Deep links

Links that open Multilo at a new chat with a prompt, a Settings page, or an install prompt for an extension, plugin or MCP server, and how to make them.

A deep link is a multilo:// address that opens the Multilo app at a specific place. Use one to share a task: a link on a course page or in a README can open a new chat with the prompt already written, in the right project folder. Multilo also uses deep links for Add to Multilo buttons that install an extension, a plugin or an MCP server, and to open a page of Settings. A link never runs anything on its own: a prompt waits in the chat box until you send it, and nothing installs until you confirm.

How a deep link works

When someone clicks a multilo:// link, their computer hands it to Multilo.

Click the link
Click a multilo:// link, or an Add to Multilo button that uses one.
Allow the browser to open Multilo
The browser asks whether to open Multilo. The first time, allow it. If Multilo isn’t running, the link starts it.
Review what the link opened
Multilo shows the prompt in a new chat, the Settings page, or what the link would install.
Send or confirm
Press Enter to send the prompt, or confirm the install. If you don’t, nothing happens.

A link never carries a password, a sign-in token or anything secret, and Multilo refuses an old-style sign-in link that tries to.

Link types

Link	Opens	Who it’s for
`multilo://open?q=<prompt>&cwd=<folder>`	A new chat with the prompt in the chat box, in that folder	Anyone sharing a task: teachers, supervisors, README authors
`multilo://settings/<page>`	Settings at that page	Help pages and guides
`multilo://extension/<id>`	The install prompt for an extension from Multilo’s marketplace	Extension publishers
`multilo://plugin/<name>`	Settings › Customize › Plugins, with an install prompt for a plugin from Multilo’s plugin marketplace	Plugin publishers
`multilo://mcp/install?name=<name>&config=<settings>`	Settings › Customize › Connectors, with the Add an MCP server form filled in	MCP server authors

Open a chat with a prompt

multilo://open?q=<prompt>&cwd=<folder>

Both parameters are optional. multilo://open on its own opens a new, empty chat.

Parameter	What it is
`q`	The text to put in the chat box. Encode it for a URL: `%20` or `+` for a space, `%0A` for a line break. At most 5,000 characters.
`cwd`	The full path of a folder on this computer, such as `/Users/Shared/Thesis` or `C:\Users\Public\Thesis`. It can’t be a network share (a path that starts with `\\` or `//`), contain `..`, or contain hidden characters.

Multilo starts a new chat, the same as New chat, and puts the prompt in the chat box. Nothing is sent. The chat shows the line “Prompt from an external link” until you send or clear the prompt. For a prompt over 1,000 characters, the line gives its length and asks you to scroll and review all of it, and the chat box opens at the start of the prompt. Multilo also removes invisible characters from the prompt, so the text you read is the text that’s sent.

The folder. If a Multilo window already shows the folder, the chat opens there. Otherwise Settings › General › Open projects in a new window decides:

Only from outside Multilo (the default) or Always: the folder opens in a new window.
Never: the current window switches to the folder.

A folder you open this way is like any project you open from somewhere else. If you haven’t trusted it, it starts in Restricted Mode, and Multilo asks before running code there. See trust a project folder.

This link opens a chat in the folder /Users/Shared/Thesis with a two-line prompt:

multilo://open?q=Summarise%20chapter-2.md%20in%20five%20bullet%20points.%0AList%20any%20claim%20that%20has%20no%20citation.&cwd=/Users/Shared/Thesis

To encode your own prompt, paste it into encodeURIComponent("…") in a browser’s console, or use any URL encoder.

Read a prompt from a link before you send it

Once you send it, a prompt from a link can do anything a prompt you typed can: read and edit files in the folder, or ask to run commands. Read all of it first, and clear it if you don’t recognise the task.

Open a link from a script. To open the same link without clicking it, give it to your system’s open command:

macOS: open "multilo://open?q=Review%20my%20outline"
Windows (PowerShell): Start-Process "multilo://open?q=Review%20my%20outline"

Open a Settings page

multilo://settings/<page>

<page> is one of the pages in Settings:

Page	Opens
`general`	General
`editor`	Editor
`library`	Library
`voice`	Voice
`notifications`	Notifications
`privacy`	Privacy
`models`	Models
`agent`	Agent
`memory`	Memory
`customize`	Customize

multilo://settings with no page, or with a name that isn’t in the table, opens Settings at General. See Settings for what each page holds.

Extensions

multilo://extension/<id>

<id> is the extension’s ID in Multilo’s marketplace: lowercase letters, numbers, dots, dashes and underscores. multilo://install-extension?id=<id> does the same.

Multilo looks the ID up in the public marketplace and shows Install extension with the extension’s name, its publisher, its trust level and how it runs. Extensions that aren’t first-party run sandboxed. Multilo checks the download’s signature before installing.

The extension’s page in the marketplace, www.multilo.com/marketplace/extensions/<id>, already has this button.

Plugins

multilo://plugin/<name>

<name> is the plugin’s name in Multilo’s plugin marketplace: lowercase letters, numbers and dashes, up to 64 characters. Only plugins listed in that marketplace can be installed this way. The name is the plugin’s name field; see Plugin files.

Multilo opens Settings › Customize › Plugins and asks: “Install the <name> plugin from Multilo’s plugin marketplace? Its skills, commands and agents load for you in every project; any hooks or connectors run only after you approve them.” Once confirmed, it installs for the person in every project. See Plugins for managing it afterwards.

The plugin’s page, www.multilo.com/marketplace/plugins/<name>, already has an Add to Multilo button.

Skills now ship inside plugins, so an older skill link, multilo://skill/<name>, opens the install for the plugin with that name.

MCP servers

multilo://mcp/install?name=<name>&config=<settings>

Parameter	What it is
`name`	The server’s name: letters, numbers, dashes and underscores, up to 40 characters.
`config`	The server’s settings as JSON, encoded as base64. They must include either a `command` to run or a `url` starting with `http://` or `https://`. Up to 16,384 characters once encoded.

Multilo opens Settings › Customize › Connectors with the Add an MCP server form filled in from the link. Nothing is added until the person reads it and clicks Add. A server that needs a sign-in opens it in the browser after that.

Make a button without writing code: the page www.multilo.com/install-mcp makes an Add to Multilo button for your server. Enter your server’s settings and copy the link or the button’s code into your README or website. A link to that page with your server’s details also works as a web link, for readers who might not have Multilo yet.

For setting up MCP servers by hand, see MCP.

Open it yourself on a computer with Multilo installed, and check that the prompt, page or install details are right.
Don’t put an API key or a password in a link, in a prompt or in config. Anyone who has the link can read it. Let the server ask for credentials when it starts, or tell people to add them in the form.
Use cwd only when everyone who clicks the link has the folder at the same path, such as a shared lab computer. Otherwise leave it out, and the chat opens in whatever project the person has open.
Some sites don’t make multilo:// links clickable. GitHub shows only the link’s text in READMEs, issues and wikis. There, put the link in a code block so readers can copy it into their browser’s address bar.

Troubleshoot

Problem	What to do
Clicking the link does nothing	Multilo isn’t installed, or the browser was told not to open it. Install Multilo from the download page, then click the link again and allow the browser to open Multilo.
“This link’s prompt is longer than 5,000 characters, so it wasn’t opened.”	Shorten the prompt. To share a longer task, save it as a skill and put its slash command in the link.
“This link’s folder isn’t on this computer, or can’t be opened: …”	The folder in `cwd` doesn’t exist on this computer, or the path isn’t allowed (a network share, `..` or hidden characters). Open the project yourself, then use the link without `cwd`.
The chat opened in a new window	That’s the default for links. To use the current window instead, set Settings › General › Open projects in a new window to Never.
The link shows as plain text on a web page	The site doesn’t allow `multilo://` links. Copy the link into your browser’s address bar.
“Extension "…" was not found in the marketplace.”	The ID is wrong, or the extension isn’t published yet. Check the ID on its marketplace page.
“Multilo’s plugin marketplace has no plugin named …”	The plugin name is wrong, or it isn’t in Multilo’s plugin marketplace. Only listed plugins can be installed from a link.
“… is already installed.”	Nothing to do: it’s installed.
Multilo opens but no chat, page, form or prompt appears	The link doesn’t match one of the formats above (for example, a misspelled name or `config` that isn’t valid base64 JSON), so Multilo ignores it. Check the link against this page. For an MCP server, make it again with `www.multilo.com/install-mcp`.

PermissionsFolder trust and Restricted Mode for a folder a link opens.SettingsWhat each Settings page holds.PluginsShare skills and commands in a plugin.MCPConnect MCP servers by hand.Building an extensionMake an extension to publish.Installing extensionsWhat people see when they install.