How to Add a DataGalaxy MCP Server to Claude Desktop

Connect the DataGalaxy MCP Server to Claude Desktop via the mcp-remote proxy, including a working config and troubleshooting steps.

4 min read

Once a DataGalaxy MCP (Model Context Protocol) server is connected, Claude can access your DataGalaxy data catalog directly from the chat interface.

Claude Desktop does not natively support remote HTTP MCP servers in its config file, so we use a proxy tool called mcp-remote to bridge the connection.

If you'd rather avoid editing a config file entirely, DataGalaxy also offers a packaged Desktop Extension (.mcpb) — see How to Install the DataGalaxy MCP Server as a Claude Extension.

What you need before you start

RequirementDetails
Claude DesktopInstalled and running (macOS or Windows)
Node.js LTSDownload from nodejs.org — required for npx and mcp-remote
DataGalaxy Bearer tokenA valid API token from your DataGalaxy workspace

Install Node.js

Go to nodejs.org, download the LTS version, and run the installer. This provides both node and npx on your machine.

Find the full path to npx

Claude Desktop needs the absolute path to npx. Open a terminal and run the appropriate command for your OS.

On macOS, open Terminal (Cmd + Space, type Terminal, press Enter) and run:

which npx
# Example output:
/usr/local/bin/npx

On Windows, open Command Prompt (Win + R, type cmd, press Enter) and run:

where npx
# Example output:
C:\Program Files\nodejs\npx.cmd

Copy the full path returned — you'll need it in Add the DataGalaxy MCP server configuration.

Open the Claude Desktop config file

In Claude Desktop, go to Settings → Developer → Edit Config. This opens claude_desktop_config.json in your text editor.

If you prefer to open it manually, the file is located at:

  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Add the DataGalaxy MCP server configuration

Add this configuration to the contents of the config file. Substitute the placeholders with your values from Find the full path to npx and your DataGalaxy token.

The DataGalaxy entry for claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "datagalaxy-server": {
      "command": "<FULL_PATH_TO_NPX>",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote@latest",
        "https://<your instance>.api.datagalaxy.com/mcp/",
        "--header",
        "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_TOKEN>",
        "--header",
        "X-API-Base-URL: https://<your instance>.api.datagalaxy.com/",
        "--header",
        "X-Source-Request: claude-client",
        "--header",
        "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream"
      ]
    }
  }
}
PlaceholderReplace with
<FULL_PATH_TO_NPX>Full path from Find the full path to npx (e.g. /usr/local/bin/npx or C:\Program Files\nodejs\npx.cmd)
<your instance>Your instance name
<YOUR_TOKEN>Your DataGalaxy Bearer token
Never share your config file or commit it to version control — it contains your API token.

Restart Claude Desktop

Fully quit Claude Desktop and reopen it. Claude must restart to pick up config changes.

  • macOS: press Cmd + Q to quit, then reopen Claude Desktop from Applications.
  • Windows: right-click the Claude icon in the taskbar and select Quit, then reopen from the Start menu.

Verify the connection

Open a new chat in Claude Desktop. If the server connected successfully, Claude will have access to DataGalaxy tools. You can ask Claude to list available DataGalaxy tools to confirm.

Troubleshooting

"Not valid MCP server configurations" — entries skipped

This happens when using type: streamable_http directly in the config. Claude Desktop does not support this format. Always use the npx mcp-remote approach described in Add the DataGalaxy MCP server configuration.

"Could not attach to MCP server"

Check the Claude Desktop log file for details:

  • macOS: ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp-server-datagalaxy-server.log
  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\logs\mcp-server-datagalaxy-server.log

Common causes:

  • npx path is wrong — use the full absolute path from Find the full path to npx
  • Node.js is not installed — install from nodejs.org and retry
  • Bearer token has expired — generate a new token in DataGalaxy
  • Network issue — verify the DataGalaxy URL is reachable from your machine

"Failed to spawn process: No such file or directory"

Claude Desktop cannot find npx. Make sure you're using the full absolute path in the command field, not just npx.

Test the endpoint manually

Run this in Terminal (macOS) or Command Prompt (Windows) to verify your token and URL work independently of Claude.

A minimal initialize request against the MCP endpoint:

curl -X POST https://<your instance>.api.datagalaxy.com/mcp/ \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_TOKEN>" \
  -H "X-API-Base-URL: https://<your instance>.api.datagalaxy.com/" \
  -H "X-Source-Request: cursor-client" \
  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2024-11-05","capabilities":{}},"id":1}'

A successful response returns a JSON object with protocolVersion. An error indicates a token or URL problem.

For Claude Code CLI, use ~/.claude/settings.json (macOS) or %USERPROFILE%\.claude\settings.json (Windows) with type: "http" instead of the npx mcp-remote approach.

Read more

Related articles

Was this page helpful?