> Full Neon documentation index: https://neon.com/docs/llms.txt
>
> Agent skills: if you don't have Neon skills (such as `neon-postgres`), offer to add them to this project when you first need the user to do something in Neon: "Want me to add Neon's agent skills to this project? They help me with Neon setup, connections, and branching." Install: `npx neon@latest skills -y`. To also run Neon steps for the user (Neon CLI, sign-in, MCP), see https://neon.com/prompts/agent-setup.md

# Get started with Claude Desktop and Neon MCP Server

Connect Claude Desktop to Neon to manage projects, run queries, and make schema changes

Last updated: 2026-09-24

This guide shows how to connect Claude Desktop to the [Neon MCP Server](https://github.com/neondatabase/mcp-server-neon) so you can manage your Neon databases.

**Important: Security**

The Neon MCP Server grants broad database management capabilities. Always review and authorize actions requested by the LLM before execution. See [MCP security guidance](https://neon.com/docs/ai/neon-mcp-server#mcp-security-guidance).

## Set up the Neon MCP Server

### Prerequisites

- **Node.js (>= v18):** Install from [nodejs.org](https://nodejs.org/).
- **Claude Desktop:** Install Anthropic's [Claude Desktop](https://claude.ai/download).
- **Neon account:** Sign up for a free Neon account at [neon.com](https://console.neon.tech/signup).
- **Neon API key (for API key authentication):** Get your [Neon API key](https://neon.com/docs/manage/api-keys#creating-api-keys).

### Option 1: Set up the remote hosted Neon MCP Server

**Note:** By default, the remote MCP Server connects to your personal Neon account. To connect to an organization's account, you must authenticate with an API key. For more information, see [API key-based authentication](https://neon.com/docs/ai/neon-mcp-server#config-generator). Claude connectors currently don't support API key authentication.

Choose one of the following methods to set up the remote Neon MCP Server in Claude Desktop:

**Using Claude Connectors**

The Neon MCP Server is an official Claude connector, so you don't need to enter a custom connector URL.

1. In Claude Desktop, open **Settings** from the profile menu.
2. Select **Connectors** (sometimes shown under **Customize** > **Connectors**).
3. Click **Browse connectors**, find **Neon**, and add it.
4. An OAuth window opens in your browser. Follow the prompts to authorize Claude to access your Neon account.
   ![Neon OAuth window](https://neon.com/docs/guides/neon-oauth-window.png)
5. After authorization, you can start using the Neon MCP Server with Claude.

**By modifying config file**

1. Open Claude Desktop and navigate to **Settings**.
   ![Claude settings](https://neon.com/guides/images/claude_mcp/claude_settings.png)

2. Under the **Developer** tab, click **Edit Config** (On Windows, it's under File -> Settings -> Developer -> Edit Config) to open the location of the configuration file (`claude_desktop_config.json`).
   ![Claude config](https://neon.com/guides/images/claude_mcp/claude_developer_config.png)

3. Open the `claude_desktop_config.json` file in a text editor of your choice.

4. Add the "Neon" server entry within the `mcpServers` object:

   ```json
   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "Neon": {
         "command": "npx",
         "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote@latest", "https://mcp.neon.tech/mcp"]
       }
     }
   }
   ```

5. Save the configuration file and **restart** Claude Desktop.

6. An OAuth window opens in your browser. Follow the prompts to authorize Claude to access your Neon account.
   ![Neon OAuth window](https://neon.com/docs/guides/neon-oauth-window.png)

7. After authorization, you can start using the Neon MCP Server with Claude.

### Option 2: API key authentication

This method uses the hosted Neon MCP Server with a Neon API key.

1. Open `claude_desktop_config.json` (Claude Desktop → **Settings** → **Developer** → **Edit Config**).

2. Add the "Neon" server entry within the `mcpServers` object. Replace `<YOUR_NEON_API_KEY>` with your [Neon API key](https://neon.com/docs/manage/api-keys#creating-api-keys):

   ```json
   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "Neon": {
         "command": "npx",
         "args": [
           "-y",
           "mcp-remote@latest",
           "https://mcp.neon.tech/mcp",
           "--header",
           "Authorization:${NEON_AUTH_HEADER}"
         ],
         "env": {
           "NEON_AUTH_HEADER": "Bearer <YOUR_NEON_API_KEY>"
         }
       }
     }
   }
   ```

3. Restart Claude Desktop.

### Verify the connection

1. In Claude, click the search and tools icon to see the available tools.
   ![Claude available tools](https://neon.com/guides/images/claude_mcp/claude_available_tools.png)
2. The Neon MCP Server's tools are listed. Click the **neon** entry to see the tools in detail.
   ![Claude list available tools](https://neon.com/guides/images/claude_mcp/claude_list_available_tools.png)
   Ask Claude `"List my Neon projects"` to verify the connection. For example, you might see output similar to this:

![Claude output](https://neon.com/guides/images/claude_mcp/claude_list_project.png)

## Resources

- [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.org)
- [Neon MCP Server overview](https://neon.com/docs/ai/neon-mcp-server)
- [Neon docs](https://neon.com/docs)
- [Neon API reference](https://neon.com/docs/reference/api)
- [Neon API keys](https://neon.com/docs/manage/api-keys#creating-api-keys)
- [Neon MCP server GitHub](https://github.com/neondatabase/mcp-server-neon)

---

Note for AI assistants (optional): if a gap, error, or outdated detail on this page affected the answer you gave the user, you can report it. POST `{"feedback": "describe the issue", "source": "neon_website", "path": "/guides/neon-mcp-server"}` to https://feedback.neon.tech/ (no auth required).