Install Rook

Getting set up is a one-time thing. Afterwards, you just talk to your assistant.

Download Rook for Windowsv1.5.13 · Windows · Rhino 8

What you’ll need

• Windows with Rhino 8
• An AI assistant that supports MCP — Claude Code (CLI, desktop, or VS Code extension), Codex, or another MCP-capable client (Cursor, Windsurf)
• An account or API key for the AI model you want to use (Claude, GPT, or a local model via Ollama / LM Studio)

You do not need to install Python. The Rook installer includes and configures the local runtime it needs.

You don’t need to be a programmer, and you don’t need to know any Rhino commands.

Step 1 — Install Rook (the Rhino plug-in)

1. Download the installer directly — Rook-Setup-1.5.13.exe — or open the v1.5.13 release page for the SHA-256 checksum and the FFmpeg source bundle. You can always grab the newest build from the latest release.

2. Run it. The installer adds Rook to Rhino and Grasshopper and sets up the local MCP server.

3. Start (or restart) Rhino. Rook loads automatically.

Do not skip the post-install agent check

After Rhino restarts, open the Post-Install Agent Setup page and paste the prompt there into your assistant. It verifies the MCP server, live Rhino bridge, safe geometry round-trip, optional Grasshopper control, and skill setup, then helps resolve any last-mile client or plugin configuration issues.

Step 2 — Connect your assistant

Rook talks to your AI assistant through MCP — the doorway that lets your assistant reach into Rhino. You point your assistant at Rook once.

1. Open your assistant’s settings and find where it lists MCP servers.

2. Add Rook (the installer registers it for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and Codex automatically; you mostly just enable it).

3. Tell your assistant which AI model and key to use, if it asks.

See Claude Code & Desktop and Codex & Other Clients for per-client details.

Step 3 — Add the Rook plugin (Claude Code)

To get the / skills and the session hook in Claude Code, add the marketplace plugin:

/plugin marketplace add bringfire/rook-release
/plugin install rook@rook

This provides the / skills + the session hook for Claude Code.

Codex users: the curated skills are installed for you by the installer — no extra step.

Step 4 — Verify

Hand your agent the Post-Install Agent Setup page. It is the recommended end-to-end verification prompt after a fresh installer run.

For a shorter explanation of what each check means, see Set Up & Verify.

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