ProposalCraft / Guide

How to Write Client Proposals Faster with Claude Desktop

A complete guide for freelancers and consultants who want to stop writing proposals from scratch — and start winning more clients with less time spent.

10 min read · Free tool · No API key required

If you're a freelancer or consultant, proposals are a necessary evil. They take hours to write, they're stressful to price, and they're mostly the same thing over and over with different client names. ProposalCraft is an MCP server for Claude Desktop that solves this. It learns from your past winning proposals and drafts new ones in your writing voice — instantly.

This guide walks you through setting it up, training it on your work, and using it for real client briefs. No coding required. No monthly fee. No API key.

What's an MCP server? MCP (Model Context Protocol) is how Claude Desktop talks to external tools. Installing ProposalCraft gives Claude a set of new abilities — like saving your past proposals and drafting new ones — directly inside your Claude conversations.

Who this is for

ProposalCraft is built for anyone who writes project proposals as part of their client work:

If you've ever copy-pasted a past proposal and manually updated the client name, scope, and pricing — this tool is for you.

Step-by-step setup (5 minutes)

1

Open your Claude Desktop config file

Find claude_desktop_config.json on your machine:

  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
  • Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Create the file if it doesn't exist yet.

2

Add ProposalCraft to your config

Paste this into your config file (or add it to the mcpServers section if you already have other tools):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "proposalcraft": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "github:jabbawocky/proposalcraft"]
    }
  }
}
3

Restart Claude Desktop

Quit and reopen Claude Desktop. You should see a tools icon appear in the input area — that confirms ProposalCraft is connected.

4

Save a past proposal you're proud of

Open a new Claude conversation and tell it:

Save this as a winning proposal for web design work:

[paste your past proposal text here]

Claude will use save_proposal to store it. Repeat this for 2–3 past proposals — the more context it has, the better the drafts will be.

5

Draft your first proposal from a brief

Next time you get a client brief, paste it into Claude and say:

Draft a proposal for this brief using my past winning proposals as a guide:

[paste the client brief]

Claude uses draft_proposal to combine your writing style, your typical structure, and your pricing approach into a first draft you can send or refine.

Real use cases

Web designFreelance

Web designer quoting a Shopify rebuild

A client emails asking for a quote to rebuild their e-commerce store on Shopify. Instead of starting from scratch, you paste the email brief into Claude. ProposalCraft pulls from your past web design proposals — your typical discovery phase, your milestone structure, your payment terms — and drafts a proposal in under a minute. You tweak the price and send.

CopywriterContent

Copywriter responding to a brand refresh brief

A startup asks for a quote on full website copy — homepage, about, services, case studies. You've written this proposal 20 times. ProposalCraft drafts it in your voice with your typical deliverables list and word-count estimates. You adjust for the client's budget and you're done in 10 minutes instead of 90.

ConsultantStrategy

Business consultant scoping a growth project

A Series A startup needs help with go-to-market strategy. The brief is detailed. ProposalCraft reads it, then drafts a proposal that mirrors your usual consulting structure: problem framing, methodology, deliverables, timeline, investment. You check the approach and refine the numbers. Total time: 20 minutes instead of a half day.

AgencySEO

SEO agency responding to an inbound lead

An inbound lead fills out your contact form. ProposalCraft drafts a personalised proposal from the brief, matching your agency's tone, standard service tiers, and case study references. The proposal goes out same-day. Your competitor is still writing theirs.

Tips for better proposals

Save proposals that closed deals, not average ones

The quality of ProposalCraft's drafts depends on what you feed it. Save proposals that won the client, not ones that were "fine." If you have a proposal with great pricing framing or a particularly strong problem statement, save that one. You're teaching it your best work, not your average work.

Save examples from different project types

If you do both web design and content work, save examples from each. When you ask ProposalCraft to draft a proposal, it will find the most relevant past proposals to base the draft on.

Give Claude the full brief, not a summary

The more context Claude has about the client and project, the more tailored the draft. Paste the full email thread or intake form. The extra context costs nothing and significantly improves the output.

Let it draft, then you edit

Don't expect a send-ready proposal on the first pass. Use the draft as a strong first draft — the structure, tone, and approach will be right. Your job is to check the numbers, personalise the client references, and add any project-specific details you want to include.

Frequently asked questions

Does this require an Anthropic API key?
No. ProposalCraft works through Claude Desktop's built-in MCP support. You just need a Claude Desktop subscription (Claude Pro or higher). No separate API key, no extra costs.
Where are my proposals stored?
Locally on your machine in a JSON file at ~/proposalcraft-data/proposals.json. Nothing is sent to any server. Your proposals stay private.
Can I use this with Claude in the browser?
Not yet — MCP servers currently require Claude Desktop. Browser support may come in a future Claude update.
How many proposals should I save to get good results?
Two or three solid examples from your best work is enough to get a useful draft. The more varied examples you save, the better it handles different project types.
Can I delete proposals I've saved?
Yes. Ask Claude to "list my proposals" to see what's saved, then "delete proposal [name]" to remove any you don't want.
Is this free?
Yes. ProposalCraft is fully open source and free to use. You only need a Claude Desktop subscription, which you probably already have.
What if I want to customise it?
The full source is on GitHub. Fork it, modify it, make it your own.

Ready to stop writing proposals from scratch?

ProposalCraft is free, open source, and works with your existing Claude Desktop subscription. Setup takes 5 minutes.

Install ProposalCraft — it's free