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Claude Desktop · Windows

Visual Windows setup guide

Follow each screenshot in order. Steps 1–4 connect Claude Desktop to your API key. Steps 5–8 are optional and only needed if Claude reports a Virtual Machine Platform or workspace/hypervisor error.

Connect Claude Desktop

Complete these four steps first. Interface wording can vary slightly between Claude Desktop versions.

  1. 1

    Enable Developer Mode

    Open the three-line menu ☰, then choose Help → Troubleshooting → Enable Developer Mode.

    Claude Desktop Help and Troubleshooting menus with Enable Developer Mode highlighted
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  2. 2

    Confirm Developer Mode

    In the confirmation window, choose Enable. Allow Claude Desktop to restart if requested.

    Claude Desktop Developer Mode confirmation window with Enable highlighted
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  3. 3

    Open Third-Party Inference

    Open the three-line menu ☰ again, then choose Developer → Configure Third-Party Inference. Do not use Settings → Developer → Edit config; that is for MCP configuration.

    Claude Desktop Developer menu with Configure Third-Party Inference highlighted
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  4. 4

    Enter and apply the connection

    Choose Gateway and Static API key. Set the base URL to https://api.smartplansil.com, paste the API key you received, and choose x-api-key. Leave Artifact preview iframe origin and Custom inference headers empty. Select Test connection, then Apply Changes. Do not add /v1 to the URL.

    Claude Desktop third-party inference settings showing the SmartPlansIL gateway configuration
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Only if needed

Enable Virtual Machine Platform

Skip this section unless Claude specifically reports that Virtual Machine Platform is required or the workspace/hypervisor failed to start.

  1. 5

    Open Windows Features

    Press Start, search for Turn Windows features on or off, and open the matching Control Panel result.

    Windows Start search showing Turn Windows features on or off
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  2. 6

    Select Virtual Machine Platform

    Find Virtual Machine Platform, select its checkbox, and choose OK.

    Windows Features with Virtual Machine Platform selected and OK highlighted
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  3. 7

    Wait for installation

    Keep the Windows Features window open while Windows searches for and installs the required files.

    Windows Features searching for required files
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  4. 8

    Restart Windows

    When Windows confirms the changes are complete, choose Restart now. After the restart, reopen Claude Desktop.

    Windows Features completion window with Restart now highlighted
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Connection settings at a glance

  • Gateway base URL: https://api.smartplansil.com
  • Credential kind: Static API key
  • Gateway auth scheme: x-api-key
  • Do not add /v1
  • Keep optional origin and custom-header fields empty

Setup complete

After applying the connection, choose Third-party inference, Gateway, 3P or Cowork on 3P if Claude asks which mode to use.

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