Why does my MCP server show zero tools in Claude Desktop?

The server process usually started but crashed before responding to the tools/list request — commonly a missing environment variable, a bad command path, or non-JSON output on stdout. Open the per-server log at ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp*.log to see the actual error.

Do I need to restart Claude Desktop after editing the config?

Yes. Claude Desktop only launches MCP servers at startup, so you must fully quit and reopen the app — closing the window is not enough.

Why does my MCP server show zero tools in Claude Desktop?

The server process usually started but crashed before responding to the tools/list request — commonly a missing environment variable, a bad command path, or non-JSON output on stdout. Open the per-server log at ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp*.log to see the actual error.

Do I need to restart Claude Desktop after editing the config?

Yes. Claude Desktop only launches MCP servers at startup, so you must fully quit and reopen the app — closing the window is not enough.

Desktop AppBrowse Claude Desktop Servers Directory

How to Install MCP Servers in Claude Desktop

How to install and configure MCP servers in Claude Desktop on macOS and Windows — the config file location, the exact JSON shape, and how to verify your tools loaded.

Configuring Claude Desktop

Config file: claude_desktop_config.json

macOS path~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

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

Step-by-step Installation Guide

1
Open the config file
In Claude Desktop, go to Settings → Developer → Edit Config. This opens (or creates) claude_desktop_config.json in your text editor. You can also open the file directly at the path for your OS.
2
Add the server under mcpServers
Add an entry inside the "mcpServers" object with a name, a "command", and its "args". Put any secrets in the "env" object rather than inline in the args.
3
Save and fully restart Claude Desktop
Quit Claude Desktop completely (not just the window) and reopen it. MCP servers are only launched on startup, so config edits are ignored until a full restart.
4
Verify the tools loaded
Open a new chat and look for the tools/MCP indicator. If the server shows zero tools or an error, check the MCP log at ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp*.log (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\logs (Windows).

Popular MCP servers to try in Claude Desktop

View All Compatible Servers →

A
Avo
Define, ship & query your analytics tracking from one source of truth, trusted by humans and agents.
63 0
N
Notch
Turn product pages and creative briefs into finished video and image ads from your AI chat.
25 12
Trident MCPmordor-forge
AI 3D model generation and post-processing: text/image/multiview-to-3D via Tripo, plus retopology, format conversion (GLB/FBX/OBJ/STL/USDZ), and stylization. Single Go binary, 10 tools, async generation with polling.
25 10
Moxie Docs MCP
MCP & Agent Skills for Automated Documentation, and codebase conventions + context
21 25
Whisper Windows MCPeviscerations
Windows-native local audio and video transcription using whisper.cpp with Vulkan GPU acceleration. No cloud APIs, no Python. Batch processing, multilingual support, model management, and background job handling built in.
20 2
Scrivener MCPwriterslogic
Connect Scrivener 3 writing projects to Claude and other AI assistants. 47 tools for document management, writing analysis, semantic search, character/plot memory, and content enhancement. Progressive skill loading, relationship engine with HMS triplets, and JS fallback for offline semantic search. npm i -g scrivener-mcp
16 12
Magic MCP21st-dev
Create crafted UI components inspired by the best 21st.dev design engineers.
16 1
Perseus VaultPerseus-Computing-LLC
Local-first, MCP-native persistent memory for AI agents — a single Rust binary with embedded SQLite, hybrid FTS5 + dense-vector search, and optional AES-256-GCM encryption. Fully offline, no cloud.
16 0
AllMCPs Server
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.
15 20
MCP Video Analyzerguimatheus92
MCP server for video analysis — extracts transcripts, key frames, OCR text, and annotated timelines from video URLs. Supports Loom and direct video files (.mp4, .webm). Zero auth required.
14 3
U
Unstructured Transform
Transform MCP is a single MCP-native tool that turns any file into agent-ready data, called directly from your agent session with no separate pipeline to wire up. Drop in a PDF, spreadsheet, scan, or email and get back partitioned, enriched, chunked, and embedded output ready for RAG, vector stores, or agent memory. 60+ formats, one call, 15,000 free pages a month.
14 1
MCP Eastmoney27dream
China A-share stock market MCP server — real-time quotes, main capital flow ranking, sector fund flow, and historical K-lines via Eastmoney's free APIs. Zero config, no API keys required. 5 tools: getstockquote, searchstock, mainfundrank, sectorfundflow, getkline. Install: uvx mcp-eastmoney or pip install mcp-eastmoney.
14 0

Frequently Asked Questions

On macOS it is ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json; on Windows it is %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json. The fastest way to open it is Settings → Developer → Edit Config, which creates the file if it does not exist.

Install MCP servers in other clients

Step-by-step Installation Guide

Open the config file

In Claude Desktop, go to Settings → Developer → Edit Config. This opens (or creates) claude_desktop_config.json in your text editor. You can also open the file directly at the path for your OS.

Add the server under mcpServers

Add an entry inside the "mcpServers" object with a name, a "command", and its "args". Put any secrets in the "env" object rather than inline in the args.

Save and fully restart Claude Desktop

Quit Claude Desktop completely (not just the window) and reopen it. MCP servers are only launched on startup, so config edits are ignored until a full restart.

Verify the tools loaded

Open a new chat and look for the tools/MCP indicator. If the server shows zero tools or an error, check the MCP log at ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp*.log (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\logs (Windows).

Frequently Asked Questions