Claude Code VS Code MCP Setup: Complete Beginner's Guide

When I switched from using Claude Desktop to Claude Code for development work, the biggest surprise was how much better the MCP integration is for coding workflows. Files, terminals, and tools — all in one place. Setting it up took me about five minutes once I understood where the config lives.

Claude Code vs Claude Desktop: What's the Difference?

Installing Claude Code in VS Code

1. Open VS Code
2. Press ⌘+Shift+X (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+X (Windows/Linux)
3. Search "Claude Code"
4. Install the Anthropic extension
5. Sign in when prompted

Two Ways to Run Claude Code

You can use Claude Code as a VS Code sidebar panel — or just run claude in your terminal. Both use the same config files and the same MCP skills. This guide covers both.

Where MCP Config Lives in Claude Code

Global config — for personal tools

# Mac / Linux
~/.claude/settings.json

# Windows
%USERPROFILE%.claudesettings.json

Skills here are available in every project you open.

Project config — for team tools

.claude/settings.json  # in your project root

Skills here are only available in that project — but you can commit the file to git.

Adding a Skill: Two Methods

Method A: CLI (fastest)

# Install Claude Code CLI if you haven't
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

# Add a skill globally
claude mcp add weather -- npx -y @trustedskills/weather-mcp

# Add to current project only
claude mcp add weather --project -- npx -y @trustedskills/weather-mcp

# See what's installed
claude mcp list

Method B: Edit the JSON directly

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "weather": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@trustedskills/weather-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Reloading After Changes

• VS Code: Ctrl+Shift+P → "Claude Code: Restart"
• Terminal: type /quit then rerun claude

Verify It Worked

claude mcp list       # shows configured skills
claude                # start a session
/tools                # lists available tools inside Claude

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need both Claude Desktop and Claude Code?

No — they serve different purposes. Claude Desktop is for general AI tasks; Claude Code is for active software development. Many people use both, but you don't need to.

Where does Claude Code store MCP settings?

Global settings at ~/.claude/settings.json. Project settings at .claude/settings.json in your project root. The CLI command claude mcp add writes to global by default.

Can I use the same skills in Claude Code and Claude Desktop?

Yes — MCP skills are platform-agnostic. You just add the same config entry to both places. Each editor manages its own config file.