.mcp.json example
An .mcp.json file at the root of a project lists the MCP servers Claude Code connects to there, so everyone who clones the repository gets the same tools. Copy the example below, keep the servers you use, and put tokens in environment variables instead of the file.
Updated
Files
{
"mcpServers": {
"sniptide": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://app.sniptide.com/api/mcp"
},
"github": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer ${GITHUB_TOKEN}"
}
},
"filesystem": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "${DOCS_DIR:-./docs}"]
}
}
}Save with your agent
Connect the Sniptide MCP server once, then ask your agent to keep this template in your library. It reads the files from the JSON version of this page and saves them as a private snippet you can edit and file into a collection.
claude mcp add --transport http sniptide https://app.sniptide.com/api/mcpRead https://sniptide.com/templates/mcp-json.json and save its files as a private Sniptide snippet titled ".mcp.json example".Where the file goes
Claude Code reads .mcp.json from the root of the project. Servers in it are project scoped: commit the file and your team gets them on the next pull. Claude Code asks each person to approve a project's servers before it uses them for the first time.
You can also write the file from the command line. claude mcp add --scope project adds a server to .mcp.json instead of your personal settings:
claude mcp add --scope project --transport http sniptide https://app.sniptide.com/api/mcpWhat each server shows
Every key under mcpServers is a server name you'll see in /mcp. The fields decide how Claude Code connects.
Server | Transport | Fields |
|---|---|---|
sniptide | Remote over HTTP | type: "http" and a url. Servers that support OAuth need nothing else. You sign in once from the /mcp menu. |
github | Remote over HTTP with a token | headers sends the token. ${GITHUB_TOKEN} is read from your environment when Claude Code starts, so the token never lands in the repository. |
filesystem | Local over stdio | command and args start a process on your machine. ${DOCS_DIR:-./docs} uses the variable when it is set and ./docs when it isn't. |
Claude Code expands ${VAR} and ${VAR:-default} in command, args, env, url and headers. If a variable has no value and no default, Claude Code reports the file as invalid, so list the variables your team needs in your .env.example.
Variant: a local server with environment variables
A stdio server that reads its settings from the environment takes an env block. The values are passed to the process and stay out of args.
{
"mcpServers": {
"sentry": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@sentry/mcp-server"],
"env": {
"SENTRY_ACCESS_TOKEN": "${SENTRY_ACCESS_TOKEN}"
}
}
}
}Variant: Claude Desktop
Claude Desktop uses the same mcpServers shape in its own settings file, claude_desktop_config.json, which you open from Settings, Developer, Edit Config. It is a personal file rather than part of a project, so it holds stdio servers with their full command:
{
"mcpServers": {
"filesystem": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/Users/you/Documents"]
}
}
}Remote servers such as Sniptide are added in Claude Desktop under Settings, Connectors instead.
