How to add AI Distiller (aid) to Claude Desktop

Distill large codebases into AI-friendly context — public APIs, types, and structure, 90-98% smaller. Paste the config into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json and restart Claude Desktop.

Last updated June 14, 2026 · 160★ · stdio · no auth

Claude Desktop config for AI Distiller (aid)

claude mcp add aid -- npx -y @janreges/ai-distiller-mcp

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ai-distiller-aid": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@janreges/ai-distiller-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Setup steps

1Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config (this opens ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json).
2Paste the AI Distiller (aid) config below under the top-level "mcpServers" key.
3Fill in any placeholder secrets (API keys, paths) in the snippet.
4Save the file, then fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop.
5Open a chat and confirm AI Distiller (aid)'s tools appear under the 🔌 tools menu.

Before you start

Node.js with npx (the MCP server is installed via `npx -y @janreges/ai-distiller-mcp`)
An MCP-compatible client (Claude Code/Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code)

What AI Distiller (aid) can do in Claude Desktop

distill_file

Extract structure (public APIs, types, signatures) from a single file.

distill_directory

Extract structure from an entire directory of source code.

list_files

Browse directories with file statistics.

get_capabilities

Get information about AI Distiller capabilities.

aid_hunt_bugs

Generate bug-hunting prompts with distilled code.

aid_suggest_refactoring

Create refactoring analysis prompts.

aid_generate_diagram

Produce diagram generation prompts (Mermaid).

aid_analyze_security

Generate security audit prompts (OWASP Top 10).

Security

AI Distiller extracts code structure that may include function/variable names revealing business logic, API endpoints and internal routes, type information, comments/docstrings (unless stripped with --comments=0), and file paths revealing project structure. Always review output before sending to external services; consider running a secrets scanner on your codebase first. The tool runs 100% locally and makes no network connections of its own.

AI Distiller (aid) + Claude Desktop FAQ

Where is the Claude Desktop config file?

Claude Desktop reads MCP servers from ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Paste the AI Distiller (aid) config there under the "mcpServers" key and restart the client.

Is AI Distiller (aid) safe to use with Claude Desktop?

Is my code sent anywhere?

No. AI Distiller runs 100% locally. It only extracts and formats your code structure — you decide what to do with the output. The tool itself makes no network connections.

Which programming languages are supported?

Currently 12+ languages via tree-sitter: Python, TypeScript, JavaScript, Go, Java, C#, Rust, Ruby, Swift, Kotlin, PHP, and C++. All parsers are bundled in the binary — no external dependencies.

Does AI Distiller perform the analysis itself?

No. It generates specialized analysis prompts combined with distilled code; AI agents (Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT) then execute those prompts. For large codebases you can copy the output into tools with very large context windows like Gemini.

View repo Full AI Distiller (aid) page