A local Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that exposes custom tools to Claude Desktop, enabling Claude to interact with your local environment directly.

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📋 Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following installed:

• Node.js v18 or higher
• npm v9 or higher
• Claude Desktop (latest version)

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🚀 Setup

1. Install Dependencies

Open a terminal, navigate to the project folder, and install:

cd <project-path>
npm install

2. Build the Project

Compile the TypeScript source:

npm run build

This will generate the compiled output in the dist/ folder (typically dist/index.js).

3. Configure Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop needs to know about your MCP server. Open (or create) the config file at:

%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Tip: You can open this quickly by pressing Win + R, typing %APPDATA%\Claude, and pressing Enter.

Paste the following configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-tools": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "<project-path>/dist/index.js"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Note: Replace <project-path> with the actual path to your project folder (e.g. C:\\Users\\username\\Desktop\\mcp-tools). If you already have other MCP servers in your config, add "mcp-tools" as a new entry inside "mcpServers" — don't replace the entire file.

4. Restart Claude Desktop

Fully quit and relaunch Claude Desktop so it picks up the new config.

On Windows, make sure to right-click the system tray icon and choose Quit — just closing the window may leave it running in the background.

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✅ Verify the Connection

Once Claude Desktop restarts:

1. Open a new chat
2. Click the 🔧 Tools icon (hammer icon) in the bottom-left of the input box
3. You should see your mcp-tools tools listed and available

If the tools don't appear, see Troubleshooting below.

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💬 Using the Tools

Once connected, you can ask Claude to use your tools naturally in conversation. For example:

"Can you use the mcp-tools to..."

Claude will automatically detect when a tool is relevant and invoke it on your behalf.

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🔄 Making Changes

If you modify any source files, rebuild and restart Claude Desktop:

npm run build

Then fully restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect.

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🐛 Troubleshooting

Tools not showing up in Claude Desktop

• Double-check the path in claude_desktop_config.json matches your actual project location exactly (watch for single vs double backslashes)
• Make sure npm run build completed without errors and dist/index.js exists
• Fully quit and relaunch Claude Desktop (check system tray)
• Open Claude Desktop logs via Help → Open Logs Folder to look for MCP errors

Build errors

# Make sure dependencies are installed
npm install

# Check your Node version (needs v18+)
node --version

Config file not found

If %APPDATA%\Claude\ doesn't exist yet, create the folder and the claude_desktop_config.json file manually.

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📂 Project Structure

mcp-tools/
├── src/
│   └── index.ts          # Main MCP server entry point
├── dist/                 # Compiled output (generated by build)
│   └── index.js
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
└── README.md

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🔨 Build Commands Reference

Different ways to compile the TypeScript source depending on your setup:

# Recommended — bundle with esbuild (fastest, most compatible)
npx esbuild src/index.ts --bundle --platform=node --format=cjs --target=node18 --outfile=dist/index.js

# Alternative — compile with tsc directly
npx tsc index.ts --module commonjs --target ES2020 --esModuleInterop true --outDir dist

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Useful References

https://simplescraper.io/blog/how-to-mcp#core-server-setup-with-express

https://vercel.com/kb/guide/mcp-server-with-weather-tool-express

📜 License

MIT