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Prerequisites

  • Claude Desktop installed (macOS or Windows)
  • A MCPCore server with at least one tool
  • The config snippet from your server’s Integration tab

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Step 1 — Get your config snippet

Open your server’s detail page, click the Integration tab, and select Claude Desktop. Copy the generated config snippet.
Integration tab with Claude Desktop selected
It will look like this: 
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "your-server-code": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote@latest", "https://your-subdomain.mcpcore.io/mcp"]
    }
  }
}
For API Key mode, the snippet includes the auth header: 
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "your-server-code": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y", "mcp-remote@latest",
        "https://your-subdomain.mcpcore.io/mcp",
        "--header", "Authorization: Bearer <your-api-key>"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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Step 2 — Open the config file

macOS: 
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: 
%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
If the file doesn’t exist, create it with {} as the initial content.

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Step 3 — Merge the snippet

If the file already has a mcpServers object, add your new server entry alongside the existing ones: 
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "existing-server": { "..." },
    "your-server-code": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote@latest", "https://your-subdomain.mcpcore.io/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

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Step 4 — Restart Claude Desktop

Fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop. MCP connections are established at startup.

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Step 5 — Verify

Look for the tools icon (plug or hammer) in the Claude Desktop chat input bar. Click it to see available tools from your server.
Claude Desktop chat with tools icon visible

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Troubleshooting

ProblemSolution
Tools not visible after restartCheck JSON syntax — a missing comma or bracket breaks the whole file
401 Unauthorized in logsVerify the API key in the --header argument
Could not connectCheck internet access; verify the subdomain URL is correct
Tool calls failOpen Traffic Logs to see the error detail
Validate your JSON at jsonlint.com before saving — syntax errors are the most common cause of connection failures in Claude Desktop.