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How the three MCP scopes differ
| Scope | Applies to | Where configuration is stored and shared | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
local |
The current project for you | In project-specific user settings; not the shared project file | A private, experimental, or sensitive setup for one project |
project |
The project and its collaborators | In .mcp.json at the project root; intended to be shareable through version control |
A server the team should configure consistently |
user |
Your projects on this machine | In your user-level configuration; private to you | A personal tool you use across projects |
These scope definitions and recommended uses follow Anthropic’s Claude Code MCP documentation.
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Which scope should you choose?
- Choose
projectif teammates should get the server configuration from the repository. Inspect.mcp.jsonbefore committing it. - Choose
localif the setup should stay personal and apply only while you work in this project. - Choose
userif it is your personal server and you want it available across projects.
The key distinction is where the configuration applies and whether it is shared—not a different kind of MCP server. MCP is an open protocol for standardizing how applications provide context to language models, as described in Anthropic’s MCP overview.
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For a stdio server, use -- to separate Claude CLI options from the server command and its arguments:
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claude mcp add my-private-server --scope local -- /path/to/server
claude mcp add shared-server --scope project -- /path/to/server
claude mcp add my-user-server --scope user -- /path/to/serverThe command pattern is the same in each case; replace the example name and path with your server’s values. Remote SSE and HTTP servers use transport options and URLs instead of the stdio command form. The scope still determines where the configuration applies. Anthropic’s MCP guide covers the available forms and management commands, including claude mcp list, claude mcp get, and claude mcp remove. The CLI reference identifies claude mcp as the command for configuring MCP servers.
What to know before sharing .mcp.json
Approval for project-scoped servers
Claude Code asks for approval before using a project-scoped server defined in .mcp.json. To reset those approval choices, run claude mcp reset-project-choices, as documented in the MCP guide.
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Environment-variable expansion
A project configuration can reference machine-specific values without putting the values themselves in the shared file. Anthropic documents expansion in command, args, env, url, and headers, using forms such as ${VAR} and ${VAR:-default}. If a required variable has no default and is missing, configuration parsing fails. Review the expanded values and avoid committing secrets directly.
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How duplicate server names are resolved
If the same server name is configured more than once, Claude Code’s documented precedence is local over project, and project over user. Check for an existing entry when a server behaves differently from the configuration you expected; a higher-priority entry with the same name may be taking effect.
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