How to Add MCP Servers to Claude Desktop (Complete 2026 Guide)

Step-by-step guide with config examples for the 20 most popular MCP servers

Claude Desktop supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP), which lets Claude connect to external tools — databases, APIs, file systems, and more. This guide shows you exactly how to set it up.

Step 1: Find Your Config File

The Claude Desktop configuration file is located at:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

If the file doesn’t exist, create it. The basic structure is:

{
  "mcpServers": {}
}

Step 2: Add MCP Servers

Each server goes inside the mcpServers object. Here are the most popular ones:

Brave Search — Web Search

"brave-search": {
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "@brave/brave-search-mcp-server"],
  "env": { "BRAVE_API_KEY": "your_key" }
}

Filesystem — Read/Write Local Files

"filesystem": {
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/path/to/allowed/directory"]
}

GitHub — Repos, Issues, PRs

"github": {
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
  "env": { "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your_token" }
}

PostgreSQL — Database Queries

"postgres": {
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres", "postgresql://user:pass@localhost/dbname"]
}

Puppeteer — Browser Automation

"puppeteer": {
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-puppeteer"]
}

Memory — Persistent Knowledge

"memory": {
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-memory"]
}

Slack — Team Messaging

"slack": {
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-slack"],
  "env": { "SLACK_BOT_TOKEN": "xoxb-your-token", "SLACK_TEAM_ID": "T0000000" }
}

Sequential Thinking — Better Reasoning

"sequential-thinking": {
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking"]
}

XLUXX Trust Layer — Trust Scoring for All Tools

"xluxx-trust": {
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "xluxx-mcp-server"],
  "env": { "XLUXX_API_KEY": "your_free_key" }
}

Get a free API key: curl -X POST https://api.xluxx.net/register -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"name":"You","email":"you@email.com"}'

Step 3: Complete Example Config

Here’s a full config with multiple servers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-search": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@brave/brave-search-mcp-server"],
      "env": { "BRAVE_API_KEY": "BSA..." }
    },
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "C:/Users/you/Documents"]
    },
    "memory": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-memory"]
    },
    "xluxx-trust": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "xluxx-mcp-server"],
      "env": { "XLUXX_API_KEY": "xluxx_yourkey" }
    }
  }
}

Step 4: Restart Claude Desktop

After saving the config file, fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop. You should see MCP tools available in the tools menu (hammer icon).

Troubleshooting

• Server not appearing? Check that Node.js (v18+) is installed: node --version
• Permission errors? Run npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /path manually to test
• Slow startup? The first run downloads packages. Subsequent starts are faster.
• Which servers are reliable? Use the XLUXX MCP Server Finder to check trust scores before installing

Find More Servers

There are over 15,000 MCP servers available. Use our tools to find the right ones:

• MCP Server Finder — search by what you need
• Top 10 Most Reliable Servers
• API Documentation — programmatic access to trust scores