What Claude Desktop does
Claude Desktop is a downloadable desktop application for using Claude, available for macOS and Windows. It connects to local MCP servers configured through a JSON file, and to remote MCP servers by adding Custom Connectors.
Why teams reach for it: Runs MCP servers as local programs on your own computer, configured in a JSON file, with tool actions requiring your approval.
How Claude Desktop compares
Fields the vendor doesn't document are left blank here rather than guessed — a blank means nothing verified, not a "no."
- Platform
- Desktop app
- Transports
- stdio
- Remote Server Support
- Yes
- Tools
- Yes
- Resources
- Yes
- Prompts
- Yes
- Config Scope
- user or global
Which host will connect to the server?
A client, or agent host, is the application — like Claude or Cursor — that actually connects to and uses an MCP server.