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Advanced Guide
MCP Servers

MCP Servers

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard for AI tool integration. Claude Code can connect to hundreds of data sources through MCP servers—databases, APIs, browsers, and more.

What MCP Enables

  • Implement features from issue trackers: “Add the feature described in JIRA ENG-4521 and create a GitHub PR”
  • Analyze monitoring data: “Check Sentry and Statsig for usage of the ENG-4521 feature”
  • Query databases: “Find 10 random user emails who used the ENG-4521 feature from PostgreSQL”
  • Integrate designs: “Update the email template based on the new Figma designs from Slack”

Installing MCP Servers

Remote HTTP (Recommended) 

# Basic syntax
claude mcp add --transport http <name> <url>

# Example: Connect to Notion
claude mcp add --transport http docs https://your-mcp-server.example.com/mcp

# With authentication
claude mcp add --transport http secure-api https://api.example.com/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer your-token"

Local stdio 

# Example: Add Airtable server
claude mcp add --transport stdio --env AIRTABLE_API_KEY=YOUR_KEY airtable \
  -- npx -y airtable-mcp-server

Managing Servers 

# List all configured servers
claude mcp list

# Get specific server details
claude mcp get github

# Remove server
claude mcp remove github

# Check status in Claude Code
> /mcp

Installation Scopes

ScopeLocationShared?
Local~/.claude.json (per-project)No
Project.mcp.jsonYes (git)
User~/.claude.jsonNo

Priority: Local > Project > User

OAuth Authentication

Many cloud MCP servers require authentication:

# 1. Add server requiring auth
claude mcp add --transport http server https://your-mcp-server.example.com/mcp

# 2. Authenticate in Claude Code
> /mcp
# Complete login in browser

Popular MCP Servers

Example: Remote HTTP server 

claude mcp add --transport http server https://your-mcp-server.example.com/mcp/

PostgreSQL 

claude mcp add --transport stdio db -- npx -y @bytebase/dbhub \
  --dsn "postgresql://readonly:pass@prod.db.com:5432/analytics"

You can discover additional MCP servers via your team’s internal registry or by searching public registries.

Using MCP Resources

Reference MCP resources with @:

# List available resources
> @

# Reference specific resource
> Analyze @github:issue://123 and suggest fixes

# Multiple resources
> Compare @postgres:schema://users and @docs:file://database/user-model

Claude Code as MCP Server

Run Claude Code as an MCP server for other apps:

claude mcp serve

Configure in Claude Desktop:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "claude-code": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "claude",
      "args": ["mcp", "serve"]
    }
  }
}

Debugging 

# Enable debug logs
claude --mcp-debug

# Set startup timeout
MCP_TIMEOUT=10000 claude

# Check server status
> /mcp
Claude Code SDKTeam Rollout: Treat Claude Code Config as Code