About 15 minutes if it's your first time. By the end, the Kuali Connector will be installed on your computer, connected to your Kuali instance, and answering questions inside your AI assistant.
The Connector plugs into an AI assistant you already have. If you don't have one yet, install Claude Desktop — it's the path with the fewest moving parts. Already using Claude Code, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot CLI, or VS Code with Copilot? You're set — keep going.
Download Claude Desktop ->An API key is a long secret password that lets the Connector sign in to Kuali on your behalf. The key inherits your permissions — anything hidden from you in Kuali stays hidden from the Connector and your AI assistant.
Sign in to Kuali in your browser.
Click the circle with your initials in the top-right corner to open the menu.
Choose My Account, then API Keys, then click Create Key.
Copy the key somewhere safe for the next few minutes — you'll paste it once and then it's stored securely.
You'll also need your Kuali address — the part after https:// in the URL bar when you're signed in. For example: yourschool.kualihub.com.
The Connector works with the Kuali Platform (*.kualihub.com, *.kualibuild.com, and regional variants). If you sign in at a *.kuali.co address, you're on Classic Kuali, and the Connector won't connect — see the FAQ for details.
Every step from here happens in a small text-only window called Terminal. You'll paste one command at a time and press Return. Nothing on this page can damage your computer — but if it's your first time, take a breath.
Press ⌘ + Space, type Terminal, and press Return. A window opens with a line of text waiting for input — that's where commands go.
Every code block has a copy button in its top-right corner. Click it, paste into Terminal, and press Return. Don't retype commands by hand — copy-paste avoids typos.
In Terminal, paste the line for your operating system and press Return:
$
curl -fsSL https://connector.kuali.co/install.sh | sh
You'll see a few lines of progress, then Terminal returns to a blank prompt. Check the install worked:
$
kuali version
kuali 0.5.0
A small program called kuali is now on your computer. It's the bridge between your AI assistant and Kuali.
$
kuali setup
Kuali address: yourschool.kualihub.com
API key: ••••••••••••••••
Profile "yourschool" saved · API key validated ✓
You'll be asked two questions: your Kuali address from Step 1, and the API key you copied. The text is hidden as you paste — that's expected. Now run a quick health check:
$
kuali doctor
✓ URL ✓ Authentication ✓ API reachable
The Connector confirmed your key works and stored it in your computer's secure password manager (macOS Keychain or Windows Credential Manager). The key is never written to a plain file on disk.
One more command. Pick the tab for your assistant, then fully quit and reopen it — closing the window isn't enough.
$
kuali mcp setup
$
kuali mcp verify
Claude Desktop config written → restart Claude ✓
Your AI assistant now knows how to call the Connector. When you ask it a Kuali question, it can fetch the answer directly from your instance.
Re-run setup with read-only mode: kuali mcp setup --tools read-only. Only the list, get, search, and export tools stay registered — create, update, submit, approve, delete, and import are hidden.
You're done with Terminal. Open your AI assistant and type one of these prompts into the chat window — the assistant will fetch the answer from Kuali and reply in plain English.
The prompt library has dozens more — including prompts for building apps from PDFs, importing CSVs with column-mapping dialogs, analyzing workflows, and generating chart reports.
ON THIS PAGE
Skip the walkthrough and jump straight to the dense version.
Skip to Installation ->
Ready-to-use prompts for curriculum, research, build apps, imports, workflow analysis, and reporting.
Browse prompts →
Tips for Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, Copilot, and VS Code.
AI assistants →
Skip the chat — every capability is also a plain kuali command, ready for scripts and CI.
Command reference →
