MCP Configurations¶

Model Context Protocol integrations for Claude Code

Claude Code supports MCP (Model Context Protocol) integrations that extend its capabilities with specialized tools and data sources. This guide covers available MCPs and how to configure them.

🔧 What is MCP?¶

MCP (Model Context Protocol) allows Claude Code to integrate with external tools, databases, and services. MCPs provide:

Database access - Query MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite directly
File system operations - Advanced file manipulation capabilities
API integrations - Connect to REST APIs, GraphQL endpoints
Development tools - Git operations, code analysis, testing frameworks
Cloud services - AWS, Google Cloud, Azure integrations

📦 Available MCPs¶

Database MCPs¶

MySQL MCP¶

{
  "mcps": {
    "mysql": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@anthropic-ai/claude-mcp-mysql"],
      "env": {
        "MYSQL_HOST": "localhost",
        "MYSQL_PORT": "3306",
        "MYSQL_USER": "your_user",
        "MYSQL_PASSWORD": "your_password",
        "MYSQL_DATABASE": "your_database"
      }
    }
  }
}

Usage:

# Query database through Claude Code
claude "Show me all users created in the last 7 days" --mcp mysql

# Analyze database schema
claude "Analyze the database schema and suggest optimizations" --mcp mysql

# Generate database migration
claude "Create a migration to add email verification to users table" --mcp mysql

PostgreSQL MCP¶

{
  "mcps": {
    "postgres": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@anthropic-ai/claude-mcp-postgres"],
      "env": {
        "POSTGRES_URL": "postgresql://user:pass@localhost:5432/dbname"
      }
    }
  }
}

SQLite MCP¶

{
  "mcps": {
    "sqlite": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@anthropic-ai/claude-mcp-sqlite"],
      "args": ["path/to/database.db"]
    }
  }
}

Development Tool MCPs¶

Git MCP¶

{
  "mcps": {
    "git": {
      "command": "npx", 
      "args": ["@anthropic-ai/claude-mcp-git"],
      "cwd": "/path/to/your/repo"
    }
  }
}

Usage:

# Advanced git operations
claude "Create a feature branch and cherry-pick commits abc123 and def456" --mcp git

# Repository analysis  
claude "Analyze commit history for code quality trends" --mcp git

# Automated workflows
claude "Create a pre-commit hook that runs tests and linting" --mcp git

GitHub MCP¶

{
  "mcps": {
    "github": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@anthropic-ai/claude-mcp-github"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_TOKEN": "your_github_token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Usage:

# Repository management
claude "Create an issue for the bug we just found" --mcp github

# Pull request automation
claude "Review open PRs and provide feedback" --mcp github --files src/

# Project insights  
claude "Analyze repository activity and contributor metrics" --mcp github

File System MCPs¶

Advanced File Operations MCP¶

{
  "mcps": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@anthropic-ai/claude-mcp-filesystem"],
      "args": ["/allowed/path1", "/allowed/path2"]
    }
  }
}

Usage:

# Bulk file operations
claude "Rename all .js files to .ts and update imports" --mcp filesystem

# File organization
claude "Organize these files into a logical folder structure" --mcp filesystem

# Code migration
claude "Move all utility functions to a shared utils directory" --mcp filesystem

Cloud Service MCPs¶

AWS MCP¶

{
  "mcps": {
    "aws": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@anthropic-ai/claude-mcp-aws"],
      "env": {
        "AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID": "your_access_key",
        "AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY": "your_secret_key", 
        "AWS_REGION": "us-east-1"
      }
    }
  }
}

Usage:

# Infrastructure management
claude "List all EC2 instances and their status" --mcp aws

# Deployment operations
claude "Deploy this application to Lambda" --files src/ --mcp aws

# Cost analysis
claude "Analyze AWS costs for the last month" --mcp aws

⚙️ Configuration Setup¶

Global Configuration¶

Create ~/.config/claude/mcp.json:

{
  "mcps": {
    "mysql": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@anthropic-ai/claude-mcp-mysql"],
      "env": {
        "MYSQL_HOST": "localhost",
        "MYSQL_PORT": "3306",
        "MYSQL_USER": "dev_user",
        "MYSQL_PASSWORD_FILE": "/path/to/password/file"
      }
    },
    "git": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@anthropic-ai/claude-mcp-git"]
    }
  }
}

Project-Specific Configuration¶

Create .claude.json in your project:

{
  "mcps": {
    "project-db": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@anthropic-ai/claude-mcp-sqlite"],
      "args": ["./data/app.db"]
    },
    "project-git": {
      "command": "npx", 
      "args": ["@anthropic-ai/claude-mcp-git"],
      "cwd": "."
    }
  },
  "default_mcps": ["project-db", "project-git"]
}

Environment-Specific Setup¶

# Development environment
export CLAUDE_MCP_ENV=development

# Production environment  
export CLAUDE_MCP_ENV=production

Create environment-specific configs:

// mcp.development.json
{
  "mcps": {
    "db": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@anthropic-ai/claude-mcp-sqlite"],
      "args": ["./dev.db"]
    }
  }
}

// mcp.production.json  
{
  "mcps": {
    "db": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@anthropic-ai/claude-mcp-postgres"],
      "env": {
        "POSTGRES_URL_FILE": "/secure/db-url"
      }
    }
  }
}

🚀 Common MCP Workflows¶

Database Development¶

# Analyze database performance
claude "Find slow queries and suggest indexes" --mcp mysql --files src/models/

# Data migration
claude "Create migration to normalize user addresses" --mcp postgres

# Schema evolution
claude "Update database schema to match these models" --files src/models.py --mcp sqlite

Repository Management¶

# Code quality analysis
claude "Analyze commit patterns and suggest workflow improvements" --mcp git

# Automated issue creation
claude "Create GitHub issues for all TODO comments in the codebase" --mcp github --files src/

# Release preparation
claude "Prepare changelog and tag release v2.1.0" --mcp git --mcp github

File System Operations¶

# Project restructuring
claude "Reorganize this monorepo into microservices structure" --mcp filesystem --files .

# Bulk refactoring
claude "Update all import paths after moving modules" --mcp filesystem --files src/

# Asset optimization
claude "Optimize all images in assets directory" --mcp filesystem

🔒 Security Configuration¶

Credential Management¶

Use environment files for sensitive data:

# .env file (never commit to git)
MYSQL_PASSWORD=your_secure_password
GITHUB_TOKEN=your_github_token
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your_aws_secret

Load in MCP config:

{
  "mcps": {
    "mysql": {
      "env": {
        "MYSQL_PASSWORD": "${MYSQL_PASSWORD}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Access Control¶

Limit MCP capabilities:

{
  "mcps": {
    "restricted-fs": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@anthropic-ai/claude-mcp-filesystem"],
      "args": ["./src", "./tests"],
      "permissions": ["read", "write"],
      "exclude": ["*.secret", "*.key"]
    }
  }
}

Audit Logging¶

Enable MCP operation logging:

{
  "logging": {
    "level": "info",
    "mcp_operations": true,
    "output": "./logs/claude-mcp.log"
  }
}

🐛 Troubleshooting MCPs¶

Common Issues¶

MCP not found:

# Check MCP installation
npm list @anthropic-ai/claude-mcp-mysql

# Install missing MCP
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-mcp-mysql

Connection errors:

# Test MCP connection
claude --debug "List available tables" --mcp mysql

# Check environment variables
env | grep MYSQL

Permission issues:

# Check file permissions
ls -la ~/.config/claude/mcp.json

# Fix permissions
chmod 600 ~/.config/claude/mcp.json

Debug Mode¶

Enable debug logging:

# Debug specific MCP
claude --debug --mcp-debug mysql "Show database status"

# Verbose logging
CLAUDE_LOG_LEVEL=debug claude "Query users table" --mcp mysql

📚 Custom MCP Development¶

Creating a Custom MCP¶

Basic MCP structure:

// custom-mcp.js
const { MCPServer } = require('@anthropic-ai/mcp-sdk');

const server = new MCPServer({
  name: 'custom-tool',
  version: '1.0.0'
});

server.addTool({
  name: 'custom-operation',
  description: 'Performs a custom operation',
  handler: async (params) => {
    // Your custom logic here
    return { result: 'success' };
  }
});

server.start();

Use custom MCP:

{
  "mcps": {
    "custom": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["./path/to/custom-mcp.js"]
    }
  }
}

MCP Development Best Practices¶

Clear naming - Use descriptive MCP and tool names
Error handling - Implement robust error handling
Documentation - Include usage examples and parameter descriptions
Security - Validate inputs and limit access appropriately
Performance - Optimize for common use cases

Development Workflows - Using MCPs in development workflows
Prompting Patterns - Effective prompts with MCP data
Claude Desktop MCPs - Desktop MCP integrations
Database Tools - SQL workflows with database MCPs

Next: Explore Development Workflows to see how MCPs enhance your development process, or check Available MCP Registry for more integrations.

MCP Configurations¶

🔧 What is MCP?¶

📦 Available MCPs¶

Database MCPs¶

MySQL MCP¶

PostgreSQL MCP¶

SQLite MCP¶

Development Tool MCPs¶

Git MCP¶

GitHub MCP¶

File System MCPs¶

Advanced File Operations MCP¶

Cloud Service MCPs¶

AWS MCP¶

⚙️ Configuration Setup¶

Global Configuration¶

Project-Specific Configuration¶

Environment-Specific Setup¶

🚀 Common MCP Workflows¶

Database Development¶

Repository Management¶

File System Operations¶

🔒 Security Configuration¶

Credential Management¶

Access Control¶

Audit Logging¶

🐛 Troubleshooting MCPs¶

Common Issues¶

Debug Mode¶

📚 Custom MCP Development¶

Creating a Custom MCP¶

MCP Development Best Practices¶

📖 Related Documentation¶