3 Steps.
Then You're the Chairman.

Make sure the path in claude_desktop_config.json is correct. Run ~/.chairman/chairman in your terminal — if it starts without error, the path is correct. Then fully quit and restart Claude Desktop (not just close the window). The chAIrman tools should appear in the tool panel on the next conversation.

This almost always means the Claude Desktop permission modes are not enabled. Go to Claude Desktop → Settings → Claude Code and make sure both Allow bypass permissions mode and Allow auto permissions mode are toggled on. Then fully quit (⌘Q) and restart Claude Desktop. Without these, agents spawn but immediately stall waiting for permission approvals that can never be granted through Claude Desktop's UI.

First confirm Claude Code is installed: run claude --version in your terminal. If not found, it comes bundled with Claude Desktop — reinstall or update Claude Desktop. Also verify you have an active Claude subscription (Pro or Max) with Claude Code access enabled. Check get_status for the agent ID to see the error message.

The dashboard starts automatically when the MCP server starts. If Claude Desktop has the MCP server running (you can see chAIrman tools), but localhost:3456 shows nothing, check if another process is using port 3456. You can change the port by setting the environment variable CHAIRMAN_PORT=3457 in the MCP server entry in your config.

Cost tracking depends on Claude Code's stream-json output including a total_cost_usd field in the result message. This is populated by Claude Code automatically — if you see $0, it may mean the task completed very quickly or Claude Code's version you have installed doesn't emit this field. Costs are still accurate in your Anthropic billing dashboard.

License keys follow the format CHRM-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX. Copy-paste directly from your account page — avoid any extra spaces. If activation still fails, contact support@mrchairman.ai with your account email and the key you're trying to activate.

Another process is occupying port 3456, preventing chAIrman from starting its dashboard. Free the port with:

lsof -ti :3456 | xargs kill -9

Then fully quit and restart Claude Desktop. The MCP server will re-bind to port 3456 on startup.

Claude Desktop shows the MCP server as disconnected with no clear reason. Run the binary directly in your terminal to see the exact error:

~/.chairman/chairman

The error message printed to the terminal will show what's failing (missing dependency, bad config, etc.).

Each chAIrman account is limited to 1 active device. If you're switching computers, log in again at mrchairman.ai/account — this re-registers the current machine as your active device and deactivates the previous one automatically.

Downloads require an active Pro or Unlimited subscription. Visit mrchairman.ai/account and verify your subscription status. If the download button is missing or grayed out, your subscription may have lapsed — check the billing section on that page to renew.

Two things to check: (1) Claude subscription — agents are powered by Claude Code, so an active Claude Pro or Max subscription with Claude Code access is required. Run claude --version in your terminal to confirm it's installed. (2) Tier agent limit — the Pro plan allows up to 2 concurrent agents. If you need more, upgrade to Unlimited at mrchairman.ai/#pricing. Use batch_status to see how many agents are currently active.