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9 min · +150 XP

Connect Claude to your tools with MCP

Let Claude itself read and act in other apps, safely.

By the end of this lesson

You will have connected an MCP server, used it in a session and know where its configuration lives.

In the previous lessons your tools talked to other services. MCP (Model Context Protocol) does the same for Claude itself. An MCP server adds tools to Claude Code, such as searching your notes, reading tasks in a tracker or controlling a browser, so you no longer copy data into the chat by hand.

For beginners
›MCP in plain words

Think of a power adapter. Each service has its own shape of socket; MCP is one standard plug, so Claude can use any service that offers an MCP server. Some servers live on the internet and are added by their address; others are small programs that run on your computer.

Add your first server

💬 Add the Claude Code documentation server

“Connect the official Claude Code documentation MCP server at https://code.claude.com/docs/mcp for me, under the name claude-code-docs, only for this project. Check that it connects and tell me what to do next.”

It is an official server that searches the Claude Code documentation and needs no sign-in. Claude adds it with the claude mcp add command and checks it. If the server does not appear in /mcp afterwards, restart Claude Code: type /exit and start claude again.

💬 Check that it connects

“Show me my MCP servers and their status.”

Next to the new one you should see ✔ Connected. ! Needs authentication means the server wants you to sign in (see /mcp below); ✘ Failed to connect means it did not answer.

Use it

  1. 1Start claude in your project folder.
  2. 2Ask: "Use the claude-code-docs server to look up what /btw does."
  3. 3The first time, Claude Code asks for permission to use the server's tool. Read it and allow it.
  4. 4In Claude's output the tool call is labelled with the server name, so you can see the answer came from the server.
  5. 5Usually you do not need to name the server; Claude picks the right tool itself.
Manage servers inside a session
/mcp

Shows your servers and their status. For a server that needs a sign-in (Notion, Sentry and many others), choose it, press Enter and select Authenticate; the browser opens the service's login page. Here you can also turn off servers you do not use.

Where the server is saved

Three scopes: name the one you want

  1. 1local (the default): only you, only in this project. Saved in ~/.claude.json.
  2. 2project: saved in .mcp.json in the project folder and shared with everyone who gets the project. Claude Code asks each person to approve the server before using it.
  3. 3user: only you, in all your projects. Say: "add this server for me in all my projects (user scope)".
ℹAlready using connectors in claude.ai?

If you sign in to Claude Code with a claude.ai account, the connectors you added at claude.ai/customize/connectors are available in Claude Code automatically. /mcp lists them next to your other servers.

!Safety

Connect only servers you trust: from the service itself or from the reviewed Anthropic Directory (claude.ai/directory). A server sees what Claude sends it and can act under your account. Servers that bring in outside text (web pages, emails, tickets) can carry instructions meant for the agent, which is called prompt injection. If a project you downloaded asks to approve servers from .mcp.json, say yes only to ones you recognise.

For experienced users
✦If you are experienced

Each server's tool names and instructions take context in every session, although full tool definitions are deferred by default; /context and the /usage attribution show the cost per server. The docs note that CLI tools like gh, aws or gcloud are still more context-efficient, so prefer them where they exist. Local servers: claude mcp add <name> -- <command> (for example npx -y @playwright/mcp@latest). claude mcp login <name> signs in from the shell. SSE transport is deprecated; use HTTP. claude mcp reset-project-choices resets .mcp.json approvals.

Do it now

0/5
Quick check

You want a server in all your projects, but you do not want to share it with anyone. Which scope do you name in your request?

Quick check

You download someone else's project, and on start Claude Code asks you to approve an MCP server from .mcp.json that you have never heard of. What do you do?

Facts checked against the official Claude Code docs October 24, 2026 · source

EAEvgenii Arsentev

Author

Evgenii Arsentev

PhD · Chief Executive Officer, digital health