AI solution Ask Directo: just ask, and the AI gives you answers based on your Directo data

The Ask Directo solution is built on an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server, which, simply put, is a small local technical helper program running on your computer. By installing the MCP on your computer, you allow an AI assistant (Claude, Gemini) to securely read data directly from your Directo system. All you need to do is ask your questions in plain language.

Read more about what Ask Directo can do: https://directo.ee/ask-directo.

This guide explains how to connect the Directo ERP system to an AI assistant (Claude or Gemini) through a local MCP (Model Context Protocol) server. The guide is intended for both Claude Desktop and Gemini CLI users - the shared steps only need to be done once, after which you pick the section for your AI client.

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that lets AI assistants communicate directly with external systems — databases, APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), and applications.

Without MCP, working with an AI assistant looks like this:

1. You copy data out of Directo
2. You paste it into the AI conversation
3. The AI answers
4. You copy the answer back into Directo

With MCP, it looks like this:

1. You ask in natural language: “Which items are below minimum stock level?”
2. The AI queries the Directo API (Application Programming Interface) itself
3. The AI analyzes the data and answers immediately

You (natural language)
        ↕
AI client (Claude Desktop or Gemini CLI)
        ↕  MCP protocol (local)
MCP Server (on your computer, Node.js)
        ↕  HTTPS
Directo API (cloud)

The MCP server runs on your computer. The Directo API key never leaves your machine. The data retrieved from Directo does, however, travel onward to the AI provider's cloud so the model can read it and formulate a natural-language answer — the same as any other message content in the conversation.

Check every prerequisite before installing. A missing prerequisite is the most common cause of failure.

Official documentation: https://docs.claude.ai

Official documentation: https://geminicli.com/docs

Risks and an important warning:

• Node.js installer — low risk, official software
• Do not open any of the other steps as administrator, even if an earlier version of this guide or examples found online suggest it — -Scope CurrentUser exists specifically to avoid needing admin rights
• If your everyday account and your admin rights come from separate Windows accounts (common in corporate/domain environments), opening something as administrator runs the action under the *other* account's profile — the module, setting, or key then “disappears” from your regular user's point of view. See the troubleshooting chapter for details.
• Don't run npm install as administrator — this creates permission conflicts
• npm install -g (e.g. Gemini CLI, Step 5.1) only needs admin rights if npm's global prefix points at the Program Files folder — Step 5.1 includes a fix that avoids this

1. Go to https://nodejs.org and download the LTS version (22 or newer)
2. Run the downloaded .msi file as administrator
3. Install with the default settings — don't change the install location

Verify the install (regular PowerShell, not admin):

node --version

Expected result:

v22.11.0 or newer

Step A1 — Downloading the files

Download directo-mcp-files.zip and extract it:

directo-mcp-files.zip

Extract it (right-click the ZIP → Extract All, or in PowerShell):

Expand-Archive "$env:USERPROFILE\Downloads\directo-mcp-files.zip" -DestinationPath "$env:USERPROFILE\Downloads\directo-mcp-files"
cd "$env:USERPROFILE\Downloads\directo-mcp-files"

Before running the scripts, two Windows default security restrictions must be cleared — both are required, not optional:

1) Allow running scripts in PowerShell at all:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

2) Remove Windows' “downloaded from the internet” (Mark of the Web) flag:

Get-ChildItem "$env:USERPROFILE\Downloads\directo-mcp-files" -Recurse | Unblock-File

The archive contains four files: directo-mcp.js (the MCP server itself), set-directo-apikey.ps1, install-claude-mcp.ps1, install-gemini-mcp.ps1.

Step A2 — Running the scripts

In the same PowerShell window (not as administrator), in the folder you just extracted:

# API key (shared by both clients, do this first)
.\set-directo-apikey.ps1
 
# Pick your AI client (or both):
.\install-claude-mcp.ps1
.\install-gemini-mcp.ps1

Each script prints a summary at the end — what's done (✅) and what still needs manual action (❗).

Check the current setting:

Get-ExecutionPolicy

If the answer isn't RemoteSigned, fix it in a regular PowerShell window (not as administrator):

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

It will ask for confirmation → press Y → Enter.

Open a regular PowerShell window (not as administrator) — under exactly the same user account the MCP server will later run under:

Install-Module -Name CredentialManager -Force -Scope CurrentUser

Verify the install succeeded (in the same regular PowerShell window):

Get-Module -ListAvailable CredentialManager

Should show the module's name and version.

Open a regular PowerShell window (not admin) and run:

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path "$env:USERPROFILE\directo-mcp"

Download the directo-mcp.js file — it's included in the directo-mcp-files.zip archive linked under Path A (extract it, see Step A1) — and place it in this folder:

$env:USERPROFILE\directo-mcp\directo-mcp.js

The simplest way: if the file is already in the extracted Downloads subfolder, copy it in PowerShell:

Copy-Item "$env:USERPROFILE\Downloads\directo-mcp-files\directo-mcp.js" "$env:USERPROFILE\directo-mcp\directo-mcp.js"

Test-Path "$env:USERPROFILE\directo-mcp\directo-mcp.js"

Get-ChildItem "$env:USERPROFILE\directo-mcp"

Open a new Notepad window and paste:

{
  "name": "directo-mcp",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "type": "module",
  "description": "Directo ERP MCP Server",
  "main": "directo-mcp.js",
  "scripts": {
    "start": "node directo-mcp.js"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk": "^1.0.0",
    "zod": "^3.22.0"
  }
}

Save it in the same folder, named package.json (file type: All Files).

Regular PowerShell (not admin):

cd "$env:USERPROFILE\directo-mcp"
npm install

A successful install creates a node_modules folder and a package-lock.json file in this folder.

The Directo API key is saved to Windows Credential Manager — encrypted, under your user account only. No one else on the computer can see this key.

New-StoredCredential -Target DIRECTO_API_KEY -UserName directo -Password YOUR_REAL_KEY_HERE -Persist LocalMachine

Verify the save succeeded:

(Get-StoredCredential -Target DIRECTO_API_KEY).GetNetworkCredential().Password

Should display your API key.

Rotating the API key in the future:

Remove-StoredCredential -Target DIRECTO_API_KEY
New-StoredCredential -Target DIRECTO_API_KEY -UserName directo -Password NEW_KEY -Persist LocalMachine

Claude Desktop has two possible configuration locations on Windows, depending on how it was installed:

Check which one applies on your machine — open File Explorer and try both in the address bar:

%APPDATA%\Claude

If a claude_desktop_config.json file already exists there (or Claude Desktop has already created something there), use this path. If not, try:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc\LocalCache\Roaming\Claude

Create a file named claude_desktop_config.json in the (correct, as identified in Step 4.1) folder.

File contents:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "directo": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "C:\\Users\\YOURNAME\\directo-mcp\\directo-mcp.js"
      ]
    }
  }
}

$env:USERPROFILE

1. Right-click the Claude icon in the system tray (near the clock, in the taskbar) → Quit / Exit
2. Simply closing the window is not enough — Claude Desktop keeps running in the background
3. If Quit isn't available — open Task Manager → find the Claude process → End Task
4. Open Claude Desktop again and wait a few seconds

In a Claude Desktop conversation, type:

Show me all stock levels

Claude should automatically use the get_stocklevels tool and return data from Directo.

Checking the logs if something doesn't work:

The log location follows the same two possibilities as Step 4.1:

# Direct .exe installer:
Get-Content "$env:APPDATA\Claude\logs\mcp-server-directo.log" -Tail 30
 
# Microsoft Store / MSIX:
Get-Content "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Packages\Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc\LocalCache\Roaming\Claude\logs\mcp-server-directo.log" -Tail 30

Official Claude Desktop MCP documentation: modelcontextprotocol.io — Connect to local MCP servers

mkdir "$env:APPDATA\npm-global" -Force
npm config set prefix "$env:APPDATA\npm-global"
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path", $env:Path + ";$env:APPDATA\npm-global", "User")

Close PowerShell completely and open a new window (PATH only refreshes in a new session), then install Gemini CLI:

npm install -g @google/gemini-cli

Verify:

gemini --version

Go to https://aistudio.google.com/apikey and create an API key.

Save the key as a persistent environment variable:

[System.Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("GEMINI_API_KEY", "YOUR_GOOGLE_API_KEY", "User")

Close PowerShell and reopen it. Verify:

$env:GEMINI_API_KEY

The Gemini CLI configuration is located on Windows at:

$env:USERPROFILE\.gemini\settings.json

Check whether the folder exists:

Test-Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.gemini"

If the answer is False, create the folder:

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.gemini"

Create or edit the file $env:USERPROFILE\.gemini\settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "directo": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "C:\\Users\\YOURNAME\\directo-mcp\\directo-mcp.js"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DIRECTO_API_KEY": "$DIRECTO_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

[System.Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("DIRECTO_API_KEY", "YOUR_DIRECTO_API_KEY", "User")

Gemini CLI has a security feature called Trusted Folders, which by default doesn't allow connecting MCP servers from an untrusted folder. If this feature is enabled, the folder needs to be trusted.

The simplest way — trust the server directly in settings.json, by adding “trust”: true to the directo block:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "directo": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "C:\\Users\\YOURNAME\\directo-mcp\\directo-mcp.js"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DIRECTO_API_KEY": "$DIRECTO_API_KEY"
      },
      "trust": true
    }
  }
}

Alternative — if Trusted Folders is enabled, Gemini CLI shows a trust dialog the first time it opens this folder. Choose Trust folder there. The choice is saved to ~/.gemini/trustedFolders.json and is only asked once per folder. Use the /permissions command inside the CLI to change the trust level later.

Start Gemini CLI:

gemini

Check the MCP connection:

/mcp list

Should show:

🟢 directo - Ready (32 tools)

Test query:

Show me all stock levels

Official Gemini CLI MCP documentation: geminicli.com/docs/tools/mcp-server

Log file (try both, see Step 4.1):

Get-Content "$env:APPDATA\Claude\logs\mcp-server-directo.log" -Tail 30
Get-Content "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Packages\Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc\LocalCache\Roaming\Claude\logs\mcp-server-directo.log" -Tail 30

Gemini CLI diagnostics:

/mcp list

Both clients (Claude Desktop and Gemini CLI) use the same tools:

Claude Desktop:

• Download Claude Desktop
• Claude Desktop MCP setup
• Guide: local MCP servers on Claude Desktop
• Official MCP documentation

Gemini CLI:

• Gemini CLI documentation
• Gemini CLI MCP setup
• Google AI Studio API keys
• Gemini Code Assist documentation

Directo:

• Directo API documentation

General:

• Download Node.js
• CredentialManager PowerShell module

Quick-install scripts (see Path A, Chapter 3):

• directo-mcp.js — MCP server (32 tools, schema-verified)
• set-directo-apikey.ps1 — API key management (initial setup + rotation)
• install-claude-mcp.ps1 — automatic Claude Desktop install
• install-gemini-mcp.ps1 — automatic Gemini CLI install