Deploy with MDM

On the MDM delivery model, the profile you deploy carries your organization’s full configuration, and every device the profile targets gets the same settings. This page covers the workflow end to end: build the configuration in the app, export it, open the firewall, and deploy the profile and installer to your fleet. Before you start, install Claude Desktop on an admin workstation; see Installation and setup. If you deliver configuration from a bootstrap server instead, follow that page; your profile then carries only the bootstrap keys, but it is exported and deployed the same way described here.

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Recommended rollout

For most organizations, we recommend the following rollout: Deploying the configuration before the app means end users open Claude for the first time and land directly in the third-party deployment, with no opportunity to sign in to claude.ai by mistake.

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1. Build a configuration in the app

Launch Claude Desktop. Do not sign in or create an Anthropic account — stay on the login screen. The window is organized into sections in the left sidebar. Work through them in order; each maps to a group of configuration keys, and the window validates values as you enter them.

Section	What you set
Connection	Inference provider (Gateway, Anthropic API, Vertex AI, Bedrock, or Foundry) and its credentials Model list Organization UUID Optional credential-helper script
Workspace restrictions	Which tabs (Cowork, Code) are enabled Allowed egress hosts for the sandbox Disabled built-in tools Allowed workspace folders
Connectors & extensions	Managed MCP servers pushed to all users Whether users can add their own local MCP servers Whether desktop extensions (.mcpb) are allowed Whether the extension directory is shown Whether unsigned extensions are rejected
Telemetry & updates	OpenTelemetry collector endpoint Whether auto-updates are blocked, and the enforcement window if not The three Anthropic-bound telemetry toggles (essential, nonessential, nonessential services)
Usage limits	Per-device token cap and its window length
Appearance	Persistent banner shown across the app window
Plugins & skills	Shows the org-plugins folder path for your platform Plugins are distributed by mounting bundles to that folder via your MDM, not through this window
Egress Requirements	A read-only firewall allowlist derived from everything you’ve entered above, grouped by feature Copy hostnames, Download .txt, and Test connectivity actions
Source	The bootstrap keys, if you are using the bootstrap server delivery model instead of a full MDM profile Bootstrap-delivered configuration takes priority over MDM-delivered values: it replaces them wholesale rather than merging key by key

The configuration picker in the top-right shows which saved configuration you’re editing and whether it’s the one currently applied. On a managed device it indicates the configuration is organization-managed, and every section shows a banner directing users to their IT administrator. The configuration window is the recommended way to author configurations. It validates field formats, knows which keys each provider requires, and stays current as new keys are added.

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2. Export the profile

Once your configuration tests successfully, click Export and choose a format: The two actions in the configuration window do different things:

• Apply locally writes the selected configuration to your own machine’s Claude settings and relaunches the app, so you can test it end to end before deploying it.
• Export writes a .mobileconfig or .reg file and leaves your local settings untouched.

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Creating profiles for multiple user groups

Many organizations deploy distinct configurations to different populations: for example, a permissive profile for an engineering pilot group and a restricted profile for the broader rollout, or per-region profiles that point at different inference endpoints. The configuration window can hold multiple named configurations. Use the picker in the top-right of the window:

• New configuration creates an empty configuration.
• Duplicate copies the current configuration as a starting point for a variant.
• Rename and Delete manage the list.
• Reveal in Finder opens the on-disk location where saved configurations are stored.

Selecting a configuration in the picker loads it for editing; the applied badge marks the one currently active on your machine. Apply locally and Export each act on whichever configuration is selected, so you can test each one locally and export them independently. In your MDM, scope each exported profile to the corresponding device or user group. Targeting is handled by your MDM’s assignment rules; the configuration name is for your authoring workflow and is not part of the deployed profile.

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3. Allow required network egress

The hosts the app needs to reach depend on the configuration you built: your inference provider’s endpoint is always required, and each telemetry, update, and service setting you leave enabled adds its own hosts. The configuration window shows the exact allowlist for your settings and can export it as a text file for your network team. Open these hosts on your perimeter firewall before rolling out to devices. See Telemetry and egress for the full list of hosts grouped by the setting that controls each one, and for the distinction between the perimeter firewall and the in-app sandbox allowlist.

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4. Deploy the configuration

Push the exported configuration through your MDM. The app reads from these locations: When a managed source sets any key other than the two update keys, the managed configuration owns the device: it takes effect, the in-app configuration window becomes read-only, and locally authored values in configLibrary/ are ignored.

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Update keys and managed precedence

The update keys disableAutoUpdates and autoUpdaterEnforcementHours are treated specially, so you can set an update policy from MDM without managing the whole configuration. When a managed source sets only these keys (one or both), the device keeps its locally authored configuration and the configuration window stays editable. The update keys themselves are still enforced as a pair: both are resolved from the managed source alone, so a locally set value for either key is ignored even if the profile only sets the other one. If the managed profile sets any other recognized key, the normal rule above applies and the whole configuration is managed.

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5. Distribute the app

Deploy the Claude Desktop installer to enrolled devices using your standard software-distribution mechanism. On launch, the app reads the managed configuration, detects the configured inference provider and credentials, and the sign-in screen offers users the option to start in Claude Desktop on 3P.

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6. Deploy organization plugins (optional)

If you’re distributing organization plugins, push the plugin bundles to the org-plugins directory on each device alongside the configuration profile. Plugins are picked up at the next app launch.

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Next steps

After deployment, confirm devices picked up the configuration with the checks in Verifying the deployment.