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

Claude Code can read your files and run terminal commands without any extra setup. MCP servers add more tools on top of that, such as a database client or a search API. This guide shows where Claude Code stores MCP servers, how to add one, and how to check that it loaded.

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 run claude in your terminal. Both read the same MCP configuration. This guide covers both.

Where Claude Code Stores MCP Servers

Claude Code has three scopes. The --scope flag on claude mcp add picks one. If you leave it out, Claude Code uses local.

On Windows, ~ is your user folder, for example C:\Users\YourName\.claude.json. The file ~/.claude/settings.json holds other Claude Code settings. It is not where claude mcp add writes MCP servers.

Adding an MCP Server: Two Methods

Method A: CLI (recommended)

# Install Claude Code if you haven't (macOS, Linux, WSL)
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

# Add a server for yourself, in every project
claude mcp add --scope user memory -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-memory

# Add a server to this project's .mcp.json (shared through git)
claude mcp add --scope project memory -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-memory

# See what's configured
claude mcp list

On Windows, install Claude Code from PowerShell with irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex. You can also use npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code.

Method B: Edit .mcp.json directly

For a project server, create or edit .mcp.json in your project root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "memory": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-memory"]
    }
  }
}

Do not hand-edit ~/.claude.json. Claude Code also keeps its own state in that file. For a user server, use claude mcp add --scope user or claude mcp add-json --scope user instead.

Reloading After Changes

Start a new session after you edit a config file. In the terminal, type /exit, then run claude again. The first time Claude Code sees a server in .mcp.json, it asks you to approve it.

Verify It Worked

claude mcp list       # lists configured servers
claude mcp get memory # shows one server and checks that it connects
claude                # start a session
/mcp                  # inside Claude Code: shows each server and its status

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?

Local and user servers are in ~/.claude.json. Project servers are in .mcp.json in your project root. claude mcp add uses the local scope unless you pass --scope user or --scope project.

Can I use the same MCP servers in Claude Code and Claude Desktop?

Yes. Add the server to each app. Each app keeps its own config file. On macOS and WSL, claude mcp add-from-claude-desktop copies servers from Claude Desktop into Claude Code.