# Claude Desktop Restart

> Use this tool when you need to programmatically restart the Claude AI assistant application on macOS, facilitating automated troubleshooting, updates, or resets. It provides a simple interface for safely terminating and relaunching the Claude Desktop process, with status checks and progress notifications. Ideal for developers and power users integrating restarts into their workflows or automation scripts.

Canonical page: https://skillsregistry.net/skills/non-dirty-claude-desktop-restart  
JSON: https://api.skillsregistry.net/v1/skills/non-dirty-claude-desktop-restart

## Description

This MCP server for restarting Claude Desktop, developed by Matthew Smith, provides a simple interface for programmatically restarting the Claude AI assistant application on macOS. It leverages the psutil library to safely terminate and relaunch the Claude Desktop process. The server exposes a status resource for checking Claude's current state and a restart tool that handles the full restart workflow with progress notifications. By enabling AI-driven restarts of Claude, this implementation facilitates automated troubleshooting, updates, or resets of the assistant. It is particularly useful for developers and power users who want to integrate Claude Desktop restarts into their workflows or automation scripts.

## Trust

- **Trust score (0–1):** 0.99
- **Verification tier:** verified
- **Last scanned:** 2026-09-19

## Facts

- **Version:** 1.0.0
- **Skill type:** atomic
- **Execution layer:** mcp-remote
- **Runtime environment:** api
- **Category:** other
- **Updated:** 2026-09-19

## Source

- **Source listing:** [PulseMCP](https://www.pulsemcp.com/servers/non-dirty-claude-desktop-restart)
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/non-dirty/mcp-server-restart>

## Use it

Resolve this record through the SkillsRegistry MCP server (no auth, read-only):

```
claude mcp add --transport http --scope user skillsregistry https://api.skillsregistry.net/mcp
```

```json
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "get_skill",
    "arguments": {
      "slug": "non-dirty-claude-desktop-restart"
    }
  }
}
```

REST: `GET https://api.skillsregistry.net/v1/skills/non-dirty-claude-desktop-restart` · pull for local use: `GET https://api.skillsregistry.net/v1/skills/non-dirty-claude-desktop-restart/pull`

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SkillsRegistry indexes agent skills from public registries and GitHub. Skills we have analysed are scanned with Circle-IR and scored on six dimensions; each listing states its scan coverage. More: https://skillsregistry.net/llms.txt