How to Install MCP Servers in Claude Code
How to add MCP servers to Claude Code from the terminal — the claude mcp add command, project vs user scope, and how to confirm the server connected.
Step-by-step installation guide
Add the server with the CLI
Run "claude mcp add <name> -- <command> [args...]". Everything after the -- is the command Claude Code runs to launch the server. Use -e KEY=value to pass environment variables.
Choose a scope
Add --scope project to write the server into a shared .mcp.json your team commits, or --scope user to make it available across all your projects. Local scope (the default) keeps it to the current project for just you.
Verify the connection
Run "claude mcp list" to see each server and whether it connected. You can also use the /mcp command inside a Claude Code session to inspect available servers and tools.
Configuration
.mcp.json / ~/.claude.jsonLocation
.mcp.json in your project rootSnippet
# Add a server from the terminal
claude mcp add filesystem -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /path/to/allowed/dir
# List configured servers and their status
claude mcp listPopular MCP servers to try in Claude Code
- The official MCP server for AllMCPs.com - submit and manage tools directly from your AI. The open directory for MCP servers. Connect Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and AI agents to databases, tools, files, and APIs. Explore 10,000+ servers. AllMCPs is the premier, open directory for discovering, evaluating, and installing Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers to equip AI agents and LLMs with real-world superpowers.83 20
- Define, ship & query your analytics tracking from one source of truth, trusted by humans and agents.65 0
- Tools to read, search, and manipulate Git repositories.60 0
- Influxdb3 MCP ServerInfluxDataOfficial MCP server for InfluxDB 3 Core/Enterprise/Cloud Dedicated58 0
- MCP Server for Integrating LINE Official Account55 0
- Scan/purge hidden text & score web domains: TLS, DNS, headers, speed. Free scans, $0.01 actions. The Tools:
- text_scan_v1 — free Scans a text string for invisible Unicode characters, homoglyphs, and normalization issues. Returns a risk score, a list of flagged characters, and detected homoglyphs. Never modifies the input text.
- text_purge_v1 — $0.01 per call Removes invisible Unicode characters and replaces homoglyphs in a text string, then normalizes the result. Returns the cleaned text plus a before-and-after risk comparison.
- domain_check_score_v1 — free Overall score, per-category scores, and how many findings each category raised. Use it to triage: rank a list of domains, confirm one is healthy, or decide whether the full report is worth pulling. It tells you which categories are weak and how many issues they hold, but not what the issues are.
- domain_check_score_batch_v1 — free The same triage scores for up to 100 domains in a single call. One score summary per distinct domain: overall score, per-category scores, and how many findings each category raised. Never the findings themselves.
- domain_check_v1 — $0.01 per call Full report for one domain: weighted score out of 100, per-category breakdown, and every individual finding with a prioritised remediation order.
-
domain_check_batch_v1 — from $0.005 per domain
The same full report for up to 100 domains in a single call, with one payment for the whole batch instead of one per domain. Both cheaper per domain and much faster than calling
domain_check_v1in a loop.
54 0 - Hub MCPdockerOfficial MCP server to interact with Docker Hub, providing access to repositories, hub search and Docker Hardened Images54 0
- Official Vocuno plugin for Claude that connects to Vocuno's remote MCP server for AI song generation, covers, remixes, stem separation, voice conversion, audio editing, mixing, mastering, and music analysis.52 0
- S2 Sdk Typescripts2-streamstoreOfficial MCP server for the S2.dev serverless stream platform.51 0
- MCP & Agent Skills for Automated Documentation, and codebase conventions + context47 25
- Infobip MCPInfobipOfficial Infobip MCP server for integrating Infobip global cloud communication platform. It equips AI agents with communication superpowers, allowing them to send and receive SMS and RCS messages, interact with WhatsApp and Viber, automate communication workflows, and manage customer data, all in a production-ready environment.46 0
- Keyless docs/discovery. RPC follows chain policy; indexed data and account tools need an API key.32 0
Frequently Asked Questions
Use the terminal: claude mcp add <name> -- <command> [args...]. For example, claude mcp add github -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-github. Add -e KEY=value for secrets and --scope project or user to control where it is stored.
Project scope writes to a .mcp.json in the repository so your whole team shares the server; user scope stores it in your global config so it follows you across projects. Local (default) scope keeps it to the current project for only you.
Run claude mcp list from the terminal, or use the /mcp slash command inside a session. For verbose connection logs, start Claude Code with the --debug flag.