Recommendation

Use local stdio. Claude Desktop’s direct local MCP setup uses claude_desktop_config.json with an mcpServers object. For team distribution, Claude Desktop also supports desktop extensions, but this guide shows the direct developer configuration.

Config file

macOS:

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~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Windows:

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%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Create the file if it does not exist.

Configuration

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{
  "mcpServers": {
    "netskope-npa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@johnneerdael/ns-private-access-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "NETSKOPE_BASE_URL": "https://YOUR-TENANT.goskope.com",
        "NETSKOPE_API_TOKEN": "YOUR_NETSKOPE_API_TOKEN"
      }
    }
  }
}

On Windows, use npx.cmd if npx is not resolved by the Desktop app.

Refresh

Fully quit Claude Desktop and start it again. Closing the window is not always enough.

Verify

Open the plus menu in the chat box and check Connectors. The netskope-npa server should appear with tools.

Ask:

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List the Netskope NPA MCP tools you can access. Do not call any write tools.

Common issues

Symptom Fix
Server is missing Check JSON syntax and restart Claude Desktop completely.
npx not found Use the full path to npx or npx.cmd.
Auth fails Confirm NETSKOPE_BASE_URL and NETSKOPE_API_TOKEN.
Tools appear but calls fail Check Claude Desktop MCP logs and server stderr output.

Platform notes

Claude Desktop local MCP setup is documented by the official MCP quickstart, which uses claude_desktop_config.json and mcpServers. Anthropic’s current Claude Desktop help also describes desktop extensions for packaged local MCP servers.

Sources: MCP quickstart, Claude Desktop local MCP help