Claude Desktop MCP Setup: Install and Configure Tools

Claude Desktop has built-in support for MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers. You can add file access, database queries, web searches, and hundreds of other tools by editing one configuration file. This guide walks you through the setup.

How Claude Desktop Uses MCP

Claude Desktop acts as an MCP client. It reads a configuration file that specifies which MCP servers to run, starts them as local processes, and makes their tools available during conversations. Claude can then call these tools to read files, query databases, search the web, and more.

Step 1: Find the Configuration File

The config file location depends on your OS:

# macOS
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

# Windows
%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

# Linux
~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Create the file if it does not exist.

Step 2: Add MCP Servers

Edit claude_desktop_config.json with your MCP servers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/Users/you/Documents"]
    },
    "sqlite": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "mcp_server_sqlite", "--db-path", "/Users/you/data/mydb.db"]
    },
    "github": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "ghp_your_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Install the Required Servers

Before restarting Claude Desktop, install each server:

# Filesystem (Node.js required)
npm install -g @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem

# SQLite (Python required)
pip install mcp-server-sqlite

# GitHub (Node.js required)
npm install -g @modelcontextprotocol/server-github

Step 4: Install XLUXX MCP Server for Trust Scoring

Add the XLUXX MCP server to give Claude the ability to look up trust scores for any MCP tool:

pip install xluxx-mcp-server

Add to your config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "xluxx": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "xluxx_mcp_server"]
    }
  }
}

Now Claude can check trust scores for MCP servers directly in conversation. Ask Claude: “What is the trust score for mcp-server-postgres?”

Step 5: Restart Claude Desktop

After editing the config file, fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop. Check the tools icon (hammer) in the chat input — it should show the tools from your configured servers.

Troubleshooting

• Tools not appearing: Check that the server command works in your terminal. Run npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /tmp to verify.
• Permission errors: Ensure file paths in the config are accessible to your user.
• Environment variables: API keys in env must be strings, not references.
• JSON syntax: Validate your config with python -m json.tool claude_desktop_config.json.

Recommended Starter Setup

A practical starting configuration for most users:

• Filesystem: Read and write files in your projects directory
• SQLite: Query local databases
• XLUXX: Look up trust scores when evaluating new tools

Find more servers to add:

curl https://api.xluxx.net/v1/tools?sort=trust_score&limit=20

Use XLUXX Trust Layer to find reliable MCP tools: api.xluxx.net

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