Claude
- Desktop Chat
- macOS
- Windows
- #desktop
- #anthropic
- #chat
- #mcp
Claude Desktop — Anthropic’s MCP-ready chat app for tool-using conversations.
About
Claude Desktop is Anthropic’s chat client and one of the first mainstream MCP hosts. Connect local MCP servers so Claude can use your files, browser, calendars, databases, and custom tools during a conversation.
It’s the simplest way to try community MCP servers: add JSON config, restart the app, and tools show up in chat.
Highlights
- Official Anthropic desktop app with MCP support
- Local stdio servers via claude_desktop_config.json
- Strong tool-use for research, coding, and ops workflows
- Reference client for the Model Context Protocol
Details
- Author
- Anthropic
- Category
- Desktop Chat
- Platforms
- macOS, Windows
- Website
- claude.ai/download
- Docs
- Official docs
- Repository
- anthropics/claude-quickstarts
- Config path
macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Connect MCP to Claude Desktop
Config file: macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
- Install Claude Desktop from claude.ai/download
- Quit Claude completely
- Edit claude_desktop_config.json with your mcpServers entries
- Relaunch Claude — look for the hammer / tools icon in a new chat
Note: Invalid JSON or a failing server command will prevent tools from loading — check Claude’s logs if nothing appears.
Example MCP config
{
"mcpServers": {
"filesystem": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/path/to/allowed"]
}
}
}Looking for servers to connect? Browse MCP servers for Claude
