USER GUIDE
Spec4AI Studio — Complete User Manual
Everything you need to install, configure, and get the most out of Spec4AI Studio and SPEC4AI Link.
SECTION 1
Overview
Spec4AI Studio is an Android app that turns your phone into a programmable AI platform. It runs a local MCP (Model Context Protocol) server on the device, making your phone's sensors, storage, camera, and installed micro-apps available as tools to any AI assistant that speaks MCP.
SPEC4AI Link is the companion desktop app (macOS, Linux, Windows) that bridges your AI assistant — Claude Desktop, OpenAI Desktop, or any MCP client — to your phone over local WiFi. Once paired, your AI can take screenshots, read sensors, run micro-apps, and more, all without you writing a single line of code.
Phone app
Spec4AI Studio (Android) hosts the MCP server, micro-app runtime, and on-device Granite 4.0 AI.
Desktop bridge
SPEC4AI Link routes requests from your desktop AI to the phone and relays responses back.
AI client
Claude Desktop, OpenAI Desktop, or any MCP-compatible client becomes the front-end you talk to.
SECTION 2
System Requirements
SECTION 3
Installation
Step A — Install Spec4AI Studio on your Android phone
Open Google Play on your Android phone
Search for "Spec4AI Studio" and tap Install. The app is free to download.
Launch the app
Tap the Spec4AI Studio icon. The MCP server starts automatically on port 8435. No manual configuration is required.
Grant initial permissions
The app will request notification permission so background tasks can report their status. Additional permissions (camera, location, etc.) are requested individually when needed.
Step B — Install SPEC4AI Link on your desktop
Download SPEC4AI Link from studio.spec4ai.com/setup. Select your platform below.
macOS
- 1. Download the
.dmgfile. - 2. Open it and drag SPEC4AI Link to your Applications folder.
- 3. Launch the app. It appears as a menu-bar icon.
Linux
Install the Traffic Manager bridge from the .deb or .rpm package:
# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo dpkg -i spec4ai-link-tm_*.deb
# Fedora / RHEL
sudo rpm -i spec4ai-link-tm_*.rpmWindows
- 1. Download the Windows installer (
.exe). - 2. Run the installer. If Windows SmartScreen prompts you, click More info → Run anyway.
- 3. SPEC4AI Link is now available from the system tray.
SECTION 4
First-Time Setup — Pairing Your Phone
Pairing establishes a cryptographic trust relationship between your phone and desktop using Ed25519 key exchange and HMAC token authentication. No passwords are stored on either device.
Open Spec4AI Studio on your phone
Make sure the app is running and your phone is on the same WiFi network as your desktop.
Find the pairing PIN
Navigate to the Settings tab (bottom right) and tap "Device Pairing". A 6-digit PIN is displayed. The PIN is valid for 5 minutes — if it expires, tap it to regenerate.
Open SPEC4AI Link on your desktop
macOS: click the menu-bar icon. Linux/Windows: open the app from the system tray or application launcher.
Enter the PIN
Type the 6-digit PIN into SPEC4AI Link and confirm. The app performs the key exchange automatically.
Confirm the green indicator
On your phone, a green "Link" status indicator appears in the app's status bar, confirming the connection is live.
Pairing multiple desktops
You can pair more than one desktop to the same phone. Repeat the PIN process on each machine. All paired devices are listed under Settings → Device Pairing. Tap a device to unpair it at any time.
SECTION 5
The Chat Interface
The Chat tab (first tab at the bottom of the screen) is the primary AI interface. It combines a conversational chat window with quick-action shortcuts for the most common tasks.
AI Modes
A three-option selector at the top of the Chat tab controls which AI backend handles your requests. Tap a mode name to switch.
Auto
Automatically uses your desktop AI when SPEC4AI Link is connected and falls back to the on-device Granite 4.0 model when offline. Recommended for most users.
Desktop
Always routes inference to your connected desktop AI (Claude Desktop, OpenAI Desktop, etc.). Requires an active Link connection. Best for complex tasks that benefit from a larger model.
Local
Always uses the on-device Granite 4.0 model regardless of connection state. Completely offline-capable. Best for quick, private queries.
Quick Action Tiles
Four shortcut buttons appear at the top of the chat area. Each launches a common AI task with a single tap.
Web Research
Searches the web and synthesises an answer with cited source links. Ask any question — the agent fetches live results.
Photo to AI
Take a photo or pick one from your gallery, then type a question about it. The image is analysed by AI and you receive a plain-language answer.
Desktop Shot
Captures the current state of your Mac screen and brings it into the chat. Ask questions about what is on screen or request actions.
Build an App
Describe an app in plain language and the AI plans, builds, and deploys a sandboxed micro-app directly to your phone — typically in under two minutes.
You can hide the quick-action tiles from Settings → Quick Action Tiles if you prefer a cleaner chat view.
Sending a Message
Type your question or instruction in the text input at the bottom of the screen and tap the send button (arrow icon). The AI responds inline in the chat thread.
Chat history is automatically saved. To browse or retry past sessions, switch to the History tab.
You can also trigger any feature by typing naturally, for example:
SECTION 6
Web Research & AI Search
The Web Research quick action (or a natural-language question like “search the web for…”) triggers a live web search and synthesises the results into a summarised answer with clickable source links.
Tap Web Research or type your question
Either tap the "Web Research" tile or type a question in the chat input. The agent identifies search-style queries automatically.
Wait for results
The agent fetches results from the web and synthesises them. This usually takes 5–15 seconds depending on your connection and the complexity of the query.
Read the answer and tap sources
The response includes a summary and a numbered list of source links. Tap any link to open it in your browser for full context.
Note: Web Research routes through the desktop AI when SPEC4AI Link is connected (Auto or Desktop mode). In Local mode the on-device model answers from its training data without a live web search.
SECTION 7
Photo Analysis
The Photo to AI quick action lets you take a photo or pick one from your gallery, type a question about it, and receive an AI-generated answer.
Tap "Photo to AI"
The photo-to-AI tile appears at the top of the Chat tab. Tap it to begin.
Choose or take a photo
Select Take Photo to use the camera, or Pick from Gallery to choose an existing image. Camera and storage permissions are required — grant them if prompted.
Type your question
After selecting the image, a text field appears. Type what you want to know, for example "What species is this plant?" or "Summarise the text in this receipt."
Send and receive the answer
Tap send. The image and question are sent to the AI, which analyses the photo and responds with a plain-language answer.
Permissions required: Camera and storage (media). Grant these at Settings → Permissions or when the system dialog appears.
SECTION 8
Desktop Screenshot
The Desktop Shot quick action captures the current state of your Mac's screen and brings it into the phone chat, so you can ask the AI questions about what is visible.
Ensure SPEC4AI Link is connected
Desktop Shot requires an active Link connection (Auto or Desktop mode). Check the green status indicator in the app.
Tap "Desktop Shot"
The quick-action tile sends a capture request through SPEC4AI Link to your Mac. Your Mac's screen is captured and sent back to the phone.
View the screenshot and ask a question
The screenshot appears in the chat. Type a follow-up question such as "What error is shown in this terminal?" or "Summarise the email I'm reading."
macOS permission: The first time you use Desktop Shot, macOS may prompt you to grant Screen Recording permission to SPEC4AI Link. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording and enable SPEC4AI Link.
SECTION 9
Building Micro-Apps
Spec4AI Studio can generate entirely new micro-apps on demand. You describe what you want in plain language and the AI plans, codes, and deploys a sandboxed app to your phone — typically in under two minutes.
Start a build
Tap the "Build an App" quick-action tile, or type your request naturally: "Build me a daily water intake tracker" or "Make me a Pomodoro timer with custom intervals."
Watch the build stages
The History tab shows live progress: Planning → Building → Deploying → Testing → Complete. Each stage has a status indicator. The whole process typically takes 60–120 seconds.
Open the finished app
When the build is complete a notification appears. Switch to the Apps tab — your new app is listed under Your Apps. Tap it to open it full-screen.
Retry on failure
If a build fails or times out, go to the History tab, find the job, and tap Retry. Simplifying the description often helps on first retry.
App sandbox
Every generated app runs in an isolated sandboxed environment. Apps can only access permissions explicitly granted at build time and listed in their capability manifest. No app can read data belonging to another app or access the system outside its declared scope.
SECTION 10
Using the Founder Pack
The Founder Pack is a collection of 18 startup-focused micro-apps bundled together. They install with a single tap from the Apps tab.
Open the Apps tab
Tap the Apps icon (second tab at the bottom of the screen).
Tap "Activate Founder Pack"
A banner at the top of the Apps list shows the Founder Pack offer. Tap it to start the installation of all 18 apps.
Wait for installation to complete
All apps are installed in parallel. A progress indicator shows the overall status. The process takes around 10–20 seconds.
Explore your new apps
The Founder Pack section now appears in your Apps list. Tap any app to open it.
Apps included in the Founder Pack
SECTION 11
Managing Your Apps
The Apps tab lists all installed micro-apps grouped by pack. Use the search button (top-right magnifier icon) to filter the list.
Opening an app
Tap any app card to open it full-screen. Tap the X button (top right) to close and return to the Apps list.
Hiding an app
Tap the eye icon on an app card to hide it from the list. The app is not deleted — restore hidden apps from Settings.
Deleting a user-built app
Long-press an app card you created to open the action menu, then tap Delete. Prebuilt apps (Basic Pack, Founder Pack) cannot be deleted this way.
Searching apps
Tap the search icon in the top-right corner of the Apps tab and type any part of the app name to filter the list instantly.
Basic Pack — pre-installed apps
SECTION 12
Settings Reference
All settings are found in the Settings tab (bottom right, gear icon).
Home Screen
Choose which screen launches when you open the app: Agent Chat (the Chat tab) or Apps Library (the Apps tab). Default is Agent Chat.
Quick Action Tiles
Show or hide the four quick-action buttons (Web Research, Photo to AI, Desktop Shot, Build an App) at the top of the Chat tab. Turn off to reduce clutter.
Run in Background
Enables the Android foreground service that keeps the MCP server alive when the app is minimised or the screen is off. Recommended if you use SPEC4AI Link from your desktop.
Device Pairing
View your current 6-digit pairing PIN, regenerate it, and manage all paired desktop devices. Tap a device to unpair it.
Permissions
Review and grant Android system permissions — location, camera, microphone, contacts, and calendar. Each permission lists which tools require it.
Remote Access
Expose the MCP server to the wider network (beyond local WiFi) so external Claude Desktop or MCP clients can connect over the internet. Disabled by default.
Diagnostics
View a live log of recent tool executions with tool name, duration, request payload, and pass/fail status. Useful for debugging unexpected AI behaviour.
SECTION 13
Using with Claude Desktop
Claude Desktop can connect directly to your phone via the MCP protocol, giving Claude access to all 40+ phone tools — hardware control, app management, storage, and more — without any plugins or browser extensions.
1. Pair your phone with SPEC4AI Link
Follow the pairing steps in Section 4. SPEC4AI Link must be running and connected to the phone before Claude Desktop can reach it.
2. Add SPEC4AI to your Claude Desktop config
Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) and add the following block inside the mcpServers object:
{
"mcpServers": {
"spec4ai": {
"command": "/path/to/spec4ai-link-tm",
"args": [],
"env": {
"SPEC4AI_URL": "http://127.0.0.1:8435"
}
}
}
}Replace /path/to/spec4ai-link-tm with the actual path to the bridge binary. On macOS after installing SPEC4AI Link it is typically at:
/Applications/SPEC4AI Link.app/Contents/MacOS/spec4ai-link-tm3. Restart Claude Desktop
Fully quit and relaunch Claude Desktop. The phone tools will appear in Claude's tool list. You can verify by asking: “What tools do you have?”
4. Try example commands
Linux & Windows
On Linux and Windows, set the SPEC4AI_URL environment variable to the phone's IP address and port:
SPEC4AI_URL=http://<phone-ip>:8435Find the phone's local IP from its WiFi settings, or use a Tailscale IP for remote access.
SECTION 14
Troubleshooting
SPEC4AI Link shows 'Not connected'
- 1Confirm your phone and desktop are on the same WiFi network.
- 2Open Spec4AI Studio on the phone — the MCP server must be running (check the status bar).
- 3Go to Settings → Device Pairing on the phone and verify the PIN has not expired. Tap to regenerate if needed.
- 4Re-enter the PIN in SPEC4AI Link.
- 5If using Windows or Linux, check that the SPEC4AI_URL environment variable points to the phone's IP and port 8435.
PIN expired before I could enter it
- 1PINs expire after 5 minutes. Go to Settings → Device Pairing and tap the PIN to regenerate a fresh one.
- 2Enter the new PIN in SPEC4AI Link within 5 minutes.
App closes in the background / MCP server stops
- 1Enable Settings → Run in Background to start the foreground service.
- 2On some Android manufacturers (Xiaomi, Samsung, Huawei) you may also need to disable battery optimisation for Spec4AI Studio in the Android system settings.
Claude Desktop cannot see the phone tools
- 1Verify the MCP config block references the correct bridge path and that the bridge binary is executable.
- 2Restart Claude Desktop after editing claude_desktop_config.json.
- 3Check that SPEC4AI Link is running and shows a green connected indicator.
- 4Try asking Claude 'what tools do you have?' — the phone tools should appear in the list.
App build failed or timed out
- 1Open the History tab and tap Retry on the failed job.
- 2Ensure the desktop AI connection is active (Auto or Desktop mode).
- 3Try simplifying your app description. Very complex apps may exceed the 2-minute build window on first attempt.
Photo analysis returns an error
- 1Grant camera and storage permissions in Settings → Permissions.
- 2Ensure the image is not a raw or HEIC file — JPEG and PNG work best.
- 3Check that the selected AI mode has a live connection (Auto or Desktop requires Link to be connected for best results).
Web Research shows no results
- 1Web research requires a desktop AI connection (Auto or Desktop mode). Switch to Desktop mode if you are on WiFi.
- 2Rephrase your query — very short queries sometimes return fewer results.
Still stuck?
Use the Diagnostics panel (Settings → Diagnostics) to view recent tool executions with full request/response detail. This is the fastest way to identify which tool is failing and why.
Ready to get started?
Download Spec4AI Studio and SPEC4AI Link and have your phone connected to your AI in under 10 minutes.