> Full Neon documentation index: https://neon.com/docs/llms.txt

# Get started with Claude Desktop and Neon MCP Server

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

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)

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