MCP servers and skills for Claude Code

Add a server

1. 1Pick a scope: local (default, this project only), project (shared through .mcp.json) or user (all your projects).
2. 2For a local server, run claude mcp add with --transport stdio, any --env KEY=value pairs, the server name, then -- and the launch command.
3. 3For a remote server, run claude mcp add --transport http with the name and the server URL, adding --header if it needs a token.
4. 4If the server uses OAuth, open /mcp inside Claude Code and complete the browser sign-in.
5. 5Check the result with claude mcp list or claude mcp get <name>.

Where it's saved

Local and user

~/.claude.jsonLocal scope is stored under the project's path inside that file.

Project

.mcp.jsonIn the project root.

Anthropic's MCP documentationOpen the config builderHow to connect MCP servers to AI clients

A skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file. Claude Code finds skills here:

Personal

~/.claude/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md

Project

.claude/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.mdAlso nested <subdir>/.claude/skills/ and --add-dir directories.

Plugin

<plugin>/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md

Enterprise

.claude/skills/In the managed settings directory.

claude.ai

~/.claude/skills/synced/claude.ai account skills are synced here.

Anthropic's skills documentationHow to create a skill