Configuring for Claude

This document explains how to configure Claude Desktop, Claude Code CLI, and other popular MCP-compatible IDEs and extensions to use the simap-mcp server. Configuration involves editing a JSON settings file to specify the server command and arguments. The server exposes 14 tools for interacting with the SIMAP.ch platform README.md15-33

Configuration File Locations

Claude clients and other tools store MCP server configurations in platform-specific JSON files. The simap-mcp server uses stdio transport server.json15-17 and runs as a child process of the client.

Claude Clients

Client	Configuration Path
Claude Desktop (macOS)	~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Claude Desktop (Windows)	%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Claude Code (CLI)	~/.claude/settings.json

Other MCP Clients (v1.2.1+)

Client	Configuration Path
Cursor	~/.cursor/mcp.json (Global) or project-level .cursor/mcp.json
VS Code (Copilot)	.vscode/mcp.json (Workspace)
Windsurf	~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json
Zed	~/.config/zed/settings.json (macOS/Linux) or %APPDATA%\Zed\settings.json (Windows)

Sources: README.md44-179

Configuration Structure

The following diagram bridges the configuration space to the internal server initialization logic.

Title: MCP Server Initialization Flow

Sources: server.json1-19 README.md44-60

Configuration Methods

The recommended way to run the server is via npx, which ensures you are always using the latest version without needing a global installation README.md42

Method 1: Claude Desktop & Claude Code

Add the following to your configuration file:

Sources: README.md51-60 README.md71-80

Method 2: Other IDEs and Extensions

Different clients use slightly different top-level keys in their JSON configurations.

Sources: README.md84-179

Server Runtime Architecture

The following diagram illustrates how the Claude client interacts with the simap-mcp codebase during a tool execution.

Data Flow: Claude Request to SIMAP API

Title: Tool Execution Sequence

Sources: README.md15-32 server.json15-17

Environment Variables

For troubleshooting, you can enable debug mode via environment variables.

Variable	Value	Description
SIMAP_MCP_DEBUG	1 or true	Enables verbose stderr logging of outbound URLs, response status, and duration.

Warning: Keep SIMAP_MCP_DEBUG unset in production as it logs user-supplied search terms and filter values to stderr.

Usage and Verification

Once configured, restart your client. You can verify the connection by asking Claude in natural language:

• "Show me new tenders published today in simap" README.md231
• "Find construction tenders in canton Vaud in simap" README.md232
• "Search CPV codes for IT services in simap" README.md234

The server does not require an API key as it interacts with the public, read-only SIMAP API README.md38

Troubleshooting

1. Node.js Version: Ensure you are running Node.js ≥ 22 (LTS or newer). Node 20 reached end-of-life on 2026-04-30 README.md36
2. JSON Syntax: Configuration files must be valid JSON. Watch out for trailing commas or missing quotes.
3. Pathing: If using a manual installation or building from source, ensure you use absolute paths to the node executable or the dist/index.js file README.md212-223
4. Restarting: Most clients (like Cursor and Claude Desktop) require a full restart to detect changes in the MCP configuration files README.md62 README.md100

Sources: README.md34-40 README.md203-225