[FEATURE] Allow refreshing MCP server tool list without restarting Claude Desktop

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
• [x] This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

When developing a local MCP server connected to Claude Desktop, there is no way to refresh the server's tool list without fully quitting and restarting the entire application. The server appears correctly in Settings → Developer → MCP Servers, but any changes made to the server's tools (adding, removing, or modifying) are not picked up until a full restart. Starting a new conversation does not trigger a re-fetch of the tool list, and the settings page offers no refresh or reconnect action.

This creates a painful development loop. During active MCP server development, tool definitions change constantly — sometimes dozens of times in a session. A full app restart each time adds significant friction, kills conversation context, and slows iteration to a crawl.

Proposed Solution

Add a Refresh button (or a reconnect/restart action) next to each MCP server entry on the Settings → Developer → MCP Servers page. Clicking it would:

1. Disconnect from the MCP server
2. Re-establish the connection
3. Re-fetch the updated tool list
4. Make the updated tools available in the current and future conversations

This is the most discoverable option since developers are already going to that settings page to verify their server connection.

Alternative Solutions

• Per-conversation refresh: A slash command or menu option within a conversation (e.g. /refresh-tools) that re-fetches the tool list for all connected MCP servers without leaving the chat.
• Automatic detection: Detect when a local/stdio-based MCP server has restarted or when the tool list has changed, and automatically refresh without any user action.
• Keyboard shortcut: A global shortcut (e.g. Cmd+Shift+R) that refreshes all MCP server connections app-wide without requiring navigation to settings.

Priority

High - Significant impact on productivity

Feature Category

MCP server integration

Use Case Example

1. Developer is building a local MCP server that exposes a get_customers tool
2. They connect it to Claude Desktop and confirm it works in a conversation
3. They add a new create_customer tool to their server code and restart the server process
4. Back in Claude Desktop, the new tool is not available — Claude only sees get_customers
5. Starting a new conversation still doesn't pick up create_customer
6. The developer has to fully quit Claude Desktop and relaunch it to see the updated tool list
7. All prior conversation context is lost

With a refresh button, step 6 becomes "click Refresh on the settings page" and the developer continues working without interruption.

Additional Context

• This primarily affects local / stdio-based MCP servers during development, though it could also apply to remote servers whose tool lists change over time.
• Claude Code (CLI) may handle this differently — this issue is specific to Claude Desktop.
• Environment: OS: Windows, Claude Desktop version: 1.1.8986 (17fe18)