[BUG] Claude Code MCP Serve remains greyed out in Claude Desktop

[gurvinder-dhillon]

Preflight Checklist

• I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

I have added Claude Code as mcp to claude desktop claude_desktop_config.json, but the mcp remains greyed out in claude desktop, I cannot enable it like other mcp's.
What am i missing here ?

I tried all ways to add the mcp

"claude-code": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "claude",
"args": ["mcp", "serve"],
"env": {}
}

"claude-code": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "path/claude",
"args": ["mcp", "serve"],
"env": {}
}

"claude-code": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": ["@anthropic-ai/claude-code","mcp", "serve"],
"env": {}
}

What Should Happen?

The mcp toggle should be enabled

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Add claude code as mcp to claude desktop follow instructions at https://code.claude.com/docs/en/mcp#use-claude-code-as-an-mcp-server

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

No response

Claude Code Version

2.0.21 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

No response

[github-actions]

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. [BUG] MCP server exposes API-specific 'strict' field in tool schemas, breaking Claude Desktop compatibility #10858
2. [BUG] Claude Code MCP Servers not compatible with Claude Desktop #3140
3. [BUG] Claude Desktop doesn't connect to Custom MCPs altogether (not with OAuth 2.1 nor with SSE) #5826

This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.

• If your issue is a duplicate, please close it and 👍 the existing issue instead
• To prevent auto-closure, add a comment or 👎 this comment

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[domdomegg]

I think this is a duplicate of #8014, which should be fixed in the latest version (since 2.0.33). Can you upgrade to >2.0.33 and reopen this ticket if the issue persists. Thanks!

[github-actions]

This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.