MCP Servers: A Practical Getting Started Guide

MCP servers let you give AI access to your data and tools. In this guide, we’ll connect your first server in 15 minutes.

What You Need

• Claude Desktop (free)
• Node.js 18+ installed
• 15 minutes

Step 1: Install Claude Desktop

Download Claude Desktop from claude.ai and install it. It’s free.

Step 2: Configure the Filesystem MCP Server

Open the Claude Desktop configuration:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Add the server configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "/Users/yourname/Documents"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Replace /Users/yourname/Documents with your actual folder.

Step 3: Restart Claude Desktop

Close and reopen Claude Desktop. You’ll see a hammer icon in the interface — this means MCP tools are available.

Step 4: Test It

Try typing in chat:

Show me the files in my Documents folder

Claude will use the MCP server to read the filesystem and display the results.

More Servers You Can Connect

GitHub MCP Server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "ghp_your_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Now Claude can:

• Browse your repositories
• Create issues and pull requests
• Search code

PostgreSQL MCP Server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "postgres": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres",
        "postgresql://user:pass@localhost:5432/mydb"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude gets access to your database and can:

• Execute SQL queries
• Analyze data
• Generate reports

Security Best Practices

1. Limit access — only grant access to folders/databases you need
2. Read-only where possible — if AI only reads, don’t give write permissions
3. Don’t store secrets in config — use environment variables
4. Review actions — Claude always asks permission before executing

Next Steps

Ready to build your own MCP server? Read the next guide in our documentation.