MCP (Model Context Protocol)

MCP is an open-source standard enabling AI-tool connections. MCP servers give Claude Code access to your tools, databases, and APIs.

What You Can Do

With MCP servers, you can:

• Implement features from issue trackers
• Analyze monitoring data (Sentry, etc.)
• Query databases directly
• Integrate design tools (Figma)
• Automate workflows (Gmail, Slack)

Installation Methods

HTTP Servers (Recommended)

claude mcp add --transport http <name> <url>

# Example: Notion integration
claude mcp add --transport http notion https://mcp.notion.com/mcp

SSE Servers (Deprecated)

claude mcp add --transport sse <name> <url>

Local Stdio Servers

claude mcp add --transport stdio <name> -- <command>

# Example: Local SQLite server
claude mcp add --transport stdio sqlite -- npx @anthropic/mcp-sqlite /path/to/db.sqlite

TIP

The -- separator distinguishes Claude flags from server commands.

Configuration Scopes

Scope	Location	Sharing
Local	~/.claude.json	Private
Project	.mcp.json	Team-shared
User	~/.claude.json	All projects

Use --scope flag to specify location:

claude mcp add --scope project notion https://mcp.notion.com/mcp

Management Commands

# List all servers
claude mcp list

# Get server details
claude mcp get <name>

# Remove a server
claude mcp remove <name>

# Check status (interactive mode)
/mcp

Authentication

OAuth 2.0 is supported. Use /mcp in Claude Code to authenticate with remote servers.

Environment Variables

Configure in .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "myserver": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["server.js"],
      "env": {
        "API_KEY": "${MY_API_KEY}",
        "DEBUG": "${DEBUG:-false}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Syntax:

• ${VAR} - Expands to environment variable
• ${VAR:-default} - Falls back to default value

Output Limits

Setting	Value
Warning threshold	10,000 tokens
Default maximum	25,000 tokens
Override	MAX_MCP_OUTPUT_TOKENS

Popular MCP Servers

Official Servers

• SQLite - Database queries
• Filesystem - File operations
• Memory - Persistent memory
• GitHub - Repository management

Community Servers

• Notion - Note management
• Sentry - Error monitoring
• Figma - Design integration
• Slack - Team communication

Using Resources

Reference MCP resources with @ syntax:

@memory://notes/project-plan
@github://repos/myorg/myrepo/issues

MCP Slash Commands

MCP prompts become slash commands:

/mcp__github__list_prs
/mcp__notion__search_pages

Project Configuration

Create .mcp.json in project root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sqlite": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@anthropic/mcp-sqlite", "./data.db"]
    },
    "github": {
      "url": "https://mcp.github.com/mcp",
      "transport": "http"
    }
  }
}

Enterprise Configuration

Administrators can deploy managed-mcp.json:

• Control accessible MCP servers
• Prevent unauthorized additions
• Enforce allowlists/denylists

WARNING

Enterprise configuration has highest precedence and cannot be overridden.

Troubleshooting

Server Not Connecting

1. Check server status: /mcp
2. Verify credentials and permissions
3. Check network/firewall settings
4. Review server logs

High Token Usage

• Reduce MAX_MCP_OUTPUT_TOKENS
• Filter queries to return less data
• Use pagination

Next Steps

• Hooks Reference - Automate workflows
• GitHub Integration - Git operations
• Environment Config - Setup guide