Connect SpireAssists Local
Part 2 of SpireAssists: work with your own Spire data. SpireAssists Local lets your AI assistant look up your own customers, orders, inventory and more through Spire's API and database, and make changes only if you allow them. It runs on your own Windows computer. It's free.
Is it safe?
- Your passwords stay on your computer. You type them into a setup page on your own computer. They're kept in Windows Credential Manager and are never shown to your assistant or sent to SpireAssists.
- Read-only until you say otherwise. A new connection can only read. Your assistant can't change anything in Spire unless you turn on Allow changes for that connection.
- Nothing goes to SpireAssists. SpireAssists Local talks to your Spire server, and once a day asks the public Python package index (pypi.org) whether a newer version exists. It keeps a log on your computer and sends nothing else anywhere. (To turn the version check off, see Updating.)
- What your assistant sees goes to your AI provider. Records your assistant looks up become part of your chat, the same as anything you type, so they go to Anthropic, OpenAI or GitHub under your account's terms. Use it with company data you're comfortable sharing with your assistant.
Before you start
- A Windows computer that can reach your Spire server: on the same office network, or over a VPN. (macOS and Linux are not supported yet.)
- Your Spire username and password, and the company you want to use.
- Optional, for database questions: the PostgreSQL password for your Spire server. Your Spire administrator has it.
Claude desktop app
For the Claude desktop app on Windows, including free Claude accounts. (The Claude website and mobile app can't run SpireAssists Local.)
- Download the extension:
Download SpireAssists Local for Claude - In the Claude desktop app, open Settings → Desktop app. Next to Extensions, click Manage.
- Drag the file you downloaded onto that page, where it says Drag .MCPB or .DXT files here to install.
- Claude shows the extension's details with an Install button. Click Install.
- Check that it worked: on the same page, under Local MCP servers, SpireAssists Local shows Running. The first start takes a minute or two while Claude downloads what it needs.
- Start a new chat and type: “Set up my Spire connection.” Then follow Connecting to Spire.
Claude Code, Codex or GitHub Copilot
Your assistant installs SpireAssists Local for you. Copy this, paste it into Claude Code, Codex or Copilot Chat (in Agent mode), and press Enter:
Set up SpireAssists for me by following https://spireassists.com/connect/agent.txtYour assistant explains each step and asks your permission before running anything. It sets up SpireAssists Local in the app you're using, and SpireAssists MCP search too if it isn't there yet (in Claude Code, Codex and Copilot in VS Code; in GitHub Copilot CLI, set up search separately). Then it opens the setup page: see Connecting to Spire. If you have other AI apps on this computer (Claude Code, Codex, VS Code with Copilot, GitHub Copilot CLI or the Claude desktop app), it offers to set them up as well, only if you say yes. When it's done, it tells you what to restart and how to sign in to the search.
In Claude Code, it also sets up the Claude desktop app's chat if you have it, so you don't need the extension above.
Connecting to Spire
When your assistant opens the SpireAssists Local setup page in your browser:
- Find your Spire server. Click Find servers on this network, or type the server's address and click Check server. Servers over a VPN or hosted elsewhere aren't found by the search: type the address your Spire administrator gives you (the port is usually 10880).
- Sign in. Enter your Spire username and password, click Log in and list companies, and pick your company.
- Database (optional). The details are filled in for you; type the PostgreSQL password if you have it, or untick Also connect to the company database.
- Click Test, then Save.
- Close the browser tab. Go back to your assistant and tell it you're done.
To add another company or change a connection later, ask your assistant to “open the Spire setup page”.
Using it
- Just ask. For example: “How many customers do I have in Spire?”, “Show me open sales orders for customer ACME” or “Which parts are below their reorder point?”
- With several connections, say which company you mean, or ask “List my Spire connections”.
- For questions about how Spire works, rather than about your data, SpireAssists MCP answers from Spire's documentation.
Allowing changes
Each connection is read-only unless you turn on Allow changes for it in the setup page. Read-only connections can look things up but can't create, change or delete anything in Spire.
Turn on Allow changes only for a test or sandbox company you can afford to lose changes in. With it on, your assistant changes data in Spire when you ask it to, and can do so without asking you first, so be clear about what you want and check what it proposes. It's told to check before and after each change, and to ask you before deleting records.
Troubleshooting
- The setup page doesn't find my server: the search only reaches servers on your local network. Type the address instead. If Windows Firewall asked about Python, allow it and search again.
- The login is refused: check the username and password in Spire itself. After six wrong passwords Spire locks the account for a while; the setup page tells you when, and won't retry a password Spire already refused.
- The extension won't install: quit Claude completely (right-click its icon by the clock → Quit), open it again and install once more. If it still fails, email us the message it shows.
- My assistant says it has no Spire tools: start a new chat. In Claude, check the extension is switched on in the tools menu of the message box.
- The setup page didn't open: your assistant gives you a link starting with
http://127.0.0.1. Open it in your browser on the same computer. - Where things are kept: connections in
%USERPROFILE%\.spireassists, passwords in Windows Credential Manager under “SpireAssists Local”, and a log in%USERPROFILE%\.spireassists\logs.
Updating
SpireAssists Local never updates itself. When a new version is out, your assistant tells you the next time it lists your Spire connections, and the setup page shows a note.
- Claude desktop app: download the extension again from this page. On the Extensions page (Settings → Desktop app → Extensions → Manage), remove SpireAssists Local, then quit Claude completely (right-click the Claude icon near the clock and choose Quit) and open it again. Then install the new file the same way as the first time. Your connections and passwords are kept.
- Claude Code, Codex, Copilot: when your assistant tells you a new version is out, say yes; it updates the apps you set it up in. Then start a new session.
- To stop the daily version check, set the environment variable
SPIREASSISTS_NO_UPDATE_CHECK=1, or put{"update_check": false}in%USERPROFILE%\.spireassists\settings.json.
Removing it
- Claude desktop app: Settings → Desktop app → Extensions → Manage, and remove SpireAssists Local.
- Claude Code, Codex, Copilot: ask your assistant to run
uvx spireassists-local uninstall. - To delete your saved connections and passwords as well, delete each one in the setup page first.
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