Setting Up MCP Servers

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) lets Claude Code interact with external tools and services.

Configuration Location

# Settings file location
~/.claude/settings.json

Adding an MCP Server

1. Open settings

# Edit directly or use Claude Code
claude settings

2. Add server configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/path/to/allowed/dir"]
    }
  }
}

Popular MCP Servers

GitHub Integration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "<your-token>"
      }
    }
  }
}

PostgreSQL Database

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "postgres": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres", "postgresql://user:pass@localhost/db"]
    }
  }
}

Puppeteer Browser Control

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "puppeteer": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-puppeteer"]
    }
  }
}

Brave Search

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-search": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search"],
      "env": {
        "BRAVE_API_KEY": "<your-api-key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Multiple Servers

You can run multiple MCP servers simultaneously:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/home/user/projects"]
    },
    "github": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "<token>"
      }
    },
    "postgres": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres", "postgresql://localhost/mydb"]
    }
  }
}

Environment Variables

Sensitive data should use environment variables:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "myserver": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@my/mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "API_KEY": "$MY_API_KEY",
        "SECRET": "$MY_SECRET"
      }
    }
  }
}

Verifying Connection

After adding a server:

Restart Claude Code
Ask Claude what tools are available
Test a simple operation

Troubleshooting

Server not starting

Check if the package exists: npx -y @package/name --help
Verify paths are absolute
Check environment variables are set

Permission errors

Ensure file paths are accessible
Check API tokens have required scopes

Connection issues

Restart Claude Code after config changes
Check server logs in ~/.claude/logs/

Security Considerations

Only enable servers you trust
Use minimal permissions (read-only when possible)
Rotate API keys regularly
Review server source code for sensitive operations