# MCP servers for Claude Code

> A Model Context Protocol config that earns its place, plus the traps that cost real time.

_Source: https://aiprimetech.io/docs/guides/mcp-servers/ · Home > Docs > Integration guides_

MCP turns Claude Code from a code generator into something that can read your repo, query a database, drive a browser and open a PR. MCP wiring is independent of the gateway — it changes what tools exist, not where model calls go.


## A .mcp.json worth running

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {"command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "."]},
    "git":        {"command": "uvx", "args": ["mcp-server-git", "--repository", "."]},
    "github":     {"command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
                   "env": {"GITHUB_TOKEN": "..."}},
    "fetch":      {"command": "uvx", "args": ["mcp-server-fetch"]},
    "playwright": {"command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@playwright/mcp@latest"]}
  }
}
```

Drop it in the repo root; Claude Code detects it and asks you to trust it once.


## The traps

- **The trust prompt is a feature.** Claude Code refuses to load project MCP servers until you approve them, per project. That is the security boundary, not a bug.
- **Give a database server a read-only role.** An MCP server executes whatever SQL the model emits; a read-only role makes a hallucinated `DROP` physically impossible.
- **Scope tokens narrowly.** For GitHub, `repo` plus `read:org` is enough. Do not hand it an all-scopes classic PAT.
- **MCP output is context.** A 200-row result or a full page fetch is resent on every subsequent turn. Large tool outputs are the main reason agentic sessions get expensive.

> Start with filesystem, git and github. Add browser and database servers only when a specific task needs them — every loaded server adds its schema to the token bill on every request.

- [Claude Code](https://aiprimetech.io/docs/guides/claude-code/) — Base setup
- [Tool use](https://aiprimetech.io/docs/api-reference/tool-use/) — How tool calling works
- [Cost control](https://aiprimetech.io/docs/guides/cost-control/) — Why tool output matters


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_ClaudeAPIKey.dev is an independently operated, Anthropic-compatible API gateway. Not affiliated with Anthropic._