Getting Started — SPEC4AI

GETTING STARTED

Your first 10 minutes with SPEC4AI Studio

From install to running your first applet. Everything you need to know to get started.

HOW IT WORKS

The SPEC4AI stack

SPEC4AI Studio is a 3-part system. Each piece has a clear role.

Phone app (SPEC4AI Studio)

Runs on Android. Hosts applets, MCP server, on-device AI (Gemma 3n). This is your AI-powered phone runtime.

Desktop app (SPEC4AI Link)

Menu bar app (macOS) or CLI bridge (Linux/Windows). Routes commands between Claude Desktop and your phone.

AI assistant (Claude Desktop)

Your AI interface. Talks to the phone through SPEC4AI Link via MCP protocol.

Request flow

Claude Desktop

SPEC4AI Link

Phone (MCP Server)

Applets / Tools

STEP 1

Install the phone app

Install SPEC4AI Studio on Android

Download SPEC4AI Studio from the Play Store or sideload the APK.

Open the app

The MCP server starts automatically on port 8435. No configuration needed.

Note your pairing PIN

Go to Settings and note the 6-digit pairing PIN. You'll need this to connect from your desktop.

Prebuilt applets included

CalculatorTodoWeatherNotesTimerDoc Summarizer

STEP 2

Install SPEC4AI Link

SPEC4AI Link is the desktop bridge between Claude Desktop and your phone. Download it from the setup page.

macOS

Download the DMG, drag to Applications. Launches as a menu bar app.

Linux

sudo dpkg -i spec4ai-link-tm_1.0.2_amd64.deb

Windows

Run the installer. SPEC4AI Link will be available from the system tray.

All platforms include the Traffic Manager bridge for routing MCP requests.

STEP 3

Connect & pair

USB connection

Forward the MCP port over USB with ADB:

adb forward tcp:8436 tcp:8435

Then connect SPEC4AI Link to http://127.0.0.1:8436

WiFi / Tailscale

Use the phone's IP directly. Tailscale is recommended for remote access — it provides a stable, encrypted connection without port forwarding.

Pairing

macOS: Enter the 6-digit PIN from the phone into SPEC4AI Link. Pairing is cryptographic (Ed25519 + X25519 key exchange) — no passwords stored.

Linux / Windows: Set SPEC4AI_URL to point to the phone's IP and port.

Verify: Ask Claude “ping my phone” — you should get a response confirming the connection is live.

STEP 4

Things to try

Once connected, try these commands in Claude Desktop.

“Take a screenshot of my phone”hardware.screenshot

“What apps are installed on my phone?”app.list

“Open the Calculator app”package.launch

“Create a todo: Buy groceries”ui.setState

“What’s the weather like?”package.launch

“Set a reminder for 5pm: Team meeting”hardware.notification

“Summarize this document”model.small.inference

Each command maps to a tool in the MCP protocol. Claude picks the right tool automatically based on your request.

STEP 5 (OPTIONAL)

Enable Docker MCP

For safe file system and terminal access, enable Docker MCP. This runs filesystem, terminal, and development tools inside Docker containers — so your host machine is never directly touched.

1Open SPEC4AI Link → Settings → Docker Runtime → Enable

2Ensure Docker Desktop is running on your machine

3Try: “List files in my workspace” or “Create a hello.txt file”

Full Docker MCP guide →

What's next?

You're set up. Explore the full capabilities of SPEC4AI Studio.