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Installation#

This guide will help you install SousChef and configure it with your preferred MCP client.

Prerequisites#

Before installing SousChef, ensure you have:

  • Python 3.10+ installed on your system
  • pip or Poetry for package management
  • An MCP-compatible client such as:
    • Claude Desktop
    • VS Code with MCP extension
    • Custom MCP client

Installation Methods#

The simplest way to install SousChef:

pip install mcp-souschef

This installs: - The mcp-souschef package - souschef MCP server command - souschef-cli command-line interface

Method 2: Development Installation#

For contributors or those who want the latest development version:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/kpeacocke/souschef.git
cd souschef

# Install with Poetry
poetry install

# Verify installation
poetry run souschef --version
poetry run souschef-cli --help

MCP Client Configuration#

SousChef provides pre-configured setup files for common MCP clients in the config/ directory.

Claude Desktop#

# Copy the configuration file
cp config/claude-desktop.json ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

# Restart Claude Desktop

# Copy the configuration file
cp config/claude-desktop.json ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

# Restart Claude Desktop

# Copy the configuration file
copy config\claude-desktop.json %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

# Restart Claude Desktop

VS Code with GitHub Copilot#

  1. Copy the configuration: 

    cp config/vscode-copilot.json .vscode/mcp_config.json

  2. Install the MCP extension from the VS Code marketplace

  3. Reload VS Code

Custom MCP Configuration#

For other MCP clients or custom setups, use this template:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "souschef": {
      "command": "souschef",
      "args": [],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Development Configuration

For development or testing, use config/claude-desktop-dev.json which points to the local repository instead of the installed package.

Verifying Installation#

After installation, verify that SousChef is working correctly:

1. Check MCP Server#

# Test the MCP server
souschef --version

2. Check CLI#

# Test the command-line interface
souschef-cli --help

3. Test with MCP Client#

Restart your MCP client and ask: 

What Chef migration tools are available?

The AI should respond with a list of SousChef's 44 MCP tools.

Troubleshooting#

Command Not Found#

If you get "command not found" errors:

# Ensure pip's bin directory is in your PATH
export PATH="$PATH:$(python3 -m site --user-base)/bin"

# Or use Poetry's virtual environment
poetry shell

MCP Client Not Detecting SousChef#

  1. Check that the configuration file is in the correct location
  2. Verify the souschef command is accessible from your terminal
  3. Restart your MCP client completely
  4. Check the client's logs for error messages

Python Version Issues#

SousChef requires Python 3.10+. Check your version:

python3 --version

If you need to install or upgrade Python, visit python.org/downloads.

Platform-Specific Notes#

macOS#

  • Python 3.10+ can be installed via Homebrew: brew install python@3.10
  • Claude Desktop config location: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/

Linux#

  • Python 3.10+ may need to be compiled from source or installed via third-party repositories
  • Config locations vary by distribution and desktop environment

Windows#

  • Use PowerShell or Windows Terminal for installation
  • Path separators use backslashes (\) instead of forward slashes (/)
  • Config location: %APPDATA%\Claude\

Next Steps#

Now that SousChef is installed, you're ready to:

For detailed configuration options and model provider setup, see the Configuration Reference.