MCP is an open standard — not locked to Claude. As of 2026, 7+ major AI coding tools support MCP as a first-class integration:
| Tool | Config File | Config Location |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Desktop | claude_desktop_config.json | ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/ (Mac) or %APPDATA%\Claude\ (Win) |
| Claude Code CLI | /mcp command | In-session or .claude/settings.json |
| Cursor | mcp.json | ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global) or .cursor/mcp.json (project) |
| VS Code + Copilot | settings.json | Enable chat.mcp.enabled: true in settings |
| Windsurf | mcp_config.json | ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json |
| Cline | cline_mcp_settings.json | Via MCP Servers toolbar icon in VS Code |
| JetBrains IDEs | Settings UI | Settings > Tools > AI Assistant > MCP |
The mcpServers JSON block is portable across all tools. The same config works everywhere:
// Same config works in Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline:
{
"mcpServers": {
"github": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
"env": { "GITHUB_TOKEN": "ghp_..." }
}
}
}
Settings > Tools & MCP > Add New MCP Server. Or create .cursor/mcp.json in your project root for team-shared configs.
Open Cascade panel > MCP Servers button > Configure. Or edit ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json directly. Click Refresh after changes.
Set chat.mcp.enabled: true in VS Code settings (requires a recent version of VS Code with GitHub Copilot). MCP servers appear in Copilot chat.
Click the MCP Servers icon in the Cline toolbar. Use the built-in Marketplace to install servers with one click, or add custom configs.
Settings > Tools > AI Assistant > MCP. JetBrains can also act as an MCP server — exposing your project structure to other AI tools.
Discover pre-built servers at:
Prove MCP's portability: take the filesystem reference server and register the exact same command in Claude Code, VS Code, and Gemini CLI.