How do I install Frenchie?

Copy the http config for Cursor, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or VS Code on this page. It uses the publisher's install, not a PlugMCP proxy.

Does Frenchie need an API key?

The publisher lists these environment variables: FRENCHIE_API_KEY, FRENCHIE_DEFAULT_LANGUAGE.

When was Frenchie last checked?

Last checked 2026-11-09. OCR, transcription, file extraction, and image generation for AI agents via MCP.

Frenchie MCP server

Power your agent

Add this server

The publisher's own URL. Not a PlugMCP endpoint.

Add to Cursor Add in Claude Add to VS Code Run on PlugMCP

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

Server URL

https://mcp.getfrenchie.dev

Credentials from the publisher

FRENCHIE_API_KEY — Your Frenchie API key (starts with fr_). Create one at https://getfrenchie.dev/dashboard/api-keys — first signup comes with 100 free credits.
FRENCHIE_DEFAULT_LANGUAGE — Optional ISO 639-1 language hint (e.g. 'th', 'en', 'ja') applied to transcribe_to_markdown when the tool input does not specify a language. Tool-level language always wins.

The Claude button above opens Claude with the name and URL filled in. You still confirm it there.

shClaude Code

1claude mcp add --transport http io.github.lab94-frenchie-skill https://mcp.getfrenchie.dev

Run in a terminal.

jsonClaude Desktop

1{2  "mcpServers": {3    "io.github.lab94-frenchie-skill": {4      "command": "npx",5      "args": [6        "-y",7        "mcp-remote",8        "https://mcp.getfrenchie.dev"9      ]10    }11  }12}

claude_desktop_config.json

Remote · HTTPPublisher installStep-by-step: add this in Claude

Remote URL or a command on your machine? How the two installs differ

Run on PlugMCP

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

A new server you create. It is not this listing's official endpoint. Use the publisher install when you want their URL and their credentials.

Launch

Server facts

Remote

Transport: http
Version

Tools

No tool list yet. Remote servers get one after the first health check.

FAQ

Questions

@lab94/frenchie

Frenchie — your agent's best friend.

Install Frenchie in your coding agent with one command. Frenchie Kit gives agents file and multimodal capabilities: read PDFs and images, transcribe audio and video, extract Office/CSV files to Markdown, and generate images from text prompts. Frenchie Method gives teams a structured workflow from requirement to release.

Upgrading from 0.1.x or 0.2.x? See MIGRATION.md for the breaking changes in 0.3.0 (stdio metadata-only responses, absolute-path MCP configs, new mcp --help / --selftest flags).

This package ships:

Frenchie Kit (/ocr, /transcribe, /extract, /generate-image, /frenchie-status commands + HTTP/stdio MCP guidance)
Frenchie Method (/frenchie-method, /requirement, /qa-analysis, /implement, /run-test, /pr-review, /release-check, and related workflow commands)
The Frenchie stdio MCP server (lab94-frenchie mcp) bundled for npx
An installer that wires skills and MCP config into your agent

Quick start

1. Install the skills

From the root of your project:

npx @lab94/frenchie install

This installs Frenchie Kit and Frenchie Method skills. Method is text-only and works without an API key.

Optional Method config:

npx @lab94/frenchie install --init-method

This creates .frenchie/method.config.json and .frenchie/.gitignore; it does not edit your root .gitignore.

2. Log in for Kit MCP tools when you need file or image capabilities

Create an account at getfrenchie.dev. You get 100 free credits on your first signup, once per email. No card required.

Then connect your local agent:

npx @lab94/frenchie login

The login command opens a browser device-code flow, then writes FRENCHIE_API_KEY into the MCP config the installer created. The full key is never printed.

Fallback if you already have a key from the dashboard:

npx @lab94/frenchie install --api-key fr_your_key_here

To target a specific agent:

npx @lab94/frenchie login --agent claude
npx @lab94/frenchie login --agent cursor
npx @lab94/frenchie login --agent codex
npx @lab94/frenchie login --agent vscode
npx @lab94/frenchie login --agent gemini

User-level installs (Antigravity, Windsurf, Zed, Claude Desktop) need the --global flag — auto-detect never writes under $HOME:

npx @lab94/frenchie login --agent antigravity   --global
npx @lab94/frenchie login --agent windsurf       --global
npx @lab94/frenchie login --agent zed            --global
npx @lab94/frenchie login --agent claude-desktop --global

Fallback with an existing key:

npx @lab94/frenchie install --agent claude        --api-key fr_…
npx @lab94/frenchie install --agent codex         --api-key fr_…
npx @lab94/frenchie install --agent antigravity   --global --api-key fr_…
npx @lab94/frenchie install --agent claude-desktop --global --api-key fr_…

After login, your agent can call ocr_to_markdown, transcribe_to_markdown, extract_to_markdown, or generate_image. OCR/transcription/extraction results are saved to .frenchie/<name>/result.md automatically; generated images are saved to .frenchie/<slug>/generated.<ext>.

Upgrading later

When a new Frenchie version ships, the pinned package spec inside each MCP config (@lab94/[email protected]) needs to point at the new version so npx stops serving a cached older bundle. Two upgrade commands cover everything:

# Project-scoped configs in this directory (.mcp.json, .cursor/mcp.json, .codex/config.toml, etc.)
npx @lab94/frenchie@latest install

# Every $HOME config that already has a frenchie entry — Antigravity, Claude Desktop, Windsurf, Zed,
# and any global Claude Code / Cursor / Codex / Gemini configs you set up. cwd doesn't matter.
npx @lab94/frenchie@latest install --global

install --global is upgrade-mode: it only rewrites frenchie entries that already exist. It will not surprise-install anything new under $HOME. First-time global installs still go through install --agent <name> --global.

3. Restart your agent

The installer prints the restart hint for your agent. After that, ask:

OCR ./report.pdf with Frenchie

…and Frenchie takes it from there.

For workflow orchestration, ask:

/frenchie-method

/frenchie remains the Kit entrypoint in agents that use a single Frenchie command. It is not an alias for Method.

Hosted agents (Lovable, Manus, Claude.ai, ChatGPT.com, Le Chat)

These agents can't run local npm binaries. Use the hosted MCP endpoint instead:

URL:    https://mcp.getfrenchie.dev
Header: Authorization: Bearer fr_your_key_here

The same @lab94/frenchie skill files work in HTTP mode — install them once with install --agent <name> and the included SKILL.md will tell the agent to upload files via upload_file before calling OCR/transcription/extraction. Image generation does not need an upload step in HTTP mode; it returns a short-lived imageUrl that the agent should download for the user.

What you get

Frenchie Kit

Command	What it does
`/ocr <file>`	Parse a PDF or image into Markdown
`/transcribe <file>`	Parse audio or video into a Markdown transcript
`/extract <file>`	Parse DOCX, XLSX, CSV, TSV, or PPTX into Markdown
`/generate-image <prompt>`	Generate a single image from a text prompt
`/frenchie-status`	Check credits and recent jobs

Under the hood, Frenchie exposes these MCP tools:

ocr_to_markdown
transcribe_to_markdown
extract_to_markdown
generate_image
get_job_result
upload_file (HTTP mode only)
fetch_result_file (HTTP mode only)

Frenchie Method

Slash notation is the canonical Method command name. Claude Code reads command files directly. Codex Desktop gets the same entries through wrapper skills such as requirement and qa-analysis; restart Codex after install before trying /requirement. Hosts without slash support can use natural language such as Frenchie Method requirement ....

Command	What it does
`/frenchie-method`	Route a task through Method from requirement to release
`/method-check`	Validate Method config, artifacts, gates, and next action
`/requirement`	Turn a request into scoped requirements
`/qa-analysis` / `/test-case`	Design proof before implementation planning
`/sa-analysis` / `/implementation-plan`	Analyze architecture and implementation approach
`/implement`	Execute from Method artifacts using the current agent
`/run-test`	Run repo-declared verification and write a test report
`/pr-review` / `/review-pr`	Review the result, tests, security, and artifact drift
`/release-check`	Read-only release readiness gate

Method stores optional workflow artifacts under .frenchie/docs/feature/. install --init-method also writes a visible skillTriggers skeleton in .frenchie/method.config.json; command keys are empty slots teams can fill with installed agent skills, for example "requirement": ["brainstorming"]. Teams decide whether to commit or ignore Method config and artifacts.

Invocation — how to call Frenchie in each agent

Every agent handles MCP a little differently. /ocr is a Claude Code-only slash command; Method slash commands are host-dependent and use Codex wrapper skills outside Claude Code. Other agents use natural language, @-mention, or a server-name slash command. All facts below are dogfood-verified.

Agent	Invoke	Full guide
Claude Code	`/ocr TOR.pdf`	docs
Cursor	`Use Frenchie to OCR TOR.pdf`	docs
Codex (Desktop / CLI / IDE)	Kit: `/frenchie TOR.pdf` · `@frenchie ocr TOR.pdf`; Method: `/requirement` after restart, or `Frenchie Method requirement ...`	docs
Antigravity	`/frenchie TOR.pdf` (invokes by server name)	docs
VS Code Copilot	`/frenchie TOR.pdf`	docs
Claude Desktop	`Use Frenchie to OCR TOR.pdf`	docs
Windsurf	`OCR TOR.pdf via Frenchie`	docs
Gemini CLI	`OCR TOR.pdf with Frenchie`	docs
Zed	`OCR TOR.pdf via Frenchie`	docs

Something not working? See the symptom-first troubleshooting guide — every error we've hit in dogfood has a canonical entry.

Pricing

Simple numbers. No subscriptions.

File extraction pricing: DOCX 0.5 credits per page, XLSX 0.5 credits per sheet, CSV/TSV 0.5 credits per file, PPTX 1 credit per slide.

Action	Cost
OCR	1 credit per page
Transcription	2 credits per minute
DOCX extraction	0.5 credits per page
XLSX extraction	0.5 credits per sheet
CSV/TSV extraction	0.5 credits per file
PPTX extraction	1 credit per slide
Image generation	20 credits per image

$1 = 100 credits. Credits don't expire.

Privacy

Files are processed and deleted. Results expire about 30 minutes after first delivery. If you need a durable copy, save the Markdown when it comes back.

Supported formats

OCR: PDF, PNG, JPG, JPEG, WebP

Transcription: MP3, M4A, WAV, MP4, MOV, WebM

File extraction: DOCX, XLSX, CSV, TSV, PPTX

Image generation: PNG, JPEG, WebP output from text prompts

Frenchie

Add this server

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

Server facts

Tools

Questions

How do I install Frenchie?

Does Frenchie need an API key?

What transport does Frenchie use?

When was Frenchie last checked?

Documentation

@lab94/frenchie

Quick start

1. Install the skills

2. Log in for Kit MCP tools when you need file or image capabilities

Upgrading later

3. Restart your agent

Hosted agents (Lovable, Manus, Claude.ai, ChatGPT.com, Le Chat)

What you get

Frenchie Kit

Frenchie Method

Invocation — how to call Frenchie in each agent

Pricing

Privacy

Supported formats

Need help?