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MCP Server Setup Guide – Compiled with Claude!

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📝 Continued from the previous article

This article is a continuation of “Implementing Claude AI in Our Patent Support Services”.

In the previous article, I shared how I got started and my actual experience using Claude. This time, with Claude’s help (AI), I’ve compiled a specific setup guide.

This guide was created through conversations with Claude Opus 4. It’s based on procedures I actually tried and successfully implemented.

Table of Contents

💻Getting Claude Desktop Ready

1. Installing Claude Desktop

  1. Download from the official site
  2. Installation
    • Run the downloaded .exe file
    • Follow the installation instructions

2. How to Open the Config File

Method A: Open from within Claude Desktop (Easy!)

  1. Launch Claude Desktop
  2. Click the “⚙️” (Settings) icon in the top right
  3. Select the “Developer” tab
  4. Click the “Edit Config” button
  5. The claude_desktop_config.json file opens in Notepad

Method B: Open from File Explorer

  1. Press Windows key + R
  2. Type %APPDATA%\Claude and press Enter
  3. Double-click claude_desktop_config.json

📊Comparison Table

Item Python-based Node.js-based
What it really is A programming language itself JavaScript runtime environment
Actual language Written in Python Written in JavaScript
Underlying implementation Implemented in C Implemented in C++
Good at Data processing, AI, document conversion Web operations, file operations, API integration
Startup speed Somewhat slow Fast
Examples markitdown-mcp, mcp-server-office filesystem, playwright

🐍Python-based

1. Installing Python

  1. Download from the official site
  2. Installation settings
    • ✅ Make sure to check “Add Python to PATH”
    • Click “Install Now”
  3. Verification commands

    💡 How to enter commands
    1. Press Windows key and type “cmd”
    2. Click “Command Prompt”
    3. Type the following commands in the black window and press Enter 

    python --version
pip --version

2. Installing MCP Servers

Popular Python-based MCP servers:

Enter the following commands in Command Prompt

# markitdown-mcp: Converts various files to Markdown format
pip install markitdown-mcp

# mcp-server-office: Read/write/edit Word documents (.docx)
pip install mcp-server-office

3. Configuring Claude Desktop

Add to %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json:

Example if you installed markitdown-mcp and mcp-server-office:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "markitdown": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "markitdown_mcp"]
    },
    "office": {
      "command": "python", 
      "args": ["-m", "mcp_server_office"]
    }
  }
}

4. Checking Installed Packages

# All Python packages
pip list

# Filter MCP servers only
pip list | findstr mcp

5. Uninstalling

pip uninstall markitdown-mcp
pip uninstall mcp-server-office

🌐Node.js-based

1. Installing Node.js

  1. Download from the official site
  2. Installation
    • Default settings are fine
    • Automatically added to PATH
  3. Verification commands

    💡 How to enter commands
    1. Press Windows key and type “cmd”
    2. Click “Command Prompt”
    3. Type the following commands in the black window and press Enter 

    node --version
npm --version
npx --version

2. Configuring MCP Servers (No installation needed)

Node.js-based servers run directly with npx, so no pre-installation required

Popular Node.js-based MCP servers:

  • filesystem: Read/write/operate local files
  • playwright: Browser automation (web scraping, etc.)

3. Configuring Claude Desktop

Add to %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json:

Basic configuration example (filesystem only):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "C:\\Users\\YourName\\Desktop"
      ]
    },
    "playwright": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@playwright/mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

Configuration for file downloads from USPTO, etc.:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "C:\\Users\\YourName\\Desktop",
        "C:\\Users\\YourName\\Downloads"
      ]
    },
    "playwright": {
      "command": "npx", 
      "args": ["-y", "@playwright/mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

For filesystem, specify the folder path you want to allow access to in the last argument. You can specify multiple folders.

⚠️ Important: In Windows paths, backslashes (\) must be doubled (\\)
Example: C:\Users\YourName\Desktop → “C:\\Users\\YourName\\Desktop”

4. Checking Installed Packages

# Globally installed packages
npm list -g --depth=0

# Check npx cache
npx cache list

5. Uninstalling (Clear cache)

# Clear npx cache
npx cache clean

📝Integration Example: Using Both

Example combining filesystem (Node.js) and markitdown (Python):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "C:\\Users\\YourName\\Desktop"]
    },
    "markitdown": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "markitdown_mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Remember to use double backslashes (\\) in Windows paths

⚡Quick Start

🔰 For Beginners
The “commands” below should be entered in Command Prompt (the black window).
How to open: Windows key → Type “cmd” → Click Command Prompt

Getting Started with Python-based

# 1. After installing Python
python --version

# 2. Install MCP server
pip install markitdown-mcp

# 3. After adding config, restart Claude Desktop

Getting Started with Node.js-based

# 1. After installing Node.js
node --version

# 2. Add config (no installation needed)
# 3. Restart Claude Desktop

🔧Troubleshooting

If Commands Are Not Recognized

  1. Open a new Command Prompt
    • Don’t use an already open one, always open a fresh one
    • Windows key → “cmd” → Enter
  2. Check environment variables 
    echo %PATH%

If Config Changes Don’t Take Effect

  1. Check JSON syntax (especially comma placement)
  2. Completely exit and restart Claude Desktop

If You Can’t Find the Config File

  1. Launch Claude Desktop once (created on first launch)
  2. To create manually
    • Open %APPDATA%\Claude folder
    • Create a new text file
    • Rename to claude_desktop_config.json
    • Add minimal content: {"mcpServers": {}}

🆕Update (July 2025)

We now recommend using Microsoft’s official Playwright MCP for better stability and support:

Recommended Configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "playwright": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@playwright/mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}
  • Requirement: Google Chrome installation
  • Advantages: Official Microsoft support, simple setup, stable operation

⚠️ About File Downloads
Downloaded files via Playwright MCP are saved to a temporary folder, so manual download is recommended for PDFs, etc. While excellent for information gathering and automation, file retrieval requires separate handling.

📚 Follow-up Articles: Real-World Implementation Experience

Now that your setup is complete, let’s put it to work in actual practice!

▶️ “Outbound-Patent Engineer Tries Patent Family Search with Generative AI”

▶️ “J-E Translation Review Prompt Chain by an Outbound-Patent Engineer”

Both articles share real-world experiences from an outbound-patent engineer’s practice.

[For questions or comments regarding this article, please use our website contact form. Please note that we do not accept sales or solicitation inquiries.]

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