Help & troubleshooting

Questions & answers

Common questions from field teams installing DCOS for the first time. For the full install guide, see the INSTALL.md doc in the source repo.

Getting started

What is Digital Chief of Staff?

DCOS is a purpose-built AI assistant for Elastic field sales. It connects Claude Desktop to your live Salesforce pipeline, an Elasticsearch account memory index, and Jina web research — then produces MEDDPIC-grounded briefs for AVPs, AEs, SDRs, SAs, and CAs.

It is not a generic chatbot or a vendor SaaS platform. You install it on your laptop (or point it at Elastic Cloud) and own the data.

Do I need Docker, Kubernetes, or a git clone?

No. Download the DMG (macOS) or Setup.exe (Windows), double-click install, and the workflow handles Elasticsearch, indices, and the Claude extension.

Developers can clone the repo and run ./scripts/install.sh, but reps do not need to.

Do I need Cursor?

No. Claude Desktop is the team default. Cursor is optional for engineers who want the same MCP tools inside the IDE.

What do I need installed?
  • Claude Desktop — from claude.ai/download
  • Node.js 18+ — auto-installed by the installer if missing
  • Salesforce CLI (sf) — for browser SSO login (brew install sf on macOS)
  • Jina API key (free) — for web research; prompted during install

Claude Desktop & connectors

Where do I find DCOS and Jina in Claude?

After install, open Settings → Connectors → Desktop (not Directory search). You should see Digital Chief of Staff and Jina as local extensions.

Toggle both on, quit Claude completely (Cmd+Q / Alt+F4), reopen, and set tool permissions to Allow automatically for tools like dcos_sfdc_sync and dcos_search.

Why don't I see Jina in Connectors → Directory?

Jina is shipped as a local .mcpb Desktop extension — the same pattern as DCOS — not a partner catalog connector. Search Directory for "jina" will return nothing; use Desktop instead.

If Jina is missing after install, double-click Install Jina.command from the install folder or download jina.mcpb from the releases page.

Cowork vs Desktop connectors — which one am I using?

Desktop connectors run on your machine with your Salesforce session and Elasticsearch. Cowork / mcp-registry connectors run in Anthropic's cloud and may not see your local CRM data.

For pipeline-grounded briefs, enable the Desktop DCOS connector on each Cowork task, or use regular Claude chat with Desktop connectors enabled globally.

Configure / Save is stuck on the extension dialog

Run Refresh Claude Extension.command (macOS) or Refresh Claude Extension.bat (Windows) from the install folder. Quit Claude (Cmd+Q), reopen, and confirm both extensions show as enabled.

Salesforce & data

How does Salesforce authentication work?

Browser SSO — the same login you use today. The installer runs sf org login web; no API tokens are pasted into Claude settings.

DCOS reads live CRM data via the Salesforce CLI session and can sync opportunities into Elasticsearch for search and delta comparison across briefs.

Where is my data stored?

By default, Elasticsearch runs locally at http://127.0.0.1:9200 with indices dcos_notes, dcos_opportunities, dcos_activities, and dcos_signals. Config lives in ~/.config/dcos/.

You can point ELASTICSEARCH_URL at Elastic Cloud instead — your cluster, your rules.

Will Claude invent pipeline numbers?

DCOS is designed not to. Project instructions require tools like dcos_sfdc_list_opportunities and dcos_search for ACV, stage, and account facts. Always run dcos_sfdc_sync before territory briefs for fresh CRM truth.

What is MEDDPIC?

A deal qualification framework DCOS uses throughout coaching and briefs:

  • Metrics · Economic Buyer · Decision Criteria
  • Decision Process · Paper Process · Identify Pain · C Champion

Briefs name the weakest letter and recommend the next action to close the gap.

Install & troubleshooting

macOS says the app "cannot be opened"

The DMG may be unsigned until IT notarizes it. Right-click the app → Open, or run xattr -cr on the install folder. See Architecture for the signing model.

Elasticsearch health check failed / wrong URL

Ensure ~/.config/dcos/env.sh has ELASTICSEARCH_URL="http://127.0.0.1:9200" for local installs — not the Elastic Cloud placeholder from the example template.

Re-run setup: bash scripts/setup-local-elasticsearch.sh then bash scripts/install.sh.

Node.js 18+ is required

Recent installers auto-install Node via Homebrew (macOS) or winget (Windows). If auto-install is blocked, install from nodejs.org and re-run the installer.

How do I change my role or watchlist?

Re-run ./scripts/setup-user-profile.mjs or edit ~/.config/dcos/accounts.yaml directly. Ask Claude to Run dcos_user_profile to confirm what it sees.

Strategy

DCOS vs Abacus.AI or other generic AI platforms?

Generic platforms answer anything for any department. DCOS answers the questions that win Elastic deals: live CRM, MEDDPIC coaching, persona agents, and Elasticsearch account memory — installable in one afternoon.

See the comparison table on the home page or Architecture for the build-vs-buy framing.

Is this the same as StratTrack?

No. DCOS is standalone — it connects directly to Salesforce and your own Elasticsearch indices. StratTrack data can be migrated, but DCOS does not require StratTrack to run.