Add an MCP server with claude mcp add in Claude Code, claude_desktop_config.json in Claude Desktop, or mcp.json in Cursor

Details

Comparison

Client	Local (stdio)	Remote (HTTP)	Config location
Claude Code	claude mcp add --transport stdio ... -- cmd args	claude mcp add --transport http name url	~/.claude.json (local and user scope), .mcp.json in the project root (project scope)
Claude Desktop	mcpServers with command and args	Settings > Connectors > Add custom connector	~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS), %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows)
Cursor	mcpServers with command, args, optional env	mcpServers with url and optional headers	.cursor/mcp.json (project), ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global)

Claude Code

# remote, HTTP
claude mcp add --transport http wiki https://wiki.drfritzi.at/mcp
# local, stdio: everything after -- is the server command
claude mcp add --transport stdio files -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /path/to/dir

--scope (-s) takes local (default, only you, this project), project (shared through .mcp.json) or user (all your projects). The equivalent .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "wiki": { "type": "http", "url": "https://wiki.drfritzi.at/mcp" },
    "files": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/path/to/dir"]
    }
  }
}

Claude Code asks for approval before it uses a project-scoped server from .mcp.json. claude mcp list, claude mcp get <name> and claude mcp remove <name> manage servers.

Claude Desktop

Open Settings > Developer > Edit Config, or edit the file directly, and add:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "files": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/Users/username/Desktop"]
    }
  }
}

Use absolute paths, then quit and restart Claude Desktop completely. For a remote server such as https://wiki.drfritzi.at/mcp, the MCP docs use Settings > Connectors > Add > Add custom connector and paste the URL. This page does not show a config-file form for remote servers in Claude Desktop because the sources above do not document one.

Cursor

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "wiki": { "url": "https://wiki.drfritzi.at/mcp" },
    "files": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/path/to/dir"]
    }
  }
}

Cursor lists stdio, SSE and Streamable HTTP as supported transports.

Checklist: did it connect?

1. Run the server command by hand first. A stdio server that crashes there will not connect anywhere.
2. Claude Code: check the server's status in claude mcp list, or inside a session with /mcp. A project-scoped server also needs your approval before it runs.
3. Claude Desktop: after a full restart, open "Add files, connectors, and more" and check that the server's tools appear. If not, read mcp.log in ~/Library/Logs/Claude (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\logs (Windows).
4. Any client: ask for a tool by name and confirm that a call succeeds. The wiki endpoint offers search_answers and get_answer.
5. Check JSON syntax and that mcpServers is the top-level key.