Your project's shared configuration defines a server with an authorization header. You add the same server name locally with a corrected URL and no header, then find the server connecting unauthenticated. What went wrong?

Mediumclaude-codemcpscopesprecedenceauthentication

Last reviewed 21 Aug 2026

Your local entry won outright and was used whole, so the project entry's header was never applied.Correct answer
A field the winning entry omits falls back to the losing entry, so something else must have removed the header.
The two entries were expected to combine, so the corrected URL should have picked up the shared header automatically.
A discarded field is always reported, so the absence of any warning means the header must have been applied.

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: A. Your local entry won outright and was used whole, so the project entry's header was never applied.

Explanation

The principle — When you override a server, you replace it. You do not amend it.

Why the key is correct — Local scope sits above project scope, so your entry won. The entire server entry from that source is used, and fields are not merged across scopes, so the header defined in the project file played no part. Your corrected URL arrived exactly as you wrote it, which is to say without any authentication.

Why the others are wrong — The two entries never combine. There is no field-level fallback to the losing definition. And nothing warns you that a field was discarded, because from the client's point of view no field was discarded — a different entry was simply chosen.

Remember this — Overriding one field of a server means restating every other field that you still need, and that includes the credentials.

Sources — Anthropic's Claude Code MCP reference.

Sources

Primary sourceConnect Claude Code to tools via MCP — Anthropic · accessed 20 Aug 2026
“The entire server entry from that source is used; fields are not merged across scopes.”

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Your project's shared configuration defines a server with an authorization header. You add the same server name locally with a corrected URL and no header, then find the server connecting unauthenticated. What went wrong?

Mediumclaude-codemcpscopesprecedenceauthentication

Last reviewed 21 Aug 2026

Your local entry won outright and was used whole, so the project entry's header was never applied.Correct answer
A field the winning entry omits falls back to the losing entry, so something else must have removed the header.
The two entries were expected to combine, so the corrected URL should have picked up the shared header automatically.
A discarded field is always reported, so the absence of any warning means the header must have been applied.

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: A. Your local entry won outright and was used whole, so the project entry's header was never applied.

Explanation

The principle — When you override a server, you replace it. You do not amend it.

Remember this — Overriding one field of a server means restating every other field that you still need, and that includes the credentials.

Sources — Anthropic's Claude Code MCP reference.

Sources

Primary sourceConnect Claude Code to tools via MCP — Anthropic · accessed 20 Aug 2026
“The entire server entry from that source is used; fields are not merged across scopes.”

Practise 10 questions on this topic

Take MCP Integration in Claude Code — Timed Test 1 (10 questions) — scored instantly, explanation for every question, no login.

Start the test

Your project's shared configuration defines a server with an authorization header. You add the same server name locally with a corrected URL and no header, then find the server connecting unauthenticated. What went wrong?

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Your project's shared configuration defines a server with an authorization header. You add the same server name locally with a corrected URL and no header, then find the server connecting unauthenticated. What went wrong?

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