How to add an MCP server to Claude, Claude Code, VS Code and ChatGPT

To add an MCP server you tell an app, such as Claude, Claude Code, VS Code or ChatGPT, either the web address of a remote server or the command that starts a local one. On October 23, 2026 the steps differ by app but the choice is always the same: remote over HTTPS or local on your machine. This guide shows how to connect one in each app and which safety checks to make first, based on the official documentation of MCP, Anthropic, Microsoft and OpenAI read on October 23, 2026. If you are new to the protocol, start with our explainer on what MCP is.

Remote or local

Remote servers run on the internet and you connect with a URL. They work from any MCP client with an internet connection, need nothing installed and usually ask you to sign in, commonly with OAuth. Claude Code calls HTTP the recommended transport for remote servers; the older SSE transport is deprecated.

Local servers run as a program on your computer that the app starts for you, usually with npx, uvx or Docker. They can reach your files and local tools, which is why the MCP project's security guide asks a first question before any install: does this need to run locally at all? If a remote version exists and the server does not need your files, prefer the remote one.

Claude and Claude Desktop

Remote server: open Settings, then Connectors, click Add and choose Add custom connector. Paste the server URL, including https://, click Add and complete the sign-in the server asks for. Afterwards, the connector's settings let you turn individual tools on or off.

Local server in Claude Desktop: open Settings from the Claude menu, go to the Developer tab and click Edit Config. That opens claude_desktop_config.json, which on Windows lives in %APPDATA%\Claude\ and on macOS in ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/. The official example adds the Filesystem server, which needs Node.js:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "C:\\Users\\you\\Documents\\project"]
    }
  }
}

Each folder in args is a folder the server may read and change, with your account's permissions. Save, quit Claude Desktop completely and open it again. Claude asks for your approval before each file action.

Claude Code

In Claude Code you add servers from the terminal:

claude mcp add --transport http notion https://mcp.notion.com/mcp
claude mcp add --transport stdio airtable -- npx -y airtable-mcp-server

The first line adds a remote server, the second a local one: everything after -- is the command that starts it. Use claude mcp list to see your servers and /mcp inside a session to check their status. The scope decides where a server loads:

• Local (default): only in the current project and only for you, stored in ~/.claude.json.
• Project: in a .mcp.json file at the project root that you commit so the whole team gets it.
• User: in every project on your machine, still private to you.

A cloned repository cannot approve its own servers: a project's .mcp.json waits for your approval until you trust the folder. Our guide on how to use Claude Code covers the rest of the setup.

VS Code

Open the Command Palette and run MCP: Add Server. You can browse the MCP server gallery, which is in preview, paste a publisher's URL or command, or install from an NPM package, a Pip package or a Docker image. VS Code shows the package name, version and publisher before you click Allow. Microsoft's warning applies to every app: servers can run code on your machine and tools can reach external services with your permissions, so review the publisher, command or endpoint and requested access first, and never paste credentials into chat or commit them to your project.

ChatGPT

OpenAI's help page lists custom MCP servers for ChatGPT Business, Enterprise and Edu on the web. Go to Plugins, select the plus button and choose Add custom MCP server, enter a name and your server's public HTTPS endpoint or a Secure MCP Tunnel, set up authentication, accept the risk warning and select Create as a plugin. On Business, only admins and owners can create and publish them for the workspace; on Enterprise and Edu, admins can grant the permission to selected members. ChatGPT asks for confirmation before actions based on the app's permissions.

Checks before you connect anything

The MCP project's local server security guide and Anthropic's documentation agree on the basics:

• Know the publisher. Tie the package to a source repository and check the exact name, because typosquatting is the cheapest attack.
• Pin the version instead of installing latest.
• Read the tool list. Tool descriptions are untrusted input, and a server that fetches external content exposes you to prompt injection.
• Keep the roster small, because all connected servers share the same conversation.
• Narrow the access: one project folder, read-only where possible, and a separate narrowly scoped token for each server instead of a global one.
• Isolate third-party local servers, for example in a container with nothing mounted beyond what they need.

An MCP server is the easiest way to give a model tools, but each one is code you are choosing to trust. Our guides to function calling and building an agent explain how the model decides when to use them.