[DOCS] MCP docs list only `workspace` as a reserved server name; v2.1.205 also reserves "Claude Browser" and "Claude Preview"

Open 💬 0 comments Opened Jul 8, 2026 by coygeek

Documentation Type

Incorrect/outdated documentation

Documentation Location

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/mcp

Section/Topic

The "Managing your servers" area of https://code.claude.com/docs/en/mcp, specifically the paragraph immediately above the "Dynamic tool updates" subsection that introduces the workspace reserved-name rule (currently around line 182).

Current Documentation

The MCP page currently states:

The server name workspace is reserved for internal use. If your configuration defines a server with that name, Claude Code skips it at load time and shows a warning asking you to rename it.

The page's installation and naming examples treat the server name as an unrestricted placeholder:

claude mcp add --transport http <name> <url> claude mcp add --transport sse <name> <url> claude mcp add [options] <name> -- <command> [args...]

And the project-scope example shows a freely chosen key:

``json { "mcpServers": { "shared-server": { "command": "/path/to/server", "args": [], "env": {} } } } ``

The changelog page itself records, in an older v2.1.128 bullet on line 1390:

* MCP: workspace is now a reserved server name — existing servers with that name will be skipped with a warning

so the workspace rule has been documented as a single, isolated reservation rather than as one entry in a growing list.

What's Wrong or Missing?

A. The reserved-name list now contains two additional entries that the docs do not mention

The v2.1.205 changelog records:

Reserved the "Claude Browser" MCP server name (alongside "Claude Preview") ahead of the Claude Desktop pane rename; user-configured MCP servers can no longer register under either name

The MCP page's reserved-name paragraph only names workspace. After v2.1.205 there are three reserved server names (workspace, "Claude Browser", "Claude Preview"), but a reader of the docs only learns about workspace and has no warning that the other two names are now rejected on load. The earlier changelog bullet (v2.1.128) reinforces the "single reserved name" framing rather than introducing a list.

B. The motivation for the new reservation is not surfaced

The v2.1.205 entry explains that the new reservations exist "ahead of the Claude Desktop pane rename". The MCP page gives no hint of why "Claude Browser" and "Claude Preview" are reserved, so a user who picks one of those names has no way to understand the warning Claude Code emits at load time and no way to plan for the rename. The same paragraph that introduces the rule should also explain that the reserved names exist for use by future internal surfaces and will continue to grow.

C. The `claude mcp add` and `.mcp.json` examples invite collisions with the reserved list

The syntax examples above show <name> as a free-form placeholder with no reserved-name caveat, and the project-scope .mcp.json example uses the literal key "shared-server" without warning that keys matching reserved names are silently skipped at load time. A user copying the example shape and substituting "Claude Browser" or "Claude Preview" as the key will see no MCP tools at startup, with only a one-line warning to indicate why.

Suggested Improvement

Update the reserved-name paragraph in https://code.claude.com/docs/en/mcp to reflect v2.1.205.

Before (current line 182):

The server name workspace is reserved for internal use. If your configuration defines a server with that name, Claude Code skips it at load time and shows a warning asking you to rename it.

After:

Three MCP server names are reserved for internal use: workspace, Claude Browser, and Claude Preview. Claude Code reserves these names ahead of product surfaces (the most recent reservations, "Claude Browser" and "Claude Preview", are reserved ahead of an upcoming Claude Desktop pane rename). If your configuration defines a server with any reserved name, Claude Code skips it at load time and shows a warning asking you to rename it. Use a different name when configuring claude mcp add or the mcpServers keys in .mcp.json.

Add a short cross-reference at the top of the claude mcp add syntax block and again next to the project-scope .mcp.json example:

Server names that match a reserved name (workspace, Claude Browser, Claude Preview) are skipped at load time with a warning. See [Reserved MCP server names](#reserved-mcp-server-names) below.

Add a stable section heading such as ### Reserved MCP server names so the cross-reference resolves to a named anchor and future reservations can be appended to the same paragraph without a separate anchor.

Impact

Medium - Makes feature difficult to understand

Additional Context

The reserved-name list grows whenever a new internal surface needs to register an MCP server under a fixed name. v2.1.128 added workspace, and v2.1.205 added "Claude Browser" and "Claude Preview". The current MCP page documents the v2.1.128 reservation but does not track the v2.1.205 additions, so the page is silently out of date relative to the changelog.

The v2.1.205 reservation entry specifically calls out the upcoming Claude Desktop pane rename as the motivation. The MCP page currently has no place to surface product-roadmap context for a reserved name, so users cannot distinguish a name that is reserved because of an internal subsystem (workspace) from a name reserved because of an upcoming user-visible surface ("Claude Browser", "Claude Preview"). A short note in the suggested paragraph names the two categories without committing to a future surface.

Affected Pages:
| Page | Context |
|------|---------|
| https://code.claude.com/docs/en/mcp | Primary documentation for reserved MCP server names; only workspace is currently named |

Total scope: 1 page affected.

The v2.1.205 changelog entry is: