MCP servers fail to connect with `npx` on Windows

[naif0s]

I am on Windows with the latest desktop version, I have enabled developer mode and I am in Europe

[sean-lynch]

Can you share your %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json? (In case this doesn't make sense, I'm referring to step 2 in the Windows quickstart guide here: https://modelcontextprotocol.io/quickstart#installation)

[naif0s]

[jwross24]

The docs are a bit confusing, and I had a similar issue. You should add the individual MCP servers under the mcpServers key in the JSON like so.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        ...
      ]
    },
    "memory": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [...]
    }
  }
}

They should then show up correctly in the Developer config.

[naif0s]

Thank you, it works! Now, how do I integrate Github?

[jwross24]

You should use the github config that you had before, instead of the filesystem and memory configs that I have. You can add it as another key after filesystem and memory, though those configs won't work exactly as I have written since I omitted the args key for brevity.

You can try:

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

[naif0s]

OK Thanks, it's super cool for your help. But well... it's not working. I entered the key correctly but when I ask Claude, for example to create an issue, it won't do it

[jspahrsummers]

Are you able to get the GitHub server working with the MCP Inspector? That will help narrow down whether this is a desktop app issue, or a problem with the server setup.

[geelen]

I've got almost the exact same situation. I have two servers configured:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sqlite": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mcp-server-sqlite", "--db-path", "/Users/glen/src/experiments/claude-local-sqlite"]
    },
    "brave_search": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search"],
      "env": {
        "BRAVE_API_KEY": "<redacted>"
      }
    }
  }
}

My debug log looks fine:

Settings looks fine:

But no 🔌 icon in the chat window:

And a flat refusal to do anything with the connections:

[geelen]

Update: just tried on my windows machine, and got the exact same result. Is it possible this is geoblocked in Australia?

[ProRedCat]

Same issue here, there is no 🔌, I do have the filesystem server running but I get a message in Claude Desktop of it failing to attach to the MCP server.

To add more context based on what geelen said, I am from New Zealand and running on Windows so could be georestrictions, or it could be some device setup.

Having issues running MCPInspector as well so debugging is a bit difficult

[ProRedCat]

Update on my end, I switched over to a MacBook as there seemed to be some issues with running this on Windows see: modelcontextprotocol/inspector#76

For the filesystem server it is now working as well as the Github server. The region locked theory is wrong, it's just device configuration/OS support.

For the SQLite and Brave Search the issues #37 #42 may be helpful for the others in this thread as there seems to be some issues with pathing sometimes - though I am still facing issues on Windows.

[geelen]

You're quite right. I had a typo in the path to my DB! That was crashing things, even stopping me from adding other tools.

[Sunwood-ai-labs]

I'm also experiencing issues with the filesystem server on Windows. Here's my configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "C:\\Users\\Username\\Desktop"
      ]
    }
  }
}

[timurkhakhalev]

Same behavior on Windows 11 and Mac OS. Claude desktop 0.71.1 version on both devices.

[Da1sypetals]

I'm also experiencing issues with the filesystem server on Windows. Here's my configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "C:\\Users\\Username\\Desktop"
      ]
    }
  }
}

The same problem with me. My configuration :

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "filesystem": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
                "A:\\Desktop\\"
            ]
        }
    }
}