How do you authenticate MCP connectors in Claude.ai?

Authentication Configuration Patterns

Depending on whether the server is local or remote, auth details are specified in your claude_desktop_config.json configuration file.

1. Local Stdio Auth (via Environment Variables)

Pass API keys or database passwords within the env block of the server configuration:

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

2. Remote HTTP SSE Auth (via Authorization Headers)

If utilizing a remote connection manager, supply HTTP request headers in the connection profile definition:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "remote-knowledge-base": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/client-sse", "--url", "https://api.example.com/mcp/sse"],
      "env": {
        "SSE_AUTH_HEADER": "Bearer mcp_secure_token_abcdef123456"
      }
    }
  }
}