Connect MCPM Tools to Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop supports MCP natively. This tutorial shows you how to connect tools from mcpm to your Claude Desktop setup.

How It Works

mcpm.dev (registry)
       ↓
  mcpm-dev CLI (installs tools locally)
       ↓
  Claude Desktop (runs MCP servers on stdio)

mcpm.dev is the registry. You discover and install tools via the CLI. Claude Desktop runs them.

Step 1: Find a Tool

mcpm-dev search database

Let's install database-explorer as an example:

mcpm-dev add database-explorer

Step 2: Locate the Tool

Installed tools live in your global node_modules:

# Find the installed path
npm list -g database-explorer
# Or on macOS/Linux:
which database-explorer

Step 3: Configure Claude Desktop

Open claude_desktop_config.json:

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

Add the tool:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "database-explorer": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "database-explorer"],
      "env": {
        "DB_URL": "postgresql://localhost:5432/mydb"
      }
    }
  }
}

Step 4: Restart and Test

1. Restart Claude Desktop
2. Look for the 🔌 icon — it confirms MCP tools are connected
3. Ask Claude: "Show me the tables in my database"

Claude will call database-explorer's tools automatically.

Adding Multiple Tools

You can connect multiple MCP servers at once:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "database-explorer": {
      "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "database-explorer"]
    },
    "weather-mcp": {
      "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "weather-mcp"]
    },
    "slack-bot": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "slack-bot"],
      "env": {
        "SLACK_TOKEN": "xoxb-your-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Using Environment Variables

Many tools need API keys. Never hardcode them — use environment variables:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github-assistant": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "github-assistant"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_TOKEN": "${GITHUB_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
Tool doesn't appear	Check Claude Desktop logs: Help → Developer → MCP Logs
"Command not found"	Use full path: "command": "/usr/local/bin/node"
Authentication error	Verify env vars are set correctly
Tool crashes	Run it manually: npx -y database-explorer to see errors

Pro Tip: Local Development

For tools you're actively developing, point Claude directly at your project:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-tool": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/Users/you/projects/my-mcp-tool/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

No need to publish to mcpm first — iterate locally, then publish when ready.

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