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TL;DR

Claude Desktop is Anthropic's native chat app for macOS and Windows. MCP config lives at `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` (Mac) or `%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json` (Windows). Uses the same `mcpServers` JSON shape as Claude Code. Best choice for non-developers and anyone who wants MCP power without a terminal.

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Best MCPs for Claude Desktop

Anthropic's native desktop app — chat interface to Claude with local MCP support

Official siteJSON config

Setup: add an MCP server to Claude Desktop

  1. 1
    Download Claude Desktop from claude.ai/download (macOS and Windows)
  2. 2
    Sign in with your Claude account and run the app once to create the config file
  3. 3
    Edit the config file at the path above (Claude menu → Settings → Developer → Edit Config also opens it)
  4. 4
    Add your MCP servers under `mcpServers` in the same JSON shape as Claude Code
  5. 5
    Fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop (not just close the window). MCP tools appear in the chat UI.
Config filemacOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json — Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Config example

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notion": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@notionhq/notion-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "OPENAPI_MCP_HEADERS": "{\"Authorization\": \"Bearer secret_...\", \"Notion-Version\": \"2022-06-28\"}"
      }
    },
    "github": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "ghp_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Real secrets should never be committed — use environment variables or your editor's secrets manager.

Top 10 MCPs for Claude Desktop

1🐙

GitHub

View MCP

Open PRs, review issues, read code — all from the desktop Claude chat. Common for non-developers too (PMs reviewing issues).

2📝

Notion

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Read and write Notion pages. Most popular MCP for Claude Desktop — turns it into a personal Notion agent.

A · 90/100last commit 29 days ago · 4,600 stars · MIT licence · 187 open issues
3💬

Slack

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Post messages, summarise channels, triage DMs from the desktop chat. Great for exec use cases.

4🐘

Postgres

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Natural-language DB queries from the desktop — popular with non-technical analysts and PMs.

5🟢

Supabase

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Founders and non-devs querying their own app data without writing SQL. Huge quality-of-life gain.

A · 94/100last commit yesterday · 2,871 stars · Apache-2.0 licence · 106 open issues
6💳

Stripe

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Billing questions and refunds from the desktop — ideal for finance/ops teams without terminal access.

A · 98/100last commit 2 days ago · 1,760 stars · MIT licence · 77 open issues
7📐

Linear

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Triage tickets, answer project status questions, close tickets. PMs and team leads love this.

8🔮

Perplexity

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Web research with citations inside Claude Desktop — your personal research assistant.

D · 63/100no commit for 10 months · 295 stars · MIT licence · 5 open issues
9🔍

Tavily

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Fast web search for casual questions. Cheaper than Perplexity for light use.

A · 90/100last commit 3 days ago · 2,349 stars · MIT licence · 47 open issues
10🔥

Firecrawl

View MCP

Paste a URL, get a clean markdown summary. Useful for 'read this article for me and give me the key points'.

A · 100/100last commit 2 days ago · 7,307 stars · MIT licence · 156 open issues

What Claude Desktop does well

  • Native macOS/Windows app — no terminal required. Great for non-developers who want MCP power.
  • Built by Anthropic — MCP is a first-class citizen, not an afterthought
  • Config file shape matches Claude Code exactly (`mcpServers` key), so trivial to copy configs between them
  • Supports remote MCP servers via HTTP/SSE — ideal for team-shared knowledge-base MCPs
  • Rich chat UI with tool output formatting (tables, code blocks, images) rendered natively

Honest limitations

  • No per-project config — all MCP servers are global across all conversations
  • Requires full app restart on config changes (not hot-reload like Claude Code's `/restart`)
  • Linux support via community builds only — not officially supported yet
  • Some MCP features (like sampling) not exposed in the desktop UI

Frequently asked questions

What's the best MCP for Claude Desktop?

Notion MCP is #1 among desktop users — turns Claude into a Notion agent. After that: GitHub, Slack, Linear for work; Perplexity and Firecrawl for research. Stripe is popular with founders for quick billing answers.

Where is Claude Desktop's config file?

macOS: `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`. Windows: `%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json`. Easiest path: Claude menu → Settings → Developer → 'Edit Config' — opens it in your default editor.

Do I need Claude Pro to use MCPs in Claude Desktop?

MCP works on both the free and Pro tiers. Pro gives you higher usage limits and access to the latest models, which matters more for heavy MCP use. Free is fine for getting started.

Is Claude Desktop the same as Claude Code?

No — different apps. Claude Desktop is a chat GUI for conversations. Claude Code is a terminal-based coding agent. They share the MCP config format but serve different use cases. Non-devs use Desktop; devs use Code. Many people use both.

Does Claude Desktop work on Linux?

Not officially. Community builds exist but aren't supported. If you're on Linux, use Claude Code (terminal) or Claude on the web (claude.ai) with the remote MCP connector.

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Install your first MCP on Claude Desktop

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