Desktop basics

Chartbuddy Hub is your local chart editor. You operate it from your AI chat — Hub itself has no prompt box. MCP is the remote control; Hub is where charts live and get edited.

First launch

1. Install Hub to Applications from the .dmg
2. Open Chartbuddy once (approve Gatekeeper if asked)
3. Confirm the bridge is up: the Hub mcp-port file should contain a port (macOS / Linux ~/.chartbuddy/mcp-port, Windows %USERPROFILE%\.chartbuddy\mcp-port)
4. Connect your AI client — see Connect MCP

Leave Hub installed under /Applications so MCP auto-launch can find it.

Typical workflow

1. Prompt in AI — ask Cursor, Claude, ChatGPT, or another MCP-connected client to create or update a chart
2. Refine in Hub — focus the chart window for pixel-level control (toolbar, spreadsheet panel, context menus)
3. Push out — send the live chart to Google Slides, Notion, Slack, or export as PNG
4. Pull back — grab a Chartbuddy PNG from another surface and pull it into Hub to edit again

What Hub shares with the Chrome extension

Hub packs the same chart engine as the Chartbuddy for Google Slides™ extension:

• Waterfalls, mekkos, stacked bars, CAGRs, and the full business library
• Native editing — not a static screenshot
• Brand styling and number formats

The desktop shell adds push/pull, MCP integration, and a standalone window without a browser tab.

Next

• Connect MCP — Cursor, ChatGPT, Claude, …
• Push & pull — moving charts between surfaces