Creativity · MCP — client

Claude Desktop as an MCP Client

Claude Desktop is the canonical Model Context Protocol client. It runs Claude the assistant on your machine and loads MCP servers defined in a claude_desktop_config.json file, spawning each one as a child process over stdio. It is the easiest place to start with MCP — add a server block, restart Claude, and the tools appear in chat.

MCP facts

Kind: client
Ecosystem: anthropic-mcp
Language: native (Electron)
Transports: stdio, http, sse

Capabilities

Loads MCP servers from claude_desktop_config.json on startup
Supports stdio (child process) and remote HTTP / SSE transports
Tool-call UI: Claude asks permission before calling a tool the first time
Ships on macOS + Windows; Linux via community builds only

Install

Download from https://claude.ai/download

Configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/Users/you/Documents"]
    },
    "github": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
      "env": { "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "ghp_xxx" }
    }
  }
}

Frequently asked questions

Where do I put claude_desktop_config.json?

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json. Edit, save, then restart Claude Desktop — it reloads the file on launch.

How do I debug an MCP server that does not show up?

Open Developer → Show Logs (or check ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp*.log on macOS). Missing Node/npx, bad env vars, or syntax errors in the JSON are the usual causes. Also try running the exact command/args from a terminal.

Is the tool-call UI safe?

Claude Desktop prompts for consent on first use of each tool and re-prompts on suspicious invocations. You can also pre-approve tools per server. Treat tool consent as a security boundary and read the invocation before clicking Allow.

Sources

Claude Desktop — MCP quickstart — accessed 2026-04-20
Claude Desktop download — accessed 2026-04-20