Guide · updated Oct 27, 2026

Convert MCP config from Claude to Codex

Claude and Cursor keep MCP servers in JSON. Codex keeps them in TOML. The servers themselves are the same, only the wrapper changes.

Side by side

{"mcpServers": {
  "context7": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y", "@upstash/context7-mcp"]
  }
}}

[mcp_servers.context7]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@upstash/context7-mcp"]

Each server becomes a [mcp_servers.NAME] table in ~/.codex/config.toml (or .codex/config.toml in a trusted project). env becomes an inline table. For a remote server use url, and put headers in http_headers, or better, bearer_token_env_var so the token isn't in the file.

Or skip the typing and use our MCP config converter. Paste JSON, get TOML (and back). It runs in your browser.

Or just use the CLI

codex mcp add context7 -- npx -y @upstash/context7-mcp
codex mcp list

Questions people ask

Where is Claude Desktop's config file?

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json.

Where does Codex keep MCP servers?

In ~/.codex/config.toml, under [mcp_servers.NAME] tables. The CLI and IDE extension share it.

Do I need to change the server itself?

No. Local stdio servers run the same command everywhere. Only the config format changes.

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