What Is MCP in Claude Code and How to Set It Up in 2 Minutes

MCP is not a plugin, not a skill, not an API. It's a protocol. claude mcp add + URL or local command and Claude is connected to any service.

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is not a plugin. Not a skill. Not an API. It's a protocol — an open standard that defines how an AI agent communicates with external tools. Think USB, but for connecting Claude to your services: Notion, GitHub, Sentry, databases, whatever you need.

MCP in Claude Code

TL;DR claude mcp add + URL or local command. That's all it takes to connect Claude to any service.

The key distinction: a skill is a prompt you give Claude. An API is something you consume from your code. MCP is something Claude consumes directly — it gives Claude new tools it can use without you writing any code.

Result:

> /mcp

  MCP Servers:
  ● notion (http, connected)
  ● db (stdio, connected)

The two types of servers

1. Remote (HTTP) — cloud services

An HTTP server lives on the internet. Someone else maintains it, you just connect:

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

# GitHub
claude mcp add --transport http github https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/

Some require OAuth authentication. After adding, run /mcp inside Claude Code and follow the browser flow.

2. Local (stdio) — processes on your machine

A stdio server is a process running locally. Ideal for databases, system tools, or custom scripts:

# PostgreSQL
claude mcp add --transport stdio db -- npx -y @bytebase/dbhub \
  --dsn "postgresql://user:pass@localhost:5432/mydb"

# Custom server
claude mcp add --transport stdio my-tool -- node ./my-mcp-server.js

Quick reference

Command	What it does
`claude mcp add`	Add a server
`claude mcp list`	List configured servers
`claude mcp remove <name>`	Remove a server
`/mcp`	Status and authentication (inside Claude Code)

Scope	Where it's stored	Use case
`--scope local`	`~/.claude.json` (default)	Just you, just this project
`--scope project`	`.mcp.json` at project root	Shared with team (goes to git)
`--scope user`	`~/.claude.json`	Just you, all your projects

With the setup out of the way, the next question is which ones to install: see the five MCP servers that genuinely earn the slot — more connectors is not a better agent. And if you mix up what goes in .mcp.json, what in ~/.claude.json, and what in settings.json, here's which file each thing goes in.

Official docs: Connect Claude Code to tools via MCP