A remote MCP server for your Windows PC

Guide · about 7 minutes to read · updated October 27, 2026

Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor and VS Code all speak the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Give them an MCP server that runs tools on your Windows PC, and they can read and edit your files, search your folders and run PowerShell — on the computer you choose. This guide explains the two kinds of MCP servers, which one each app can use, and how Bridgerator connects them to Windows.

Local and remote MCP servers

An MCP server is a program that offers tools to an AI app. It can reach the app in two ways:

• Local server. A desktop app starts the server itself as a program on the same computer and talks to it directly. Nothing goes over the internet, but the server works only for that app, on that one PC.
• Remote server. The server has an internet address (a URL) and the app connects to it over HTTPS, with a sign-in. Apps that run in the cloud — ChatGPT, Claude on the web, the phone apps — can only use remote servers, because their servers make the calls, not your PC.

If you only use one desktop app on the same PC, a local server can be all you need. A remote server is the answer when the AI runs in a browser or on your phone, when you want several apps to share the same computers, or when the PC you want to work on is not the one in front of you.

How Bridgerator makes your PC a remote MCP server

A home PC has no public address, and opening a port on your router to it would be a bad idea. Bridgerator splits the server in two:

• The public part at https://mcp.bridgerator.recondeck.com/mcp. AI apps connect here and sign in with your Bridgerator account (OAuth 2.1 with PKCE). It forwards each call to the right PC and does not store what the calls contain.
• The bridge on your PC. It opens an outbound connection to the public part, runs the tools and checks your rules first. Nothing connects in to your computer, and it needs no admin rights.

Traffic is encrypted with TLS on the way, but it is not end-to-end encrypted: the server decrypts each call to deliver it. The details are on the security page.

Which apps can use it

The server URL is the same for every app; you sign in with the same account, and all of them see the same computers.

• ChatGPT — a custom MCP plugin: chatgpt.com/plugins → Add → Add custom MCP server. Steps for ChatGPT.
• Claude on the web and in Claude Desktop — Customize → Connectors → Add custom connector; it then also works in the Claude phone app. Claude Code — one claude mcp add command. Steps for Claude.
• Codex CLI, IDE extension and app — codex mcp add, then codex mcp login. Steps for Codex.
• Cursor — one entry in mcp.json. Steps for Cursor.
• VS Code with GitHub Copilot agent mode — MCP: Add Server. Steps for VS Code.
• Google Antigravity, Gemini CLI, Zed, JetBrains, LM Studio, Microsoft Copilot Studio, Perplexity — see other AI apps. Apps that can't sign in by themselves use a personal access key.

What your AI can do on the PC

• Files — read, create and precisely edit files; rename, move and sort them into folders.
• Search — by name or content, instantly through the Windows Search index (or Everything, if installed).
• Terminal — PowerShell and cmd commands, including long-running ones; list and stop processes.
• Documents — new Word, Excel and PDF reports without Office installed.
• PC check — disks, recent errors, startup programs, drivers and updates, read only; programs through winget.
• Screen — a screenshot and the text on it, with a notification on the PC each time.

Ideas to start with are on the example prompts page.

Safety in one paragraph

Out of the box nothing is restricted, like similar tools, except Bridgerator's own folders. Deletes from simple commands go to the Recycle Bin, and a copy is kept before a file is changed, so “Undo AI changes” can put files back. When you want more, add a folder list, read-only folders, “Protect sensitive folders”, confirmations on the PC or the Read only / Files presets — or turn the terminal off. The terminal runs with your Windows user's rights and is not a folder sandbox; see running PowerShell safely.

Set it up

1. Add the server URL https://mcp.bridgerator.recondeck.com/mcp in your AI app (steps per app above).
2. Sign in to Bridgerator with Google or e-mail when the app asks — the account is created on the spot, free.
3. On the Windows PC paste the install command from the home page into PowerShell and confirm the computer in the browser tab that opens.
4. Ask your AI to do something on the PC.

The Free plan includes 10,000 tool calls a month for all apps together, with any number of PCs.

Questions