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Claude Desktop Setup

Connect MCP Hubby to Claude Desktop in about 5 minutes

Prerequisites

  • Claude Desktop app installed (download from claude.ai/download)
  • MCP Hubby account (sign up at mcphubby.ai)
  • At least one service connected in your hub

Step 1: Connect Your Services

Before configuring Claude Desktop, you need to connect at least one service to your MCP Hubby account.

  1. Visit your hub
  2. Click "Connect" on any service (Gmail, Notion, etc.)
  3. Complete the OAuth authorization flow
  4. Verify the service shows as "Connected" in your hub

💡 Tip:

Start with Gmail or Notion for the best initial experience. They're the most commonly used and well-tested.

Step 2: Get Your MCP Configuration

  1. Click the 🤖 Connect To AI button in your hub
  2. You'll see your unique MCP configuration
  3. Click "Copy Configuration" to copy it to your clipboard
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-hubby": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@anthropic-ai/mcp-client",
        "https://connect.mcphubby.ai/mcp/YOUR_TOKEN_HERE"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Open Claude Desktop Config

Locate and open your Claude Desktop configuration file:

On macOS:

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

To open in Terminal:

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

On Windows:

%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

To open in PowerShell:

notepad $env:APPDATA\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

On Linux:

~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Step 4: Add MCP Hubby Configuration

If the file is empty or doesn't exist, paste the entire configuration from Step 2.

If you already have other MCP servers configured, add the "mcp-hubby" section inside the existing "mcpServers" object:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "existing-server": {
      "command": "..."
    },
    "mcp-hubby": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@anthropic-ai/mcp-client",
        "https://connect.mcphubby.ai/mcp/YOUR_TOKEN_HERE"
      ]
    }
  }
}

⚠️ Important:

Make sure the JSON is valid! Use a JSON validator if needed. Invalid JSON will prevent Claude Desktop from loading any MCP servers.

Step 5: Restart Claude Desktop

  1. Save the configuration file
  2. Completely quit Claude Desktop (File → Quit, or Cmd+Q on Mac)
  3. Reopen Claude Desktop
  4. Wait a few seconds for MCP servers to initialize

Step 6: Test Your Connection

In a new conversation with Claude, try these commands:

Check Available Services:

What MCP Hubby services are available?

Test a Connected Service:

Search my Gmail for emails from John

Show me my Notion pages from this week

Get Operation Details:

What can I do with Gmail through MCP Hubby?

Troubleshooting

Claude doesn't see MCP Hubby

  • Verify the config JSON is valid (copy-paste into jsonlint.com)
  • Make sure you completely quit and restarted Claude Desktop
  • Check Developer Tools (View → Developer → Developer Tools) for errors
  • Try removing and re-adding the configuration

"Service not connected" error

  • Verify the service is "Connected" in your hub
  • Try disconnecting and reconnecting the service
  • Check if OAuth token has expired (reconnect if needed)

Slow responses

  • Check service status in your hub
  • Some services have rate limits that may slow requests
  • Check analytics for error patterns

Still having issues?

Contact support through your hub dashboard with details about the error.

Next Steps