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Claude implements MCP for both the desktop client and Anthropic’s Agents API. Point Claude at your Heroku manifest to unlock custom tools in conversations.

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Claude Desktop

  1. Deploy your MCP server to Heroku and note the manifest URL (https://your-app.herokuapp.com/.well-known/mcp.json).
  2. Open the Claude Desktop config file:
    • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/resources/claude_desktop_config.json
    • Windows: %AppData%\\Claude\\resources\\claude_desktop_config.json
  3. Add an entry under mcpServers:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "heroku-tools": {
      "type": "remote",
      "url": "https://your-app.herokuapp.com/.well-known/mcp.json",
      "auth": {
        "type": "basic",
        "username": "$MCP_USER",
        "password": "$MCP_TOKEN"
      }
    }
  }
}
  1. Restart Claude Desktop. Your tools appear in the MCP panel when you start a new chat.

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Claude.ai / Workbench

  • Upload the manifest in Settings → Tools & Integrations → Model Context Protocol.
  • Alternatively, attach MCP servers when running the Anthropic Agents API:
{
  "agent_id": "agent_123",
  "input": "Investigate the latest release in staging.",
  "mcp": {
    "servers": [
      {
        "name": "heroku-tools",
        "type": "remote",
        "url": "https://your-app.herokuapp.com/.well-known/mcp.json"
      }
    ]
  }
}
Claude automatically loads the manifest and invokes your tools during the agent run.

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Tips

  • Use prompt caching for large system prompts—Anthropic supports caching per-tool.
  • Track tool usage via Heroku logs to understand invocation frequency and errors.
  • Combine with the MCP integration cookbook for end-to-end deployment patterns.