Easy guide to installing Claude Code MCPs globally on your machine.
This guide provides comprehensive instructions for setting up various Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers with Claude Code. These tools dramatically enhance Claude Code's capabilities, allowing it to interact with your filesystem, web browsers, and more.
MCP (Model Context Protocol) Servers are extensions that give Claude Code new capabilities beyond just generating code. They allow Claude to interact with your computer in powerful ways:
This command will install all supported MCP servers except for those requiring API keys:
#!/bin/bash
# One-command MCP server installation
echo "๐ Installing Claude Code MCP Servers..."
# Install Sequential Thinking MCP
echo "๐ Setting up Sequential Thinking..."
claude mcp add sequential-thinking -s user -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking
# Install Filesystem MCP (customize directories as needed)
echo "๐ Setting up Filesystem access..."
claude mcp add filesystem -s user -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem ~/Documents ~/Desktop ~/Downloads ~/Projects
# Install Puppeteer MCP
echo "๐ Setting up Puppeteer browser automation..."
claude mcp add puppeteer -s user -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-puppeteer
# Install Web Fetching MCP
echo "๐ Setting up Web Fetching..."
claude mcp add fetch -s user -- npx -y @kazuph/mcp-fetch
# Verify installation
echo "โ
Verifying installation..."
claude mcp list
echo "๐ Basic MCP servers installed successfully!"
echo "๐ For API key-based servers (Brave Search, Firecrawl) and Browser Tools, see the README for individual setup instructions."
Save this script as install-mcp-servers.sh
, make it executable with chmod +x install-mcp-servers.sh
, and run it.
Note: For Windows users, create a
.bat
file with the equivalent commands. You may need to addcmd /c
before the npx commands.
Purpose: Gives Claude a structured framework for solving complex problems with step-by-step reasoning.
claude mcp add sequential-thinking -s user -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking
Parameters:
Purpose: Allows Claude to read, write, and manipulate files on your computer within specified directories.
claude mcp add filesystem -s user -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem ~/Documents ~/Desktop ~/Downloads ~/Projects
Parameters:
~/Documents ~/Desktop ~/Downloads ~/Projects
with specific directories you want to give Claude access to,ro
after directory pathsPurpose: Gives Claude the ability to navigate websites, take screenshots, and interact with web pages.
claude mcp add puppeteer -s user -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-puppeteer
Parameters:
Purpose: Allows Claude to retrieve content from the web.
claude mcp add fetch -s user -- npx -y @kazuph/mcp-fetch
Parameters:
Purpose: Enables Claude to perform web searches using the Brave Search API.
# Replace YOUR_API_KEY_HERE with your actual Brave Search API key
claude mcp add brave-search -s user -- env BRAVE_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY_HERE npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search
Parameters:
YOUR_API_KEY_HERE
with your Brave Search API keyPurpose: Enables powerful web scraping, crawling and search capabilities.
# Replace fc-YOUR_API_KEY with your actual Firecrawl API key
claude mcp add firecrawl -s user -- env FIRECRAWL_API_KEY=fc-YOUR_API_KEY npx -y firecrawl-mcp
Parameters:
fc-YOUR_API_KEY
with your actual Firecrawl API keyFIRECRAWL_RETRY_MAX_ATTEMPTS=5
(default: 3)FIRECRAWL_RETRY_INITIAL_DELAY=2000
(in ms, default: 1000)FIRECRAWL_RETRY_MAX_DELAY=30000
(in ms, default: 10000)FIRECRAWL_CREDIT_WARNING_THRESHOLD=2000
(default: 1000)Purpose: Gives Claude access to your browser's console logs, network traffic, and the ability to run performance/accessibility audits.
Download from the releases page and install manually through Chrome's extension manager
npx @agentdeskai/[email protected]
claude mcp add browser-tools -s user -- npx -y @agentdeskai/[email protected]
Parameters:
@1.2.1
) to ensure you're using the latest versionAll MCP server commands share some common parameters:
-s user
: Sets the scope to user-level (global across all directories)
-s local
: Sets the scope to local directory only (default if not specified)
--
: Separates Claude Code arguments from the command to run
npx -y
: Runs an npm package without installing it permanently, auto-confirming
After installing, you can verify everything is working with:
claude mcp list
This should show all your installed MCP servers.
To remove a server:
claude mcp remove server-name
Here are some quick prompts to test each tool:
Sequential Thinking:
Use sequential thinking to solve the Monty Hall problem
Filesystem:
List the files in my Documents folder
Puppeteer:
Navigate to example.com and take a screenshot
Web Fetching:
Fetch and summarize the content from https://example.com
Brave Search:
Search the web for recent developments in quantum computing
Firecrawl:
Search for recent news about artificial intelligence
Browser Tools:
Show me the console logs from my browser
Run an accessibility audit on my current webpage
(Make sure Chrome DevTools is open with BrowserTools tab)
If commands don't work on Windows, try adding cmd /c
before npx commands:
claude mcp add sequential-thinking -s user -- cmd /c npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking
Try increasing the timeout:
MCP_TIMEOUT=10000 claude
Make sure to use the correct paths for your system and that Claude has appropriate permissions
Use /mcp
in Claude Code to check connection status of all MCP servers
{ "mcpServers": { "claude-code-mcpinstall": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking" ] } } }
Related projects feature coming soon
Will recommend related projects based on sub-categories