# Claude Code: 5 essential MCPs (setup notes)

A companion to Build Alone Episode 05. MCP = Model Context Protocol: one shared way for an AI to use outside apps. Each connection gives Claude one more "hand".

## Connecting one
```
claude mcp add <name> <address>
```
Then inside Claude Code type `/mcp` to see every connection, approve logins, and switch them on or off.
Tip: add `--scope user` so the connection works in all your projects.

## The five hands
1. **Claude in Chrome** (hand for your browser). Install the Claude in Chrome extension and connect it to Claude Code. Claude can open pages, click, type and read the screen. Don't let it handle payments or passwords.
2. **Notion** (hand for your notebook). Notion's official MCP server. Search, read and write pages, build databases.
3. **Google Drive** (hand that opens drawers). Read and organize files; Gmail and Calendar connect the same way.
4. **Figma** (hand that reads blueprints). Figma's official MCP server. Exact spacing, colors, fonts and components.
5. **Higgsfield** (hand holding the camera). Images and short videos from dozens of models. It spends credits, so tell Claude how many to make.

**Bonus:** a Meta Ads MCP can pull your campaign numbers directly.

## Two rules
- Keep the hands you use every day connected; switch the rest on only when needed. Every connection is something Claude has to keep track of.
- Prefer official servers run by the company itself. A server that pulls in outside content can carry hidden instructions. Make Claude ask before it spends money, posts publicly or sends messages for you.