Connecting LLM Clients

Once your MCP server is running, configure your LLM client to connect to it.

MCPConnect supports two transports, and the client configuration depends on which one your server uses:

Transport	How it works	Authentication
HTTP (WebBroker, Indy)	The server runs as a standalone process listening on a port. The client connects to its URL.	API-Key or OAuth 2.1
STDIO	The client launches the server executable as a child process and communicates over stdin/stdout pipes.	Not needed — the client owns the process

Prerequisites

For HTTP servers:

1. Your MCP server is running and accessible (e.g., http://localhost:8080/mcp)
2. You know the authentication token if your server requires one

For STDIO servers:

1. You have the full path to the compiled server executable (e.g., C:\MyServers\MCPServerStdio.exe)

Claude Desktop

Configuration file location: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

STDIO transport

Claude Desktop launches the server as a child process — no network setup, no authentication:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "delphi-mcp-server": {
      "command": "C:\\MyServers\\MCPServerStdio.exe"
    }
  }
}

You can pass command-line arguments and environment variables:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "delphi-mcp-server": {
      "command": "C:\\MyServers\\MCPServerStdio.exe",
      "args": ["--verbose"],
      "env": {
        "DB_CONNECTION": "Server=localhost;Database=mydb"
      }
    }
  }
}

HTTP transport

Claude Desktop requires the mcp-remote bridge to connect to HTTP-based MCP servers.

First, verify the connection:

npx mcp-remote http://localhost:8080/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer my-secret-token"

Then configure:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "delphi-mcp-server": {
      "command": "C:\\Program Files\\nodejs\\npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "http://localhost:8080/mcp",
        "--header",
        "Authorization: Bearer my-secret-token"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Parameter	Description
command	Path to npx (e.g., C:\\Program Files\\nodejs\\npx)
-y	Auto-confirm package installation
mcp-remote	Bridge tool for HTTP transport

After saving the configuration, restart Claude Desktop.

Claude Code

Claude Code supports both transports natively.

STDIO transport

claude mcp add delphi-mcp-server -e command -- C:\MyServers\MCPServerStdio.exe

HTTP transport

claude mcp add delphi-mcp-server http://localhost:8080/mcp

To pass an authentication header:

claude mcp add delphi-mcp-server http://localhost:8080/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer my-secret-token"

Common options

Add --scope project to write the configuration to the project-level .claude/settings.json instead of the user-level ~/.claude/settings.json:

claude mcp add --scope project delphi-mcp-server http://localhost:8080/mcp

To verify the connection:

claude mcp list

OpenAI Codex CLI

STDIO transport

Add the server to ~/.codex/config.json (or .codex/config.json in the project root):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "delphi-mcp-server": {
      "command": "C:\\MyServers\\MCPServerStdio.exe"
    }
  }
}

HTTP transport

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "delphi-mcp-server": {
      "url": "http://localhost:8080/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer my-secret-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or via command-line flag:

codex --mcp-servers "http://localhost:8080/mcp"

LM Studio

LM Studio supports HTTP-based MCP servers.

Configuration file location: %USERPROFILE%\.lmstudio\mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "delphi-mcp-server": {
      "url": "http://localhost:8080/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer my-secret-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Parameter	Description
delphi-mcp-server	A unique identifier for your server (any name)
url	The full URL to your MCP server endpoint
headers	Optional HTTP headers (e.g., for authentication)

After saving the configuration, restart LM Studio to load the new MCP server.