Quickstart: Claude Code

Claude Code can read, write, and manage files on Tusky directly through MCP tools — no SDK code required. This guide gets you from zero to “save this file to Tusky” in about 3 minutes.

What you’ll set up

Claude Code
  ↕ MCP (stdin/stdout)
Tusky CLI (tusky mcp serve)
  ↕ Tusky SDK
Tusky API → Hot Cache → Walrus Network

Claude Code talks to the Tusky MCP server, which runs as a local subprocess. The MCP server handles authentication, uploads, downloads, encryption, and all 29 storage operations on your behalf.

Setup

Get an API key

Sign up at app.tusky.ai (you’ll need an access code during early access) and create an API key from the dashboard. Keys start with tdp_.
Install the Tusky CLI
Terminal window
```
npm install -g @tuskydp/cli
```
Log in and install the MCP config
Terminal window
```
tusky login --api-key tdp_your_key
tusky mcp install-config --target claude-code
```
This writes a .mcp.json file in your project root with the correct absolute paths and credentials. Claude Code picks it up automatically on the next session.
Start a new Claude Code session

Open Claude Code in your project directory. You should see Tusky’s tools available — try asking:

“List my Tusky vaults”

Claude will call tusky_vault_list and show you the results.

Try it out

Here are a few things to ask Claude Code once the MCP server is connected:

Prompt	What happens
”Create a vault called ‘project-docs‘“	Calls `tusky_vault_create` with visibility `public`
”Upload README.md to my project-docs vault”	Calls `tusky_file_upload` — reads from disk, uploads to Tusky
”Save this conversation summary to Tusky”	Calls `tusky_file_create` — creates a file from inline content
”Download the latest report from Tusky”	Calls `tusky_file_download` — writes to your local filesystem
”Back up the src/ directory to Tusky”	Uploads each file, organizing into folders
”What’s my storage usage?”	Calls `tusky_account_info` — shows plan, quota, and usage

Add the SKILL.md (recommended)

The SKILL.md teaches Claude how to use Tusky well — when to create vaults, how to organize files, which workflows to follow. It loads into Claude’s context automatically.

mkdir -p .claude/skills/tusky && curl -sL \
  https://docs.tusky.ai/skills/SKILL.md \
  -o .claude/skills/tusky/SKILL.md

With the SKILL.md installed, Claude knows patterns like:

Project backup — zip and upload your project to a vault
Conversation memory — persist context across sessions
Artifact storage — save generated code, reports, or images
Multi-agent sharing — use public vaults to pass data between agents

Shared vaults (optional)

Shared vaults use SEAL encryption — on-chain access control where only approved Sui addresses can decrypt. To enable this:

# Generate or import a Sui keypair
tusky sui setup

# Reinstall the MCP config (embeds the key automatically)
tusky mcp install-config --target claude-code

Now Claude can upload to and download from shared vaults with end-to-end encryption. The MCP server handles SEAL encrypt/decrypt transparently.

Verify the setup

If things aren’t working, check these common issues:

Symptom	Fix
Tools not showing up	Restart Claude Code — it reads `.mcp.json` at session start
”Command not found”	Run `tusky mcp install-config` again — it writes absolute paths
”Invalid API key”	Verify with `tusky whoami`, or create a new key at app.tusky.ai
”SEAL encryption not available”	Run `tusky sui setup` then reinstall the MCP config
File stuck in “rehydrating”	Cold files take a moment to fetch from Walrus — try the download again in a few seconds

What’s available

The MCP server exposes 29 tools across six categories:

Category	Tools
Account	`tusky_account_info`, `tusky_account_link_sui`, `tusky_account_unlink_sui`
Vaults	`create`, `list`, `get`, `update`, `delete`
Files	`upload`, `create`, `download`, `read`, `list`, `get`, `delete`, `retry`
Folders	`create`, `list`, `get_contents`, `update`, `delete`
Trash	`list`, `restore`, `delete`, `empty`
Shared vaults	`grant_access`, `revoke_access`, `list_members`, `list_shared`

See the full MCP server reference for details on every tool.

MCP server reference All 29 tools, architecture, and encryption details.

Agent skills & SKILL.md Workflow patterns and rules for agent storage.

Agent memory Persist conversation context across Claude Code sessions.

Project backup Back up entire projects to decentralized storage.