Claude Desktop Integration¶

Cadence is an MCP server that integrates directly with Claude Desktop, giving Claude access to your fitness data through natural conversation.

Setup¶

1. Install Cadence¶

git clone https://github.com/ladkam/coaching-mcp.git
cd coaching-mcp
python -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your device credentials

2. Configure Claude Desktop¶

Open Claude Desktop settings and add Cadence as an MCP server. Edit your Claude Desktop config file:

macOSWindows

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Add the following:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cadence": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["server.py"],
      "cwd": "/path/to/coaching-mcp",
      "env": {
        "GARMIN_EMAIL": "your@email.com",
        "GARMIN_PASSWORD": "your-password",
        "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "sk-ant-..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Tip

You can set environment variables in the env block or in a .env file in the project directory. The .env file approach is simpler if you have many variables.

3. Restart Claude Desktop¶

After saving the config, restart Claude Desktop. You should see the Cadence tools available in the tools menu.

Example Conversations¶

Morning check-in:

"How did I sleep last night and am I ready to train?"

Claude will call get_daily_brief and get_readiness to give you a full morning briefing.

Post-run analysis:

"Analyze my run from today"

Claude will fetch your latest run with splits, HR zones, and compare the effort against your recovery state.

Weekly review:

"Give me a weekly training review"

Claude will aggregate running volume, strength sessions, recovery trends, and HRV to provide a comprehensive summary.

Log a workout:

"I did bench press 4x8 at 80kg, overhead press 3x10 at 40kg, and tricep pushdowns 3x12 at 25kg"

Claude will parse the exercises and save them to your workout log with progressive overload tracking.

Using Prompts¶

Claude Desktop shows available MCP prompts in the prompt selector. Cadence provides 10 prompts for common coaching scenarios — see the Prompts reference.

Remote Server (OAuth)¶

If Cadence is deployed to a server (Railway, Heroku, etc.), you can connect Claude Desktop via HTTP with OAuth:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cadence": {
      "url": "https://your-app.up.railway.app/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Set MCP_SERVER_URL on the server to enable OAuth authentication. See Deployment.