Claude Code
Connect Claude Code to Scrimba and it writes explainers itself, using your actual repository. That means it can explain things no general model knows:
Connect with the magic link
Add Explain to ClaudeOpens Claude with the Explain connector prefilled, ready to confirm.The link opens Claude's Add custom connector dialog with the name and URL filled in. From there:
Check the URL. Claude warns you about any connector that came from a link rather than from its own directory, and asks you to check the name and URL first. Confirm it reads
https://scrimba.com/explain/mcp.Leave Authentication on None. Claude works that out on its own, and Explain has no sign-in step.
The second warning
Claude notes here that anyone with the URL can reach a server that asks for no credentials. Explainers you create start as private drafts, and one becomes yours when you open its link and sign in to Scrimba.
Leave the request headers empty. Explain takes no API key.
Click Add. Claude opens the connector's page, with a Tool permissions section.
Set Write/delete tools to Always allow. That group holds the four tools Explain uses to build a lesson.
The four tools
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Start explainer stream | Opens a new explainer and hands back its link |
| Append explainer chunk | Streams the next part of the lesson into it |
| Finish explainer stream | Closes the lesson |
| Create playlist | Groups several explainers into a course |
A lesson streams in piece by piece, so anything stricter than Always allow means Claude interrupts you for permission over and over while it writes. More tools will appear here over time, and the same setting covers them.
Start using it
Claude reaches for Explain on its own once you ask:
The connector lives on your account, so it works in Claude Code as well as on claude.ai.
Claude makes a square explainer unless you say otherwise, since it can't tell whether you'll watch on a phone or a desktop. Ask for a vertical one and it opens a tall portrait frame, or for a wide one and it's landscape. See Vertical explainers.
Claude can also put pictures of its own on slides, such as a screenshot from the repository or a diagram it drew. See Your own pictures.
Or connect with a command
claude mcp add --transport http scrimba-explain https://scrimba.com/explain/mcpThis route skips the dialog. Claude Code asks about tool permissions in the terminal the first time it reaches for Explain.
Or install the plugin
Explain is also a Claude Code plugin, Explain by Scrimba. It bundles the same server with a skill that tells Claude when to use it:
/plugin marketplace add scrimba/explainer-mcp-plugin
/plugin install scrimba-explain@scrimbaOnce it's installed, /explain starts an explainer from the current session, and Claude reaches for the tools on its own when you ask for a video or a walkthrough.
The same repository, scrimba/explainer-mcp-plugin, installs into Cursor, Codex, Copilot CLI and VS Code with one command:
npx plugins add scrimba/explainer-mcp-pluginWhichever way you connect, from your next session Claude Code can create explainers whenever you ask.
How it works
When you ask for an explainer, Claude Code plans the lesson, then streams it to Scrimba slide by slide: narration script, code excerpts, diffs, diagrams. You get a link as soon as the stream starts.
The draft it creates is private: nobody else can see it, and the link alone isn't enough to watch it.
Open the link and sign in to Scrimba, and the explainer is claimed as yours. From that point it's in your account and you decide who else can see it. See Privacy, claiming and sharing.
Sharing with a reviewer
Claiming doesn't open the explainer up to anyone else. For one your reviewer needs to watch, set it to unlisted after claiming, or ask Claude to make it unlisted when it creates it. Either way, the link then works for anyone you send it to.
Creating the draft is free: Claude Code authors the lesson, so no Scrimba AI generation is involved. Images are generated the first time the link is opened, and narration once you've claimed the explainer and start watching.
Other agents
Codex and every other MCP-capable tool can connect to the same server. See The MCP server.