SOP-003: MCP Server Configuration

Document Control

• SOP ID: 003
• Version: 1.0
• Status: Active
• Last Updated: December 2024

Overview

Model Context Protocol (MCP) enables Claude to connect with external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        MCP ARCHITECTURE                              │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                      │
│   Claude Desktop/Code                                               │
│           ▼                                                         │
│   [MCP Protocol Layer]                                              │
│           ▼                                                         │
│   ┌──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┐                  │
│   │ Filesystem   │ Git Server   │ Web Server   │                  │
│   │   Server     │              │              │                  │
│   └──────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┘                  │
│           ▼              ▼              ▼                           │
│    Local Files      Git Repos    Web Resources                     │
│                                                                      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Installation Steps

Step 1: Install MCP Servers

# Core servers
npm install -g @anthropic/mcp-server-filesystem
npm install -g @anthropic/mcp-server-git
npm install -g @anthropic/mcp-server-github
npm install -g @anthropic/mcp-server-postgres
npm install -g @anthropic/mcp-server-sqlite

Step 2: Configure Claude Desktop

Windows Configuration

// %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@anthropic/mcp-server-filesystem", "C:\\Users\\YourName\\Documents"]
    },
    "git": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@anthropic/mcp-server-git", "--repository", "C:\\repos\\myproject"]
    }
  }
}

macOS Configuration

// ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@anthropic/mcp-server-filesystem", "/Users/yourname/Documents"]
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Project-Specific Configuration

Create .mcp.json in project root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "project-files": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@anthropic/mcp-server-filesystem", "./"]
    },
    "project-db": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@anthropic/mcp-server-sqlite", "--db-path", "./database.db"]
    }
  }
}

Available MCP Servers

Server	Purpose	Installation
filesystem	File access	npm install -g @anthropic/mcp-server-filesystem
git	Git operations	npm install -g @anthropic/mcp-server-git
github	GitHub API	npm install -g @anthropic/mcp-server-github
postgres	PostgreSQL	npm install -g @anthropic/mcp-server-postgres
sqlite	SQLite	npm install -g @anthropic/mcp-server-sqlite
web	Web fetching	npm install -g @anthropic/mcp-server-web
slack	Slack integration	npm install -g @anthropic/mcp-server-slack

Verification

# Test MCP connection
claude-code "List available MCP servers"

# Test specific server
claude-code "Use the filesystem server to list files"

Troubleshooting

Server not connecting

1. Restart Claude Desktop
2. Check server installation: npm list -g @anthropic/mcp-server-*
3. Verify configuration file syntax
4. Check server logs in Claude Desktop developer console

See Also

• SOP-002: Claude Code Installation
• Official MCP Documentation