# claude mcp add

Canonical page: /glossary/claude-mcp-add

API keys & secrets glossary, Claude Code & MCP. claude mcp add: Connecting an MCP Server to Claude Code

**Short answer:** claude mcp add is the Claude Code CLI command that registers a new MCP server, either for the current project or globally for your user account. After you run it, Claude Code will start that server automatically whenever it needs its tools.

## Why it matters

You give the command a name and the command to launch the server, for example claude mcp add claude-keychain -- node ~/claude-vault/mcp-server.js. From then on, saying you want to use that server by name is usually enough for Claude to find and call its tools.

## In Claude Keychain

Claude Keychain's setup screen builds this command for you, so most people never type it directly; the Connect button in the app runs the equivalent registration automatically.

## Common questions

**Where does Claude Code remember which servers are added?**

In a configuration file, typically .mcp.json for a project or a user-level settings file for global servers.

**Can I remove a server later?**

Yes, with claude mcp remove, or by deleting the entry from the configuration file directly.

## Related

[.mcp.json](/glossary/mcp-json), [MCP server](/glossary/mcp-server), [MCP tool](/glossary/mcp-tool)