ChemDraw MCP 0.10.0rc22: native document-ID connection fix

Download for Mac (Apple Silicon)

Connection fix

Large positive and negative native document IDs now remain exact integers.
AppleScript previously converted some IDs to scientific notation, causing a
ValueError before the document could be read even though ChemDraw responded.
Both graphical and terminal setup use the corrected bridge.

Diagnostics distinguish an invalid document ID, a changed active document and
a document closed before the read. These failures no longer suggest changing
Automation permissions. Reports still exclude document IDs, drawings, connection
keys, personal paths and raw error text.

Updating

No uninstall is needed. Save your work, quit ChemDraw and connected assistants,
open the new DMG and run ChemDraw MCP. Keep the existing add-in entry; setup
refreshes it in place. Open a drawing, test, finish setup and restart your
assistants. Existing client settings and terminal launchers are retained.

For a clean Git checkout, pull the update and run
uv run --locked --extra chemistry chemdraw-mac setup.

Verification and limits

• 1,219 portable tests passed; 99 optional tests skipped. The new serializer
  regression runs actual AppleScript without launching ChemDraw, including
  signed 32-bit limits and no open document.
• 15 packaged checks passed, including an isolated rc21-to-rc22 runtime upgrade;
  three optional native tests were skipped in that run.
• A separate read-only connection test passed using the frozen rc22 runtime
  against ChemDraw 23.0.1.11 on Apple Silicon, macOS 15.6. No drawing write was
  dispatched. The source-runtime read also passed with unchanged document metadata.
• Archive integrity, corresponding source, bundled notices and package versions
  were checked. SHA256SUMS covers all four distribution artifacts.

Experimental prerelease. ChemDraw 26 and independent-Mac acceptance remain
unverified. This fixes a reproduced bridge defect; it does not establish the
cause of every connection failure. The app is ad-hoc signed, not notarized.
Requires your own licensed ChemDraw. No chemistry or drawing-layout changes.

ChemDraw MCP 0.10.0rc21: screenshot-based setup guide

The Start Here guide now uses a real macOS screenshot with three numbered pink highlights: Privacy & Security, the blocked application's Open Anyway button, and the final opening confirmation.

The screenshot is cropped to the relevant settings/dialog area and bundled beside the HTML, so the guide works offline. Update instructions and the separate Automation permission explanation remain included.

This is a documentation and packaging update. Native drawing, connection and diagnostic behavior are unchanged from rc20. An already-working rc20 installation does not need updating solely for this guide.

Validation: 1,204 portable tests passed, 99 optional checks skipped. The rendered guide and all three highlights were visually inspected. The app remains experimental, ad-hoc signed and not notarized. ChemDraw 26 and independent-Mac acceptance remain unverified.

Choose the DMG for graphical installation or the MCPB for a bundle-capable desktop client. Previous releases and publication dates are retained.

ChemDraw MCP 0.10.0rc20: diagnostics and repeatable upgrades

Connection diagnostics and safer repeat setup for the experimental Mac build.

• Graphical setup saves a private diagnostic report automatically before and after each step, with a Show saved report button. Reports retain failed stages, exception types, native/API error codes, document counts and timing, without drawings or connection keys.
• Missing documents produce an actionable prompt. API-version failures return a diagnostic result; unavailable selection data no longer prevents a full-document read. Document identity and uncertain-write protections remain in place.
• The connection panel requests a compact 240 by 64 size, uses the installer colours and no longer claims a verified connection before returning its result.
• Upgrade instructions are included in the DMG. Run the new setup without uninstalling. Existing add-ins and keys are reused; Finish updates the shared runtime and terminal launchers without duplicate assistant entries. Restart connected assistants after updating.

Validation: 1,203 portable tests passed, 99 optional checks skipped. Fourteen packaging checks passed, including an isolated upgrade between actual rc19 and rc20 runtimes. A separate packaged native read passed against ChemDraw 23.0.1.11 on macOS 15.6, Apple Silicon. The diagnostic-screen preview was visually inspected.

ChemDraw 26 and independent-Mac acceptance remain unverified. This release improves failure handling and evidence capture; it does not establish the cause of every connection failure. Automatic update discovery and one-click rollback are not implemented. The app is ad-hoc signed, not notarized, and requires a licensed ChemDraw installation. Previous releases and publication dates are retained.

Download the DMG for graphical setup, or the MCPB for a bundle-capable desktop client. Choose one route. The DMG includes Python, dependencies and terminal commands. Read Start Here.html beside the app for macOS opening and update instructions.

ChemDraw MCP for Mac 0.10.0rc19

Start Here, beside the app

The Mac DMG now includes Start Here.html, an offline illustrated opening guide in the pink/lavender installer theme.

Three numbered panels highlight Privacy & Security, Open Anyway, and the final confirmation. The guide separately explains the later permission to let ChemDraw MCP control ChemDraw. It includes links to Apple's instructions and the project setup guide, with no scripts, remote assets or automatic security changes.

Download ChemDraw-MCP-Apple-Silicon.dmg, open it, and double-click Start Here.html if you need help opening the app. If rc18 is already working, you do not need to reinstall just for this guide: drawing and connection behavior are unchanged.

Checks and limits

• 1,188 portable tests passed; 98 optional tests skipped.
• 13 packaged checks passed; three native checks skipped for this documentation/packaging-only update.
• The rendered guide was visually inspected. The mounted DMG contains the app and the exact guide; signature, DMG integrity and MCPB CRC checks passed.
• No new native drawing or independent-Mac compatibility claim. Previous native evidence remains attached to rc18.

Experimental Apple Silicon build. Requires your own licensed ChemDraw. The app remains ad-hoc signed and not notarized. Only approve opening a download from the official project releases that you trust; the guide does not bypass security settings for you.

DMG, alternative MCPB, wheel, corresponding source and SHA256SUMS are included. All earlier releases and their publication dates are unchanged.

ChemDraw MCP for Mac 0.10.0rc18

Circled charges in reaction drawings

Ordinary explicit reactions now use native, editable circled symbols for existing +1 and -1 atom charges. Placement checks keep circles at least 2 pt clear of measured labels, conservative bond envelopes and other symbols. Native saving must preserve the correct charged atom and the molecular graph.

An additional whole-reaction measurement includes charge symbols in paper fit and caption alignment. Molecular scale, supplied participants and labels are retained. Existing drawings are not restyled.

Installation

Download ChemDraw-MCP-Apple-Silicon.dmg for graphical setup. The app includes its Python runtime and terminal commands. The MCPB is an alternative for clients that import MCP bundles; choose one installation route.

For a Git installation, clone the repository and run ./install.sh. See the README for terminal setup and updates. After updating an existing installation, restart your assistant so it launches the new MCP runtime.

Validation and limits

• 1,187 portable tests passed; 98 optional tests skipped.
• Five serial native checks passed, including the complete glycoside reaction and the crowded nitro charge regression.
• The final frozen package passed 13 checks, including the complete native reaction through MCP. Two add-in-specific checks were skipped.
• Native white previews were visually inspected. Graph, charge ownership, clearance, chemical scale and original-document preservation checks passed.

Experimental Apple Silicon build tested with macOS 15.6 and ChemDraw 23.0.1.11. Requires your own licensed ChemDraw and a logged-in Mac desktop. The app is ad-hoc signed, not notarized; independent-Mac acceptance remains open. Native measurement windows can briefly appear even in background mode. Shared molecule additions and older advanced reaction workflows are not restyled by this update.

SHA256SUMS covers the four downloadable build artifacts. Earlier releases remain unchanged.

ChemDraw MCP for Mac 0.10.0rc17

Complete reaction batching, native-measured paper selection and physical-scale exports.

Changes

• chemdraw_draw and terminal produce assemble explicit reactions in one local batch, then use one native measuring document and one final export document. No per-participant imports or cleanup calls.
• Automatic A4/A3 selection retains the requested participants, labels and conditions at unchanged bond scale. Native paper records and page bounds are checked separately.
• Full reaction exports include editable CDXML, physically sized SVG, 600-DPI transparent PNG and a white review preview.
• Fresh single-nitro-group seeds have a bounded charge-aware orientation, with unchanged chemistry and stereochemistry.
• MCP guidance prohibits mouse-control workarounds, removal of participants and label-shortening retry loops.

Validation

1,184 portable tests passed; 98 optional tests skipped. Four serial native tests passed, covering the complete glycoside hydrolysis and all three exposed paper formats. Thirteen packaged checks passed, including the complete reaction through the frozen executable's MCP interface. Two add-in-specific packaged checks were skipped while another client retained the connection.

The frozen four-participant reaction completed in 5.758 seconds on A4 landscape. Full labels and conditions were retained, the white preview was visually inspected, and pre-existing documents remained unchanged. This is one server-side measurement, excluding model/client time and network name lookup.

Tested environment: macOS 15.6, Apple Silicon, ChemDraw 23.0.1.11, Python 3.13.2, RDKit 2026.3.6, resvg-py 0.5.0. Native tests for this candidate used a named original; untitled originals use the existing add-in snapshot path and require that connection.

Installation and limits

Download the DMG for graphical installation, or update a Git checkout and run ./install.sh for terminal setup. Restart connected assistants after updating so their MCP processes load rc17. The optional MCPB, wheel, corresponding source and SHA256SUMS are attached.

Experimental build, not a stable release. The application is ad-hoc signed and not notarized. Independent-Mac acceptance remains open. Native ChemDraw opening can briefly flash; this is not display-free rendering. Explicit shared-document reactions and the advanced legacy reaction builders retain their documented limitations. Existing releases and their publication dates are unchanged.

ChemDraw MCP for Mac 0.10.0rc16

ChemDraw MCP for Mac 0.10.0rc16

Download for Mac (Apple Silicon)

Changes

• Fresh regular six-membered rings use an upright orientation. Caffeine now has a vertical fused-ring edge and top carbonyl. Existing matching scaffold orientations remain preserved.
• Shared molecule drawings default to a smaller white review preview, with editable CDXML and native SVG. Request full exports for the transparent high-resolution PNG, or canvas-only delivery when no image is needed.
• Fewer native process calls, a bounded in-memory identifier cache, and per-stage timings reduce overhead without removing chemistry or document-preservation checks.
• The README links directly to the Mac installer.

The native caffeine benchmark measured 2.067 seconds for the default preview versus 2.952 seconds for the previous full-export/read sequence, about 30% faster. These are medians of three warm runs on one Mac, not total assistant response times. Measurement details.

Install or update

Open the DMG and run ChemDraw MCP setup. Restart your assistant afterward so it loads the updated server. Existing running processes do not update automatically.

For a terminal installation, follow the Git installation instructions. The MCPB, Python wheel and source archive are also attached. SHA256SUMS.txt contains checksums for all four packages.

Validation and limitations

• Portable suite: 1,168 passed, 93 skipped. Skips are not acceptance evidence.
• Selected native checks: 7 passed on macOS 15.6, Apple Silicon, ChemDraw 23.0.1.11.
• Final packaged checks: 14 passed, including a frozen-runtime native caffeine drawing and visual review of its upright preview.
• Experimental Apple Silicon release, ad-hoc signed and not notarized. Independent-Mac acceptance remains pending. A licensed ChemDraw installation is required.
• The upright policy covers fresh regular six-membered ring seeds. It is not a general conformer or mechanism-layout guarantee.

This independent project is not affiliated with or endorsed by ChemDraw's vendor.

ChemDraw MCP for Mac 0.10.0rc15

ChemDraw MCP for Mac 0.10.0rc15

Diagnostics fixes for both graphical and terminal setup.

Downloads

• Most users: download ChemDraw-MCP-Apple-Silicon.dmg and open ChemDraw MCP.
• Claude extension installation: the optional .mcpb includes the same runtime and graphical setup.
• Git/terminal: update your checkout, then run ./install.sh. This installs locked dependencies and starts the animated terminal setup. Inside a checkout, use uv run --locked --extra chemistry chemdraw-mac setup to repeat setup.
• The DMG also includes terminal commands. After Finish, open a new zsh terminal; a separate Git installation is not required.

Fixed

• Graphical Save diagnostics offers an explicit .txt file in Downloads, confirms its saved location and can reveal it in Finder.
• Failed saves are visible and offer a clipboard fallback. Copy diagnostics is also available directly.
• Terminal setup failures automatically save a private .txt report and print its location after restoring the terminal. If saving fails, the report is printed for copying.
• Reports retain setup stages and classified failure codes without drawings, connection keys, personal paths or raw exception text. Nothing is uploaded.
• An unclassified failure or add-in timeout is no longer presented as proof of a macOS Automation denial.

Please include your installation route and diagnostic report when reporting a connection failure. Do not share the private .chemdrawaddin file.

Verification and limits

1,141 portable tests passed; 91 optional tests skipped. Packaged acceptance: 11 passed, one live document-read test skipped. The bundled terminal failure-report path was exercised in an isolated home, and the compiled graphical diagnostics preview was visually checked. Signature verification, archive CRC and DMG verification passed.

Experimental Apple Silicon build, requiring licensed desktop ChemDraw. Ad-hoc signed, not Developer ID signed or notarized. ChemDraw 23.0.1 is the tested version on the development Mac; independent-Mac acceptance remains open. This update improves troubleshooting but does not establish or fix the cause of the reported second-Mac disconnection. Interactive save-dialog click-through on that Mac is unverified. Generation speed and drawing orientation are not changed by this release.

The source archive and SHA256SUMS accompany the installers.

Documentation update, 23 September 2026

Installation and release documentation have been revised. Downloads include the updated corresponding source and checksums; executable code is unchanged. The original release date is retained.

ChemDraw MCP for Mac 0.10.0rc13

ChemDraw MCP for Mac 0.10.0rc13

Experimental Apple Silicon prerelease. Requires your own licensed ChemDraw.

Install once, use desktop or terminal

Download ChemDraw-MCP-Apple-Silicon.dmg, open ChemDraw MCP, and finish the
graphical setup. It connects selected local assistants and now automatically
installs terminal commands using the same bundled runtime.

Open a new macOS zsh Terminal window after Finish:

chemdraw-mac --help
chemdraw-mac first-run

The drawing demo needs a blank ChemDraw document. No separate Python, uv or Git
installation is needed for the DMG route. The installer backs up existing zsh
settings and adds one marked PATH block; it does not change your terminal theme.
Other shells can use the absolute commands in
~/Library/Application Support/ChemDraw MCP/bin/.

Prefer Git and uv? Use:

git clone --branch v0.10.0rc13 https://github.com/glebo309/chemdraw-mcp-macos.git
cd chemdraw-mcp-macos
./install.sh

For this source route, use uv run --locked --extra chemistry chemdraw-mac first-run.
The .mcpb is an alternative for compatible clients; choose DMG or MCPB, not both.

Fixes

• Reaction preservation checks read the active untitled document through the
  native API instead of trying to export and name it. Original content is retained.
• Full-profile assistant instructions explicitly describe existing native
  electron-pushing curves, fishhooks, donor symbols and route tools.
• Bundled terminal setup prints commands targeting the shared installation.

Verification and remaining limits

1130 portable tests passed; 91 opt-in tests skipped. Four focused native tests
passed: a reaction with an untitled original, plus full and both fishhook heads.
All twelve frozen-runtime/packaging tests passed, including isolated zsh command
execution, real MCP discovery, extraction and a native read.

Complete connected mechanism layout is not included in this release.
Annotations still create a new editable copy and require explicit chemical intent.
Multiple inactive untitled documents are not covered by the reaction acceptance.
An older custom-style test assumes background routing; its auto/shared request
was rejected before writing and is not included in the passing native gate.

Tested on Apple Silicon, macOS 15.6, ChemDraw 23.0.1.11. The app is ad-hoc signed,
not Developer ID signed or notarized. Independent-Mac acceptance and automatic
graphical updates remain open. One assistant owns the native connection at a time.
Local client configuration does not create a web ChatGPT connector.

Share these release files, not the locally generated private .chemdrawaddin.

Documentation update, 23 September 2026

Installation and release documentation have been revised. Downloads include the updated corresponding source and checksums; executable code is unchanged. The original release date is retained.

ChemDraw MCP for Mac 0.10.0rc12

ChemDraw MCP for Mac 0.10.0rc12

Experimental Apple Silicon prerelease. You supply a licensed ChemDraw installation.

Choose one installation route

No terminal: download ChemDraw-MCP-Apple-Silicon.dmg, open it, and open
ChemDraw MCP. The graphical helper includes Python and dependencies, guides
the ChemDraw add-in step, and connects selected local assistants. Finish closes
the helper. Restart selected assistants to load their connection settings.

Git / terminal: requires Git and uv. Clone this release and run:

git clone --branch v0.10.0rc12 https://github.com/glebo309/chemdraw-mcp-macos.git
cd chemdraw-mcp-macos
./install.sh

This installs locked dependencies and starts the animated setup automatically.
To also register clients, use ./install.sh --client claude --client codex.
For an optional drawing after setup, open a blank ChemDraw document and run:

uv run --locked --extra chemistry chemdraw-mac first-run

The .mcpb is an alternative for clients that directly install MCP bundles.
Choose the DMG or MCPB, not both. Wheel and source archives are for advanced use.

Included

• Native, editable drawing in the current ChemDraw document.
• Measured molecule/caption grids, common-framework orientation and physical pages.
• Physical-scale SVG, DPI-tagged PNG and native PDF exports.
• Pink/lavender/gold graphical setup and continuous terminal molecule animation.
• Recovery of previously suffix-named add-in installations.
• Architecture, customization, prompt examples and update guidance in the README.

Checks and limits

1123 portable tests passed; 90 opt-in tests skipped. All 11 frozen-runtime and
packaging checks passed, including a live document read and MCPB extraction.
Native evidence is from Apple Silicon, macOS 15.6 and ChemDraw 23.0.1.11.

The application is ad-hoc signed, not Developer ID signed or notarized.
macOS may block a downloaded app; review the project and follow your Mac's
explicit approval flow. No global security settings need to be disabled.
Independent-Mac acceptance and automatic graphical updates remain open.
Only one assistant can own the ChemDraw connection at a time. Local Codex
configuration does not create a remote connector in web ChatGPT.

The generated .chemdrawaddin on your Mac contains a private connection key.
Share these public release downloads, not that locally generated file.

Documentation update, 23 September 2026

Installation and release documentation have been revised. Downloads include the updated corresponding source and checksums; executable code is unchanged. The original release date is retained.