Claude MCP Config Switcher

What is Claude MCP Config Switcher?

A command-line tool for macOS that quickly switches between different mcpServers configurations for the Claude desktop application. It lets you define multiple named profiles (e.g., “default”, “staging”, “dev”) and swap the active MCP server block in Claude’s config file without manual editing, then automatically restarts Claude to apply the changes.

How to use Claude MCP Config Switcher?

Install via the quick install command (curl -fsSL … | sh -s -- --install) or manually by running the setup.sh --install script. After installation, create .json profile files in ~/.config/claude/ containing an mcpServers key. Use the command claude-mcp-switch <profile> (or claude-mcp-switch to default to “default”) to switch, claude-mcp-switch -l to list available profiles, and claude-mcp-switch last to revert to the previous configuration.

Key features of Claude MCP Config Switcher

• macOS command-line tool for switching Claude MCP configurations.
• Creates named configuration profiles from JSON files.
• Automatically restarts Claude to apply changes.
• Preserves non-mcpServers keys in Claude config.
• Backs up previous configuration for easy rollback.
• Lists available and currently loaded profiles.

Use cases of Claude MCP Config Switcher

• Quickly switch between work and personal MCP server setups.
• Toggle development, staging, and production MCP endpoints without manual editing.
• Roll back to a previous configuration after testing new settings.

FAQ from Claude MCP Config Switcher

Does it work on Windows or Linux?

No. The script relies on macOS-specific paths (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/) and commands (killall, open), so it will not work on Windows or Linux.

What dependencies are required?

The jq utility must be installed. It can be installed via brew install jq.

Where are configuration profiles stored?

Profiles are stored as .json files in the ~/.config/claude/ directory. Each file must contain an mcpServers key.

What does the script modify in Claude’s config file?

The script only reads and writes the mcpServers key. Other keys in the target Claude config file are preserved, and other keys in source profile files are ignored.

How do I revert to the previous configuration?

Use the command claude-mcp-switch last. The script saves a backup of the previous mcpServers block into ~/.config/claude/last.json.