Check your ~/.claude.json. There are several possible locations as documented here: https://claudelog.com/configuration#mcp-configuration Answer from inventor_black on reddit.com
Reddit
reddit.com › r/claudeai › claude code - where is my mcp configuration stored
r/ClaudeAI on Reddit: Claude Code - Where is my MCP configuration stored
June 27, 2025 -
I did `claude mcp add ...` to add a local MCP server, but I can't find where this config is stored.
It didn't update `.claude/settings.local.json`, it didn't create a `.mcp.json` file, it hasn't created or updated anything in `~/.claude`.
Yet when I do `claude mcp list`, it somehow knows about the MCP I added.
Where does Claude Code hide this configuration for local projects?
Top answer 1 of 3
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Check your ~/.claude.json. There are several possible locations as documented here: https://claudelog.com/configuration#mcp-configuration
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Cool story: Until a couple of days ago, My Claude MCP servers worked just fine and I knew (from experience) that they were kept in "/.claude.json (really $profile\.claude.json since I'm on Windows, but same meat different gravy, you get the picture), under project specific keys. So today, out of the blue I notice "heyyyy, where's my MCP servers gone???" They're just.... gone??? Well at least, from Claude's perspective. Fast forward a bug report and some searches and I find that for some reason that only Anthropic will know, a) the mcp servers are still in the above location, but Claude for some reason do not see them anymore. b) If you add the following to you project folder /.claude/settings.json: { "enableAllProjectMcpServers": true } and you copy the "mcpServers" node from `/.claude.json` into `/.mcp.json` like so: { "mcpServers": { // mcp definitions here. } } then as if by magic Claude will start seeing your MCP servers again.
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Scott Spence
scottspence.com › home › posts › configuring mcp tools in claude code - the better way
Configuring MCP Tools in Claude Code - The Better Way - Scott Spence
March 30, 2025 - 🤦 Although I am a Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) user, the config for Claude Code file (unlike Claude Desktop) is stored in the Linux file system (as I’m running it in a node env) this means there’s none of the faffing around with passing the request through the wse.exe binary like I’ve had to do with Claude Desktop. The .claude.json file contains a a bit more than just MCP server configurations.
Claude
code.claude.com › docs › en › mcp
Connect Claude Code to tools via MCP - Claude Code Docs
This file is designed to be checked into version control, ensuring all team members have access to the same MCP tools and services. When you add a project-scoped server, Claude Code automatically creates or updates this file with the appropriate ...
ClaudeLog
claudelog.com › home › configuration
ClaudeLog - Claude Code Docs, Guides, Tutorials & Best Practices
Complete Claude Code configuration with comprehensive setup guides for API keys, model selection, MCP servers, tool permissions, and multi-directory workflows. Essential settings for optimizing your AI development experience. ... Use AI to create expressive CSS animations by splitting SVGs into logical parts. Claude can grok individual SVG components, split them into separate files...
GitHub
github.com › anthropics › claude-code › issues › 4976
Documentation incorrect about MCP configuration file location · Issue #4976 · anthropics/claude-code
August 2, 2025 - The Claude CLI documentation incorrectly states that MCP server configuration should be placed in ~/.claude/settings.json. This configuration file location does not work for MCP servers.
Published Aug 02, 2025
GitHub
github.com › steipete › claude-code-mcp
GitHub - steipete/claude-code-mcp: Claude Code as one-shot MCP server to have an agent in your agent.
(Note: In some mixed setups, if Cursor is also installed, these clients might fall back to using Cursor's ~/.cursor/mcp.json path. Prioritize the Codeium-specific paths if using the Codeium extension.) Create this file if it doesn't exist. Add or update the configuration for claude_code:
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Liblab
liblab.com › model context protocol (mcp)
Connect Claude to an MCP Server | Generate SDKs for your API with liblab
If you generated your MCP server using the liblab hosting service, use this option. Open Claude Desktop. In the settings, go to Developer and click Edit Config. This will open the claude_desktop_config.json file.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/claudeai › how do you setup mcp with claude code
r/ClaudeAI on Reddit: How do you setup mcp with Claude Code
April 19, 2025 -
Basically title, I asked Claude how to setup them up and it just told me to add it to claude_desktop.json (used with the claude app) but for some reason that's wrong
can someone tell me what file I can use to add all my mcp in json format?
thanks!
Top answer 1 of 8
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you can also import from your claude desktop json file (if you have it and you should use mcp in the chat with things like github and have it do Q&A on what you want to do and make PRDs to preserve messages you can send in claude code) by typing "claude mcp add-from-claude-desktop"
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I just did it. It looks like you’re running in VS code. That was where I had trouble. I believe the configuration files are slightly different for the VS code Claude code sessions, then they are for Claude code running in any old terminal. I did get it working, but it was a bit of a pain in the ass. Sorry I can’t be more help but try ask it to look for the MCP configuration files for Claude code running in VS code.
GitHub
github.com › github › github-mcp-server › blob › main › docs › installation-guides › install-claude.md
github-mcp-server/docs/installation-guides/install-claude.md at main · github/github-mcp-server
Open Claude Code inside the directory ... your token. One common approach: ... claude mcp add --transport http github https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp -H "Authorization: Bearer ......
Author github