Connect Claude

Building by hand needs nothing but an account, and there is no AI in the window until you ask for it. To have Claude design, turn the assistant on and bring your own Claude. AI is never limited, on any plan: you bring your own, so Brickworks never counts it or bills for it (Plans).

Turn the assistant on

Tools › Settings…, then under Assistant (AI) choose Show the assistant. A first visit builds by hand, and with Build by hand only chosen the assistant's panel, its menu commands and the connector are all gone from the window.

Your Claude plan

Any Claude plan: no key, nothing to install. Claude's free plan has room for one custom connector, so there Brickworks takes it.

1. Open the app with the assistant on and press Connect Claude at the foot of the assistant panel.
2. claude.ai opens with Brickworks filled in as a custom connector. Press Add, then Connect.
3. Brickworks asks you to sign in (or goes straight on, if this browser is signed in) and to Allow Claude to build in your account.
4. In any Claude chat, ask: "build a small red house in Brickworks". It builds in your open tab, on any device, and you watch every step.

This connects once for your account; the Claude desktop and mobile apps have it too. It counts against your plan's usage like any other chat. More in The Claude connector.

Connected before, and Brickworks is still in your Claude? Press Connect on that one under Your connectors instead of adding another: it keeps the tool permissions you chose. Already in your Claude? Open your connectors, under Connect Claude, takes you there.

ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI apps

Connect your AI, at the foot of the assistant panel, starts on Claude. Choose the app you use under Your AI, then press Connect:

• Claude, Cursor, VS Code: the app's own link opens with Brickworks filled in.
• Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI: the command that adds Brickworks is copied, to run in a terminal.
• ChatGPT, Gemini, Le Chat, Perplexity, Grok: the address is copied and the app's own page opens, to paste it in.
• Another app: the address is copied, for any app that takes a remote MCP server and signs in with OAuth.

The app's steps, which of its plans can add one, and what it cannot do yet are shown under the button. Then sign in to Brickworks and Allow, as for Claude.

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http brickworks https://brickworks.diy/api/mcp

In the assistant panel, Claude Code under Connect Claude copies this command in one click. Then /mcp in Claude Code and Authenticate. Claude Code signed in with your Claude account also has the connector you added on claude.ai. More in Claude Code.

Your own API key

Pay as you go, from the Anthropic Console.

1. Make a key at console.anthropic.com, safest in a workspace of its own, with a spend limit, set to expire.
2. Paste it into the assistant panel. It is checked with Anthropic before it is kept, in your browser or for this visit only.
3. Describe what you want and press Build it. Choose the model and how hard it thinks.

Measured at the default setting, a small house took 11 minutes and $2.40, and a castle 45 minutes and $5 to $10. Medium effort costs about a third. More in Designing with AI.

Another AI

Not Claude? Tools › Settings…, AI… sets another AI on your own key, from OpenAI, Google Gemini, OpenRouter and others: see Another AI on your own key.