What you need

Before writing any code, make sure you have these three things:

• Python 3.10 or newer — run python --version to check
• pip or uv — either package manager works
• Claude Desktop (free) — this is your MCP client for local testing

Install the MCP SDK

With pip:

pip install mcp

With uv (faster, recommended if you use it):

uv add mcp

Verify with a minimal server

Create a file called hello_mcp.py anywhere on your machine:

from mcp.server.fastmcp import FastMCP

mcp = FastMCP("Hello Server")

@mcp.tool()
def greet(name: str) -> str:
    """Say hello to someone by name."""
    return f"Hello, {name}! MCP is working."

if __name__ == "__main__":
    mcp.run()

Run it:

python hello_mcp.py

If the server starts and waits silently — no output, no error — your setup is correct. Press Ctrl+C to stop.

Install Claude Desktop

Download it from claude.ai/download. Once installed, it will be your MCP host — the application that connects to your servers and lets Claude use your tools.

You do not need a paid Claude plan to use Claude Desktop with local MCP servers.