7.9 KiB
| title | description |
|---|---|
| Using BMAD with Claude Desktop + GitHub | Use BMAD agents in Claude Desktop without local installation |
Use BMAD agents directly in Claude Desktop by reading agent files from GitHub. Perfect for Product Owners, stakeholders, and team members who don't need a full local development setup.
Prerequisites
- Claude Desktop with GitHub MCP configured
- GitHub repository with BMAD installed (has
_bmad/folder) - GitHub Personal Access Token with
repoandissuesscopes
Step 1: Configure GitHub MCP
If you don't already have GitHub MCP configured, follow these steps. If your company has an approved GitHub MCP configuration, use that instead.
To add GitHub MCP manually:
- Go to Settings → Developer → Model Context Protocol
- Add this configuration:
{
"mcpServers": {
"github": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
"env": {
"GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your-token-here"
}
}
}
}
- Create a token at: https://github.com/settings/tokens
- Required scopes:
repo,issues,read:org
- Required scopes:
- Restart Claude Desktop
Step 2: Load a BMAD Agent
In a new Claude Desktop conversation, ask Claude to load an agent from your repo:
Please read and embody the Product Owner agent from my repository.
Fetch the file from: github.com/YOUR-ORG/YOUR-REPO at path
src/modules/bmm/agents/po.agent.yaml
After reading it, introduce yourself and show me the available commands.
Claude will:
- Use
mcp__github__get_file_contentsto fetch the agent definition - Parse the persona, menu, and prompts
- Embody the agent and present the menu
Step 3: Start Using Team Features
Once the agent is loaded, you can use all the team collaboration features:
Check Your Tasks
What needs my attention?
or just type MT
Create a PRD
Create a new PRD for user authentication
or type CP
View PRD Dashboard
Show me all PRDs
or type PD
Available Agents
| Agent | Path | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Product Owner | src/modules/bmm/agents/po.agent.yaml |
PRD management, stories, stakeholder coordination |
| Analyst | src/modules/bmm/agents/analyst.agent.yaml |
Project initialization, workflow guidance |
| PM | src/modules/bmm/agents/pm.agent.yaml |
Requirements, epics, story creation |
| Architect | src/modules/bmm/agents/architect.agent.yaml |
Architecture decisions, technical design |
How It Works
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CLAUDE DESKTOP │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ User: "Load the PO agent from my repo" │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ GitHub MCP │ │
│ │ mcp__github__get_file_contents │ │
│ │ → Fetches po.agent.yaml │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ Claude embodies the agent persona │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ User: "MT" (my tasks) │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ GitHub MCP │ │
│ │ mcp__github__search_issues │ │
│ │ → Finds PRDs needing attention │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Tips for Best Results
Start Each Session Fresh
Load the agent at the beginning of each conversation:
Load the PO agent from github.com/myorg/myrepo
Use Natural Language
The agent understands natural language, not just commands:
- "What PRDs are waiting for feedback?"
- "Create a story for the login epic"
- "Who's working on authentication?"
Combine with Project Knowledge
For even better context, you can also upload the llms-full.txt file to your Claude Project:
curl https://bmad-code-org.github.io/BMAD-METHOD/llms-full.txt
This gives Claude the full BMAD methodology documentation.
Comparison: Local Install vs GitHub MCP
| Feature | Local Install | GitHub MCP Only |
|---|---|---|
| Requires Node.js | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
/agent-name commands |
✅ Yes | ❌ Manual load |
| Agent files | Local in _bmad/ |
Fetched from GitHub |
| GitHub Issues | ✅ Works | ✅ Works |
| PRD Crowdsourcing | ✅ Works | ✅ Works |
| Story Locking | ✅ Works | ✅ Works |
| Best for | Developers | POs, Stakeholders |
Troubleshooting
"Agent file not found"
- Verify the repository has BMAD installed
- Check the file path is correct
- Ensure your token has
repoaccess
"GitHub API errors"
- Check your token hasn't expired
- Verify the token has required scopes
- Try: "Can you call mcp__github__get_me?"
"Agent doesn't understand commands"
- Make sure Claude fully read and embodied the agent
- Try asking Claude to "show the menu" to verify
- Start a fresh conversation and reload the agent
Quick Start - Bootstrap Prompts
Copy and paste this into Claude Desktop to get started immediately:
Minimal Version
Load the Product Owner agent from github.com/YOUR-ORG/YOUR-REPO
(path: src/modules/bmm/agents/po.agent.yaml) and enter PO mode.
Show me what needs my attention.
Full Version
Fetch and embody the BMAD Product Owner agent.
1. Read the agent definition from GitHub:
- Repository: YOUR-ORG/YOUR-REPO
- Path: src/modules/bmm/agents/po.agent.yaml
2. After reading, fully embody this agent:
- Adopt the persona (name, role, communication style)
- Internalize all principles
- Make the menu commands available
3. Introduce yourself and show the available commands.
4. Then check: what PRDs or stories need my attention?
Use GitHub MCP tools (mcp__github__*) for all GitHub operations.
Replace YOUR-ORG and YOUR-REPO with your actual repository details.
For more bootstrap prompts (including stakeholder-specific versions), see:
resources/prompts/claude-desktop-po-bootstrap.md
Related
- Install BMAD Locally - Full local installation
- Team Collaboration Features - PRD crowdsourcing overview
- Getting Started - Full tutorial