Claude Code
Anthropic's terminal coding agent. Servers are added with a command rather than by editing a file.
Command line verified 2026-07-15
How to add a server to Claude Code
- Open a terminal in your project
- Run the claude mcp add command shown below
- Run claude mcp list to confirm it connected
Where the configuration lives
| Project | .mcp.json |
|---|---|
| Global | ~/.claude.json |
Local server configuration
claude mcp add {{name}}{{envFlags}} -- {{command}} {{argsPlain}}Hosted server configuration
claude mcp add {{name}} --transport http {{url}}Placeholders such as {{name}}, {{command}}, {{args}} and {{url}} are filled from each server's package or endpoint data.
Protocol support
Support is uneven across clients. A server that only exposes prompts is of no use in a client that does not implement them.
| Transport | Supported |
|---|---|
| stdio | Yes |
| Streamable HTTP | Yes |
| SSE | Yes |
| Feature | Supported |
|---|---|
| Tools | Yes |
| Resources | Yes |
| Prompts | Yes |
| Sampling | No |
| Roots | Yes |
| Elicitation | Yes |
| OAuth | Yes |
Frequently asked questions
- How do I add an MCP server to Claude Code?
- 1. Open a terminal in your project 2. Run the claude mcp add command shown below 3. Run claude mcp list to confirm it connected
- Where is the Claude Code MCP configuration file?
- project: .mcp.json; global: ~/.claude.json.
- Can Claude Code run a local MCP server?
- Yes. It can start a local process and talk to it over stdio, so packaged servers work without any hosting.
- Which parts of the protocol does Claude Code not support?
- It does not implement sampling. A server whose value is mostly in those features will feel incomplete here.
- Does Claude Code need restarting after adding a server?
- No, it picks up the change without a restart.
- When was this setup information last checked?
- These details were verified on 2026-07-15. Clients change their configuration format from time to time, so check the official documentation if something does not work.