MCP Integration in Claude Code
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Correct answer: B. Every connected server still contributes its names and instructions to each session.
Explanation
The principle — Deferral changes what a server costs, not whether it costs anything.
Why the key is correct — Each connected server takes some space in Claude's context window because its tool names and server instructions load into every session, and only tool names and server instructions load at session start. Multiply that residue by fifteen and it stops being a rounding error, which is why the advice to disconnect servers you are not using survives the arrival of deferral.
Why the others are wrong — An unused server is cheap rather than free. A disconnected server costs nothing, so stale configuration is not the issue. And the residual cost is driven by the number of connected servers rather than by the total number of tools.
Remember this — Deferral shrinks the per-server cost; it does not remove the per-server count.
Sources — Anthropic's Claude Code MCP quickstart and MCP reference.
Sources
“Each connected server takes some space in Claude's context window because its tool names and server instructions load into every session.”
“Only tool names and server instructions load at session start, so adding more MCP servers has minimal impact on your context window.”
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