[BUG] MCP servers not loaded in .claude-personal profile (subscription/OAuth sessions)

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

MCP servers are not loaded in interactive sessions when using the .claude-personal profile (personal subscription / OAuth auth).

claude mcp list (CLI) shows all servers as "✓ Connected", but /mcp inside the interactive session always says "No MCP servers configured."

MCP servers were added to every possible config location — none are picked up:

• ~/.claude-personal/.claude.json (user scope mcpServers)
• ~/.claude-personal/settings.json (mcpServers)
• ~/.claude-personal/settings.local.json (mcpServers)
• .mcp.json in project root

The same servers work correctly in the API key profile (~/.claude/).

What Should Happen?

MCP servers configured via claude mcp add -s user should be loaded in interactive sessions regardless of which profile (.claude vs .claude-personal) is active. /mcp should show configured servers.

Error Messages/Logs

$ claude mcp list
Checking MCP server health...
context7: https://mcp.context7.com/mcp (HTTP) - ✓ Connected
orchestrator: uv --directory ... run server.py - ✓ Connected
playwright: C:/Program Files/nodejs/playwright-mcp.cmd - ✓ Connected

# Then inside interactive session:
/mcp
> No MCP servers configured. Please run /doctor if this is unexpected.

# Environment shows:
CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=C:\Users\<user>\.claude-personal

Steps to Reproduce

1. Log in via personal subscription (OAuth) — Claude Code creates and uses ~/.claude-personal/ profile
2. Add MCP server: claude mcp add -s user -t http context7 https://mcp.context7.com/mcp
3. Verify: claude mcp list → shows "context7: ✓ Connected"
4. Start interactive session (VSCode panel or terminal claude)
5. Run /mcp → "No MCP servers configured"
6. Switch profile: CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=~/.claude claude mcp list → same servers visible AND loaded in session

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.91 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

VS Code integrated terminal

Additional Information

Key finding: Claude Code uses separate profiles for subscription (OAuth) and API key auth:

• ~/.claude/ — API key profile (ANTHROPIC_API_KEY) — MCP works
• ~/.claude-personal/ — subscription profile (OAuth) — MCP never loads

The .claude-personal profile has CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR set to ~/.claude-personal.
The .claude-personal/.claude.json contains mcpServers in both top-level and projects sections (added via claude mcp add), but they are never loaded into interactive sessions.

The .claude-personal directory is missing several subdirectories that exist in .claude/ (notably: mcp-servers/, hooks/, config.json). This suggests .claude-personal is an incomplete profile that doesn't fully support MCP.

Workaround: calling MCP servers directly via HTTP JSON-RPC / stdio subprocess from the Bash tool, bypassing native MCP integration.

VSCode extension version: 2.1.90 (anthropic.claude-code-2.1.90-win32-x64)
Windows 11 Enterprise 10.0.26200