MCP Clients & IDE Integrations

MCP servers work with a growing number of AI clients and code editors. Choose your client below for setup guides, configuration examples, and compatible servers.

Claude Desktop

Anthropic's official desktop app for Claude with built-in MCP server support. Configure servers via a JSON config file to extend Claude with file access, databases, APIs, and more.

Config: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Claude Code CLI

Anthropic's command-line coding agent with native MCP support. Configure servers via project settings or the --mcp flag for terminal-based AI development workflows.

Config: .claude/settings.json or --mcp flag

Cursor

The AI-first code editor with built-in MCP support. Configure MCP servers via .cursor/mcp.json to give Cursor's AI access to databases, APIs, file systems, and custom tools.

Config: .cursor/mcp.json

VS Code / GitHub Copilot

Visual Studio Code with GitHub Copilot supports MCP servers for extending AI capabilities. Configure servers in VS Code settings to connect Copilot to databases, APIs, and local tools.

Config: .vscode/settings.json

Windsurf

Codeium's AI-powered IDE with MCP support. Configure MCP servers via ~/.windsurf/mcp.json to extend Windsurf's AI with custom tools, databases, and API integrations.

Config: ~/.windsurf/mcp.json

Cline

An autonomous AI coding agent for VS Code with MCP support. Configure MCP servers through Cline's VS Code settings to give it access to external tools and data sources.

Config: VS Code settings (Cline extension settings)