Add your first MCP server or connector to Claude

By the end of this guide Claude will be able to use one outside tool for you, and you will know which of the three setup routes to use next time. You will connect a ready-made connector in claude.ai (the easiest route), learn how a local server is added to Claude Desktop, and see the one-line command that does the same job in Claude Code.

Two words first. An MCP server is a small plug-in that gives Claude a new ability, such as reading your notes or opening a browser. MCP stands for Model Context Protocol, the open standard these plug-ins follow. A connector is what Claude’s apps call an MCP server once it is added to your account.

What you’ll have at the end

• One working connector you can switch on in any chat.
• An understanding of the three routes, so you can pick the right one for the next tool.
• A habit of checking tool permissions before Claude acts for you.

What you need

• A Claude account. Directory connectors and custom connectors work on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise, with limits: on the Free plan you can add one custom connector, and Anthropic’s help center says directory (web) connectors reach only “some users” on free plans.
• An account with the service you want to connect. This guide uses Notion as the example, but any directory connector works the same way.
• For the Claude Desktop local route: the Claude desktop app and Node.js (LTS version).
• For the Claude Code route: Claude Code installed and a Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise or Console account.

Which route should you use?

Route	Where it runs	Best when	How you add it
Directory connector	Remote (the vendor hosts it)	The service is listed in Claude’s directory	Customize > Connectors > Discover
Custom connector by URL	Remote	You have a server URL that isn’t listed	Customize > Connectors > Add custom connector
Local server (Desktop)	On your computer	Claude needs your local files or tools	Desktop extension, or the developer config file
Claude Code	Remote or local	You work in a terminal or a code project	claude mcp add ...

Connectors you add in claude.ai also appear in Claude Desktop, the mobile apps, and Claude Code when you sign in to Claude Code with the same Claude account.

Step-by-step

Route A: add a directory connector in claude.ai or Claude Desktop

1. Open Customize > Connectors (the direct link is claude.ai/customize/connectors). In the desktop app, select Customize in the sidebar, then Connectors. Older help articles call this page Settings > Connectors; the label depends on your app version.
2. Select Discover, type the service name (for example “Notion”) into Search connectors, and open its listing. Each listing shows a Verified or Community label.
3. Select Connect to Claude. On a Team or Enterprise plan you may see Request instead, which means an Owner has to add it for the organization first.
4. Sign in to the service and review what Claude is asking to access. On claude.ai this opens in the same tab; in the desktop app it opens in your browser.
5. Back on the Connectors page, the connector should appear under Your connectors with the status Connected.
6. Open a chat, select + in the message box, choose Connectors, and make sure the toggle for your new connector is on.
7. Ask something only that service can answer. When Claude wants to use a tool, it may ask you to approve. Allow once approves this call; Always allow skips the prompt for that tool from now on.

Route B: add a custom connector by URL

Use this when a vendor gives you a remote MCP server URL but the service isn’t in the directory.

1. Go to Customize > Connectors and click Add custom connector.
2. Paste the server URL, for example https://mcp.example.com/mcp.
3. Leave OAuth settings alone unless the vendor’s docs tell you to fill them in.
4. Click Add, then connect and sign in.

On Team and Enterprise plans only an Owner (or, on Enterprise, a member with the right custom role) can add custom connectors, from Organization settings > Connectors. Members then click Connect next to the connector with the Custom label.

Route C: add a local server to Claude Desktop

Local servers run on your computer, so they can reach your files. The official MCP tutorial uses the Filesystem server as the example.

1. Click the Claude menu in your system’s menu bar (not the settings inside the Claude window) and choose Settings….
2. Open the Developer tab and click Edit Config. This opens or creates the config file:
   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
3. If the file is empty, paste this. If it already has an mcpServers block, add only the "filesystem" entry inside it. Replace username with your computer username and keep only folders you are happy for Claude to read and change:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "/Users/username/Desktop",
        "/Users/username/Downloads"
      ]
    }
  }
}

On Windows, write the folders like this instead: "C:\\Users\\username\\Desktop" and "C:\\Users\\username\\Downloads" (double backslashes). 4. Save the file, fully quit Claude Desktop, and open it again. 5. Click the + (“Add files, connectors, and more”) button at the bottom left of the message box, hover over Connectors, and click Manage connectors. “filesystem” should be listed with its tools.

If someone gives you a .mcpb file (a packaged desktop extension) instead, go to Settings > Extensions in the desktop app, drag the file onto the page, and select Install. Your organization can turn extensions off, in which case that page won’t appear.

Route D: add a server in Claude Code

1. Install Claude Code if you haven’t. On macOS, Linux or WSL: curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash. On Windows PowerShell: irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex.
2. Add a remote server. Notion’s documented command is:

claude mcp add --transport http notion https://mcp.notion.com/mcp

3. Start Claude Code with claude, type /mcp, choose the server, and follow the browser sign-in.
4. Check it with claude mcp list. Remove it later with claude mcp remove notion.

By default a server is added at local scope (only you, only this project). Add --scope user to make it available in all your projects, or --scope project to share it with your team through a .mcp.json file. Claude Code can also copy servers from Claude Desktop with claude mcp add-from-claude-desktop (macOS and WSL only).

Make it useful: prompts to try

Once a connector is on, prompts that name the service and the outcome work best.

Using the Notion connector, find my most recently edited page and give me a 5-bullet summary. Don't change anything.

List every tool you can use from the connectors that are on in this chat, and say in one line what each one does and whether it can change or delete data.

Look in my Downloads folder and list the 10 largest files with their sizes. Only read, don't move or delete anything.

The second prompt is worth running after every new connector. It shows you exactly what you just gave Claude access to.

Troubleshooting

• The connector isn’t in the + menu. Check Customize > Connectors shows it as Connected, then check its toggle in that chat’s + > Connectors menu.
• It says Reconnect. Claude lost access to the service. Select Reconnect and sign in again.
• Local server doesn’t appear in Desktop. Restart Claude Desktop fully, check the JSON has no missing commas or brackets, and make sure folder paths are absolute. Logs are in ~/Library/Logs/Claude (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\logs (Windows); mcp.log shows connection failures.
• Windows shows ENOENT with ${APPDATA} in the path. Add the expanded APPDATA path under an env key for that server, as the MCP tutorial shows, and make sure npm is installed globally (npm install -g npm).
• Claude Code server stays “failed”. Run /mcp to re-authenticate. A slow server may need a longer start-up timeout: MCP_TIMEOUT=10000 claude.

Watch out for

Anthropic’s docs warn that a remote MCP server can read data, change or delete it, and act for you. Only connect servers from organizations you trust, read the permission screen at sign-in, and click Always allow only for trusted servers. You can set each tool to Always allow, Needs approval or Blocked from the connector’s page under Customize > Connectors. Servers that fetch web content can expose you to prompt injection (hidden instructions in a page that try to steer Claude).

Next steps

• Let Claude read and update your Notion
• Stop Claude using outdated library docs with Context7
• Have Claude click through and test your web app