connect-mcp-server

What problem does it solve?

Integrating external services with Claude Code via the Model Context Protocol is complex and error-prone because it requires choosing the correct transport, handling credentials securely, setting appropriate scopes, and verifying that tools and resources are discoverable and safe to use. This guide centralizes the workflow, configuration formats, authentication patterns, and security checks needed to add and manage MCP servers reliably.

Core Features & Use Cases

• Transport guidance: Clear recommendations for HTTP (remote), stdio (local), and guidance on deprecated SSE usage.
• Authentication and secrets: Patterns for OAuth, API tokens, and environment variable expansion to avoid committing secrets.
• Scope and configuration: How to manage local, project (.mcp.json), and user scopes plus enterprise managed configurations and allowlists/denylists.
• Testing and troubleshooting: Commands and verification steps to confirm server discovery, authentication status, available tools, and common fixes.
• Use Case: Add a GitHub HTTP MCP server for PR review and a filesystem stdio server for local code access, then verify both in Claude Code and test typical prompts and resource references.

Quick Start

Add a GitHub MCP server over HTTP, authenticate it via OAuth or an environment-backed API token, then open Claude Code and run the MCP status check to verify connected tools and resources.