[DOCS] Plugin .mcp.json example incorrectly uses mcpServers wrapper
Documentation Type
Incorrect/outdated documentation
Documentation Location
https://code.claude.com/docs/en/mcp#plugin-provided-mcp-servers
Section/Topic
Plugin-provided MCP servers — .mcp.json format example
Current Documentation
The docs show this as the correct format for a plugin's .mcp.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"database-tools": {
"command": "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/servers/db-server",
"args": ["--config", "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/config.json"]
}
}
}
What's Wrong or Missing?
The mcpServers wrapper shown in the .mcp.json example is incorrect. All official plugins in anthropics/claude-plugins-official use the flat format — e.g. context7:
{
"context7": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@upstash/context7-mcp"]
}
}
The mcpServers key is a plugin.json concept — it can reference an external file ("mcpServers": "./my-extra-mcp-config.json") or define servers inline. The .mcp.json file it points to uses the flat format. The docs conflate the two by showing the plugin.json envelope inside the .mcp.json example.
Suggested Improvement
Update the .mcp.json example to use the flat format, consistent with all official plugin examples:
{
"database-tools": {
"command": "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/servers/db-server",
"args": ["--config", "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/config.json"]
}
}
Impact
Medium - Makes feature difficult to understand
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