Key points
- Project-level .mcp.json is for shared team tooling; user-level ~/.claude.json is for personal or experimental servers.
- Environment variable expansion (for example ${GITHUB_TOKEN}) keeps credentials out of version control.
- Tools from all configured servers are discovered at connection time and available at the same time.
- MCP resources expose content catalogs (issue summaries, documentation hierarchies, database schemas) to reduce exploratory tool calls.
- Existing community servers are preferred for standard integrations; custom servers are for team-specific workflows.
Common misconceptions
- "A private repo makes it safe to commit a token." It does not; use expansion.
- "Resources are just tools by another name." Resources describe available data; tools perform actions.
- "A custom server is always more reliable." For standard integrations it duplicates maintained work.
Watch for
Personal servers in the shared config, literal secrets in .mcp.json, and capable MCP tools with one-line descriptions.
Practice Task 2.4
Start with the free 10-question check to see where you stand across all five domains. In CCA Prep Studio, 57 practice items cover this task, each tracked toward your mastery score.