TIL: Setup MCP Server in Claude Code

Quick guide to add a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server to Claude Code CLI.

The Command

claude mcp add <server-name> -s <scope> -- <command> <args>

Example: Adding a Remote MCP Server

claude mcp add dbcode -s project -- npx -y mcp-remote http://localhost:5002/mcp

This creates .mcp.json in your project root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dbcode": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "http://localhost:5002/mcp"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Scope Options

Flag	Scope	Config Location
-s project	Current project only	.mcp.json in project root
-s user	All your projects	~/.claude/settings.json

Useful Commands

# List configured servers
claude mcp list

# Remove a server
claude mcp remove dbcode

# Check if server is running
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" http://localhost:5002/mcp

Note

Restart Claude Code after adding a new MCP server for it to take effect.