Claude Desktop
Anthropic's desktop app for macOS and Windows. Reads one JSON file and starts local servers itself.
Desktop app verified 2026-07-15
How to add a server to Claude Desktop
- Open Settings, then Developer, then Edit Config
- Add the server under the mcpServers key
- Save the file and quit the app completely
- Reopen and confirm the tools icon appears
Where the configuration lives
| Macos | ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json |
|---|---|
| Windows | %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json |
| Linux | not supported |
Local server configuration
{
"mcpServers": {
"{{name}}": {
"command": "{{command}}",
"args": {{args}}{{envBlock}}
}
}
}Hosted server configuration
{
"mcpServers": {
"{{name}}": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "{{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 | No |
| OAuth | Yes |
Frequently asked questions
- How do I add an MCP server to Claude Desktop?
- 1. Open Settings, then Developer, then Edit Config 2. Add the server under the mcpServers key 3. Save the file and quit the app completely 4. Reopen and confirm the tools icon appears
- Where is the Claude Desktop MCP configuration file?
- macos: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json; windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json.
- Can Claude Desktop 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 Desktop not support?
- It does not implement sampling or elicitation. A server whose value is mostly in those features will feel incomplete here.
- Does Claude Desktop need restarting after adding a server?
- Yes, fully quit and reopen it.
- 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.