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Anthropic Claude Setup and Configuration

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard created by Anthropic that enables Claude to connect to external tools, APIs, databases, and services through a standardized interface. Rather than building bespoke integrations for every tool, MCP provides a universal protocol — one server implementation works across all MCP-compatible AI clients.

Custom connectors using remote MCP are available on Claude, Cowork, Claude Desktop, and Claude Mobile for users on Free, Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans. Free users are limited to one custom connector. This feature is currently in beta.

Prerequisites

Before connecting a custom MCP server to Claude, ensure the following:

Your MCP server must be publicly reachable. When you add a custom connector, Claude connects to your remote MCP server from Anthropic's cloud infrastructure — not from your local device. This is true across every Claude client, including Claude, Claude Desktop, Cowork, and the mobile apps. Servers hosted on a private corporate network, behind a VPN, or blocked by a firewall will not connect, even if you can reach them from your own machine.

Allowlist Anthropic's IP ranges. If your server is behind a firewall, you need to allowlist Anthropic's IP addresses so inbound connections from Claude can reach it. The current IP ranges are published at: IP addresses

Transport protocol. Claude supports both SSE (Server-Sent Events) and Streamable HTTP-based remote servers. Note that SSE support may be deprecated in the coming months, so Streamable HTTP is recommended for new implementations.

Authentication (optional). Claude supports both authless and OAuth-based remote servers. If your server requires authentication, see the Authentication section below.

Adding a Custom Connector

For Individual Users (Pro and Max Plans)

  1. Navigate to Customize > Connectors at https://claude.ai/customize/connectors
  2. Click the + button, then select Add custom connector.
  3. Enter your connector's remote MCP server URL.
  4. Optionally, click Advanced settings to specify an OAuth Client ID and OAuth Client Secret for your server.
  5. Click Add to finish configuring your connector.

For Team and Enterprise Plans

Team and Enterprise plans require a two-step process: an Owner adds the connector to the organization, then individual members connect to it.

Step 1 — Owner adds the connector:

  1. Navigate to Organization settings > Connectors at https://claude.ai/admin-settings/connectors
  2. Click the Add button.
  3. Hover over Custom, then select Web.
  4. Enter your connector's remote MCP server URL.
  5. Optionally, click Advanced settings to specify an OAuth Client ID and OAuth Client Secret.
  6. Click Add to finish.

Step 2 — Members connect:

  1. Navigate to Customize > Connectors at https://claude.ai/customize/connectors
  2. Find the custom connector in the list (it will have a Custom label).
  3. Click Connect to authenticate and start using it.

Enabling a Connector in a Conversation

Once added, connectors are not automatically active in every conversation. To enable one:

  1. In the chat interface, click the + button in the lower-left corner.
  2. Select Connectors.
  3. Toggle on the connectors you want Claude to use for that conversation.

Claude Desktop: Local vs Remote Servers

Claude Desktop supports two types of MCP servers, and the distinction matters:

Remote MCP servers are configured via Settings > Connectors in the Claude web interface (https://claude.ai/settings/connectors). These run on Anthropic's infrastructure and are available across Claude, Cowork, and Claude Desktop. Do not add remote servers directly to claude_desktop_config.json — Claude Desktop will not connect to remote servers configured that way.

Local MCP servers are configured via claude_desktop_config.json and run on your machine using your local network. These are only available in Claude Desktop and are not accessible from Claude, Cowork, or the mobile apps.

Desktop Extensions

Claude Desktop also supports Desktop Extensions — single-click installable packages for local MCP servers. Navigate to Settings > Extensions in Claude Desktop to browse the directory. Team and Enterprise Owners can manage which extensions are available to their organization.

Testing and Troubleshooting

Testing Your Server

The best way to validate a server is to add it directly to Claude and try it. Alternatively, use the MCP Inspector tool: GitHub - modelcontextprotocol/inspector: Visual testing tool for MCP servers

The Inspector allows you to validate:

  • That your server successfully initiates and completes the auth flow
  • That your server correctly implements various parts of the auth protocol
  • Which tools, prompts, resources, and other MCP features your server exposes

Cloudflare's AI Playground (Workers AI LLM Playground) also allows you to test remote MCP server functionality.

Common Issues

Server not connecting: Ensure your MCP server URL is correct, publicly reachable, and that Anthropic's IP ranges are allowlisted in your firewall. Servers behind VPNs or on private networks will not connect.

Auth failures: Verify your OAuth configuration, check that the callback URL https://claude.ai/api/mcp/auth_callback is allowlisted on your OAuth provider, and confirm that your token endpoint returns proper error codes.

Tools not appearing: After connecting, enable the connector for your conversation via the + menu. If tools still don't appear, verify that your server's tool definitions are correct using the MCP Inspector.

Editing a connector: There is no direct edit option. Remove the connector first, then re-add it with the updated details.

Removing a Custom Connector

  1. Navigate to Customize > Connectors at https://claude.ai/customize/connectors (Team/Enterprise Owners use Organization settings > Connectors).
  2. Find the connector you want to remove.
  3. Click Remove or the three-dot menu, then follow the prompts.

Security Considerations

Custom connectors allow you to connect Claude to services that have not been verified by Anthropic. Keep the following in mind:

  • Only connect to trusted servers. You are granting Claude the ability to access and potentially modify data in connected services, subject to your permissions.
  • Review requested permissions carefully. During OAuth, review the requested scopes and limit them where possible.
  • Be aware of prompt injection risks. Malicious MCP servers may include hidden instructions. Claude has built-in protections, but connects only to servers you trust.
  • Monitor tool behavior. Server developers may update tool behavior at any time, so review Claude's tool invocations and their outputs regularly.
  • Use the Allow always button with care. Only grant unsupervised tool access for servers and tools you fully trust.

To report a malicious MCP server, submit to Anthropic's vulnerability disclosure program: Anthropic (VDP) - Vulnerability Disclosure Program | HackerOne

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