Install Rook

Getting set up is a one-time thing, and you never need to open a terminal, install Git, or edit a settings file. Afterwards, you just talk to your assistant.

Download Rook for Windowsv1.7.0 · Windows · Rhino 8

What you’ll need

• Windows with Rhino 8
• One of these desktop apps, signed in:
  • Claude, the desktop app. Rook works in its Chat, Cowork, and Code tabs.
  • ChatGPT, the desktop app that now includes Codex. Install it from that page, or search the Microsoft Store for the ID 9PLM9XGG6VKS; a plain name search can find unrelated apps.

Install Claude and open it once before you run the Rook installer: the installer connects Rook to Claude only if Claude is already installed. The ChatGPT app can be installed before or after Rook.

Installed Claude after Rook?

Rook then won’t appear in Claude’s Chat or Cowork, though it may already work in the Code tab. To fix it, open Claude once, fully quit it (from its icon near the clock), run the Rook installer again with the Claude component selected, then reopen Claude. The installer’s Claude component is Claude Code / Claude Desktop MCP configuration. You don’t need to uninstall anything or edit any files.

You do not need Python, Git, Node.js, or any command-line tools. The Rook installer includes everything it runs.

Step 1 — Run the installer

1. Download Rook-Setup-1.7.0.exe. The release page lists its SHA-256 checksum and the FFmpeg and OCCT source bundles.

2. Close Rhino, then run the installer. On the components page, keep these ticked for the apps you use: Claude Code / Claude Desktop MCP configuration for Claude, and OpenAI Codex CLI MCP configuration + curated skills for ChatGPT. That is what connects Rook to them, so there is nothing to set up in the apps themselves.

3. Let it finish. The last step takes a few minutes while it prepares Rook’s runtime.

Step 2 — Start Rhino, then restart your app

1. Start Rhino 8 from the Start menu as usual, and open Grasshopper if you plan to use it. Start Rhino yourself rather than asking your assistant to launch it.

2. Fully quit your AI app and open it again, so it loads the new connection. Closing the window is not always enough.

   Claude

   Right-click the Claude icon in the notification area (near the clock) and choose Quit, then open Claude again.

   ChatGPT

   Quit the ChatGPT app completely, then open it again. If its icon stays in the notification area after you close the window, right-click it and choose Quit.

Step 3 — Add Rook’s skills

Skills are Rook’s guided workflows, for example building a Grasshopper definition step by step, or creating Chirp components.

Claude

1. In Claude, open Customize → Plugins, then choose Add → Add marketplace.

2. Type bringfire/rook-release and select Sync. Claude shows a red notice asking you to trust plugins from marketplaces; that is standard for any plugin that isn’t in Anthropic’s directory. If it says Failed to add marketplace, select Sync again.

3. Open Rook from the list and select Add. Its page shows 9 skills.

The plugin is saved to your Claude account, so the skills appear in Chat, Cowork, and the Code tab without installing anything again.

ChatGPT

Nothing to do. The installer already gave Codex the same nine Rook skills.

Step 4 — Check that it works

Open a new conversation and paste this. It only reads from Rhino; it changes nothing.

Paste this to your assistant

Rook connection check. Use only the Rook tools (Rhino/Grasshopper MCP), never any screen-control, computer-use or Windows-control tool, and change nothing.
1. Call rhino_ping and report the result.
2. Call rhino_document and report the document name and object count.
3. Call gh_status and report whether Grasshopper is available.
4. List any Rook skills you have (from plugins or skills), by name, or say "none".
Report each step as PASS or FAIL, with the exact error text for any failure.

Every step should say PASS, and step 4 should list nine skills such as execute-grasshopper and chirp. The first call can take a few seconds while the assistant finds Rook’s tools.

Your app may ask permission before each Rook tool, depending on the app and its approval setting. When the request names rhino_ping, rhino_document, or gh_status, you can choose Always allow: those three only read. If it asks about rook_tools_call instead, choose Allow once. That one tool can run any Rook tool, including ones that change or delete. See Choosing approvals.

If a step fails, see Set Up & Verify for a troubleshooting prompt your assistant can run for you.

Curious what Rook runs and reaches on your machine? See What Rook Touches. Prefer the command line? See Command Line & Manual Setup.

→ Next: Your First Conversation