Remote vs local
The four ways an agent reaches Basemodo, side by side: the install line, the Plugin, the Remote MCP and the local MCP. Each agent's page recommends one.
All four give the agent the same commands, written from the same source, answering the same way. They differ in where they run, what they install, how they sign in, and what deploy takes.
| Install line | Plugin | Remote MCP | Local MCP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | The basemodo command and Basemodo's Skills, which teach the agent to run it | Basemodo's Skills and the Remote MCP in one install, from basemodocom/agent | Every command as a tool, at https://mcp.basemodo.com | Every command as a tool, basemodo mcp, over stdio |
| Where it runs | Your computer | Basemodo, through its Remote MCP | Basemodo | Your computer |
| What you install | The CLI, with one line, which runs basemodo setup | Nothing on your computer: the Plugin, in the agent | Nothing | The CLI, with one line |
| How it signs in | The CLI's sign-in, which basemodo setup starts (basemodo login) | You approve the agent in your browser: an Agent Grant | An Agent Grant, as the Plugin | The CLI's sign-in, from basemodo login |
deploy takes | A folder on your computer | A GitHub repository (repository) | A GitHub repository (repository) | A folder on your computer (path) |
| Which App | The one you name, else the App named after the folder | The one you name (app) | The one you name (app) | The one you name, else the App named after the folder |
| Clients | Agents with a terminal: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Antigravity | claude.ai, Claude Desktop, and the agents with a terminal that take plugins | Every client, ChatGPT included | Clients that run on your computer |
| Until | You revoke it on the Devices page, or 30 days after you sign in | You revoke it on the Devices page, or it goes unused for 30 days | As the Plugin | As the install line |
The install line
For an agent with a terminal, the recommended way. It deploys the folder the agent works in, as it is, with no GitHub repository, and the Skills cost the agent nothing until a request calls for Basemodo. Skills for your agents says what basemodo setup writes, and how to update or remove it.
The Plugin
For a chat app that takes plugins, claude.ai and Claude Desktop, when you want the Skills too. The Skills tell the agent when Basemodo fits a request and the rules agents get wrong, and the Remote MCP is how it acts. Your code goes to Basemodo through GitHub: the agent pushes it, deploy links the App to the repository, and every later push deploys too (Deploying from GitHub).
The Remote MCP
For claude.ai and the Claude mobile app, the recommended way, which one link adds to your Claude account; for a chat app that takes no plugins (ChatGPT, until Basemodo is in its directory), and any other client that speaks MCP over HTTP with OAuth. It asks you only to approve the agent, and needs no terminal. Like the Plugin, it deploys a GitHub repository.
The local MCP
For a client on your computer with no terminal of its own, Claude Desktop, when your App is a folder that is not on GitHub, or should not be: it deploys that folder as basemodo deploy does, with the Deploy's stages as progress, and shares the CLI's sign-in. The basemodo command must be installed and signed in. basemodo setup --mcp adds it to Claude Desktop.
One way per client
Give each client one of the four, not two. Each gives the agent every command of Basemodo: with the Remote MCP and the local MCP it sees each tool twice under the same name, the Plugin carries the Remote MCP, and an agent with the CLI's Skills and an MCP has two ways to do everything. basemodo setup --mcp asks before it replaces the Remote MCP in Claude Desktop with the local one.