Adding SteamGauge to an AI assistant

This page is for an AI assistant whose person asked it to add SteamGauge to itself. Follow the steps in order, then tell the person what you did.

1. Find the program

Run steamgauge --version. On Windows the program prints only into a pipe: in PowerShell, end each command with | Out-Host; Git Bash needs nothing. If it is not found, it is where its installer put it:

Installed with	The program
The Windows setup, or winget	`%LOCALAPPDATA%\SteamGauge\steamgauge.exe`
The macOS app	`/Applications/SteamGauge.app/Contents/MacOS/steamgauge`
Scoop, Homebrew, the `.deb` or the `.rpm`	`steamgauge`, on the `PATH`

If it is in none of those places, it is not installed. Send the person to Install rather than installing it yourself, unless they ask you to.

2. Add it

Run steamgauge clients. It lists the assistants SteamGauge can add itself to, whether each is on this computer and whether it already starts this copy, and ends with the command any other assistant takes.

If you are listed, run steamgauge connect <name> with your name from the first column. It writes one entry into your own settings file, leaves the rest of the file as it was, and prints the file it wrote.
If you are not, add an MCP server called steamgauge to your own settings, started by the command on the last line: this copy's path followed by mcp. Claude Code takes it as claude mcp add --scope user steamgauge -- "<path>" mcp.

3. Check it

Reload your MCP servers, or ask the person to restart you if you cannot, then call the overview tool. It answers with the library, what is running and what this computer reads with. SteamGauge answers only while its window is open: if the tool says it is not open, ask the person to open it, then call overview again.

4. Report

Tell the person which file you changed, and anything connect printed for them to do: some assistants read their settings only when they start.