from a terminal instead — see Register an agent (CLI). The CLI flow produces the same result and is a reliable fallback on locked-down corporate machines.

Step 2 — Start the registration call

Find your Owner ID first: dashboard → Settings, look for the Owner ID field in the Developer panel, and click the copy icon. It’s a UUID.

In Claude, ask it to register itself, passing the owner ID:

“Register this Claude instance with AgentValet using owner ID <your-uuid>. Call it ‘My MacBook’.”

Claude calls the agent_register MCP tool. It returns a registration_token and a poll URL.

Step 3 — Approve in the dashboard

Open Agents → Pending Approval in the dashboard. You’ll see a pending registration card with:

  • PENDING badge (blue) and a countdown timer (“Expires in 4m 32s”)
  • The agent name
  • A REQUESTED SCOPES section listing which platforms + scopes the agent asked for

Click Approve to open the Grant platform access modal. There you:

  1. Check the platforms you want this agent to access (only platforms you’ve already connected appear here — connect them first if needed).
  2. For each ticked platform, select the scopes to grant (requested scopes are pre-selected and shown with a blue dot ●).
  3. Toggle Require human approval per request on or off per platform.
  4. Click Approve with {N} platforms.

Step 4 — Paste the credentials back

In Claude, run agent_status with the token. It returns the agent ID, owner ID, and base64-encoded private key, along with a ready-to-use config object.

Paste those into the AgentValet extension’s settings fields in Claude Desktop:

  • Agent ID (starts with agt_)
  • Owner ID (UUID)
  • Proxy URL — leave as https://api.agentvalet.ai unless self-hosting
  • Agent Private Key (base64)

Restart the extension. The agent is now live.

Step 5 — Confirm it works

Ask Claude to call list_platforms. It should return the list of platforms you just granted. An empty list is fine if you didn’t grant any platforms yet; an error here means the credentials didn’t paste correctly.

Using AgentValet on more than one machine

Each Claude Desktop install is a separate agent. If you work from a laptop and a workstation, repeat Steps 1–4 on each machine and give the agents distinct names (“Edwin — MacBook”, “Edwin — Workstation”). They share the same owner (you), but have their own private keys and their own audit trails. Do not copy the private key between machines — re-register instead, so a lost laptop can be revoked without cutting off the other machine.

If something went wrong

  • “Pending forever” in the dashboard — the registration token expires after 30 minutes. Re-run agent_register to get a fresh token.
  • list_platforms returns 401 — check the agent ID, owner ID, and private key are all pasted with no extra whitespace. Pasting from a PDF or email is the usual cause of trailing newlines you can’t see; re-copy from the dashboard’s Install on Claude Desktop modal.
  • Extension shows “Credentials missing” on Claude restart — Claude Desktop’s secure storage occasionally drops MCPB credentials. Reopen the extension settings and re-paste from the dashboard modal. This is a Claude Desktop quirk, not an AgentValet problem.
  • list_platforms returns “Network error: cannot resolve…” or “connection refused” — the proxy can’t be reached. Most common causes:
    • A corporate VPN or proxy is blocking api.agentvalet.ai. Ask IT to allow it.
    • A man-in-the-middle TLS proxy (Zscaler, Netskope, etc.) — the error message will mention “TLS” or “cert”.
    • The proxy is actually down — check status.agentvalet.ai .
  • list_platforms returns “request timed out” — usually a slow corporate proxy. Retry; if persistent, ask IT to whitelist api.agentvalet.ai with no buffering.

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