[DOCS] Clarify Node.js requirement for MCP usage in Setup documentation

Documentation Type

Missing documentation (feature not documented)

Documentation Location

• https://code.claude.com/docs/en/setup - https://code.claude.com/docs/en/mcp

Section/Topic

The System requirements > Additional dependencies section in docs/en/setup.md

Current Documentation

In docs/en/setup.md, under "Additional dependencies":

Node.js 18+: Only required for [deprecated npm installation](#npm-installation-deprecated)

However, in docs/en/mcp.md, the example for adding local servers relies on npx:

Option 3: Add a local stdio server ``bash claude mcp add --transport stdio --env AIRTABLE_API_KEY=YOUR_KEY airtable \ -- npx -y airtable-mcp-server ``

What's Wrong or Missing?

The documentation presents conflicting information regarding dependencies. The Setup guide explicitly tells users that Node.js is only required if they are using the deprecated NPM installation method.

Consequently, a user following the recommended "Native Install" path will likely skip installing Node.js. When this user later attempts to follow the MCP documentation to add local stdio servers, the command will fail because npx is not available on their system.

Suggested Improvement

Update the System requirements section in docs/en/setup.md to clarify that while Node.js isn't required to run the Claude Code binary itself, it is a dependency for using many common MCP servers and ecosystem features.

Suggested text:

Node.js 18+: Required for the [deprecated npm installation](#npm-installation-deprecated), and recommended for running JavaScript-based MCP servers (via npx) and hooks.

Impact

High - Prevents users from using a feature

Additional Context

• User Journey Friction: A user installs via curl, skips Node.js based on the docs, runs claude, tries to add an MCP server, and hits command not found: npx.
• This also impacts Hooks, as many examples in the documentation use Node/Python scripts that require their respective runtimes, though the dependency is most glaring in the MCP npx examples.