How to Configure MCP Clients#

Goal: Connect your MCP client to the GW2 MCP Server so you can query Guild Wars 2 data from your AI assistant.

Prerequisites#

Before starting, you should have:

Claude Desktop#

Open Claude Desktop and navigate to Settings > Developer > Edit Config. This opens the claude_desktop_config.json file.

Option A: Docker#

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gw2-mcp": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "--rm", "-i", "-e", "GW2_API_KEY", "alyxpink/gw2-mcp:v1"],
      "env": {
        "GW2_API_KEY": "YOUR_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Option B: Direct binary#

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gw2-mcp": {
      "command": "/path/to/gw2-mcp",
      "env": {
        "GW2_API_KEY": "YOUR_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace /path/to/gw2-mcp with the absolute path to the binary (for example, C:\\Users\\you\\bin\\gw2-mcp.exe on Windows or /usr/local/bin/gw2-mcp on Linux/macOS).

Verify it works#

  1. Restart Claude Desktop after saving the config file.
  2. Open a new conversation and look for the hammer icon in the input area – this confirms MCP tools are loaded.
  3. Ask Claude: “What is the current Guild Wars 2 game build number?”

Claude should call the get_game_build tool and return a numeric build ID.

Claude Code#

Create or edit the .mcp.json file in your project root.

Option A: Docker#

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gw2-mcp": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "--rm", "-i", "-e", "GW2_API_KEY", "alyxpink/gw2-mcp:v1"],
      "env": {
        "GW2_API_KEY": "YOUR_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Option B: Direct binary#

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gw2-mcp": {
      "command": "/path/to/gw2-mcp",
      "env": {
        "GW2_API_KEY": "YOUR_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Verify it works#

  1. Restart Claude Code or reload the window after saving .mcp.json.
  2. Ask Claude Code to search the Guild Wars 2 wiki for “Mystic Coin”.

Claude Code should invoke the wiki_search tool and return wiki results.

LM Studio#

Auto-install#

Click the badge on the GW2 MCP Server README to install automatically:

Install in LM Studio

This registers the Docker-based server. After installing, open LM Studio’s MCP server settings and add your GW2_API_KEY to the environment variables.

Manual configuration#

Add the server manually in LM Studio with:

  • Command: docker
  • Args: run --rm -i -e GW2_API_KEY=YOUR_KEY_HERE alyxpink/gw2-mcp:v1

Or point to the binary directly:

  • Command: /path/to/gw2-mcp
  • Environment variable: GW2_API_KEY=YOUR_KEY_HERE

Other MCP Clients (Cursor, Windsurf, etc.)#

Any MCP client that supports stdio transport can use the GW2 MCP Server. The configuration pattern is the same across all clients.

Docker#

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gw2-mcp": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "--rm", "-i", "-e", "GW2_API_KEY", "alyxpink/gw2-mcp:v1"],
      "env": {
        "GW2_API_KEY": "YOUR_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Direct binary#

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gw2-mcp": {
      "command": "/path/to/gw2-mcp",
      "env": {
        "GW2_API_KEY": "YOUR_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Consult your client’s documentation for where to place this JSON. Common locations:

ClientConfig location
Cursor.cursor/mcp.json in your project root
WindsurfMCP settings in the Windsurf preferences panel
VS Code (Copilot).vscode/mcp.json in your project root

The key details are always the same: set command to either docker or the binary path, pass GW2_API_KEY through the env block, and use stdio transport.

Troubleshooting#

Problem: Tools do not appear in the client#

Symptom: The MCP client connects but no GW2 tools are listed.

Cause: The server process failed to start or crashed immediately.

Solution:

  1. Run the server manually in a terminal to check for errors:
    docker run --rm -i -e GW2_API_KEY="YOUR_KEY_HERE" alyxpink/gw2-mcp:v1
  2. If using the binary, confirm the path is correct and the file is executable.
  3. Verify Docker is running if using the Docker configuration.

Problem: “GW2_API_KEY environment variable not configured”#

Symptom: Tools that require authentication return this error message.

Cause: The API key is not being passed to the server process.

Solution: Confirm the env block in your client config contains GW2_API_KEY with a valid key. For Docker configs, both the args array (-e GW2_API_KEY) and the env block are required – the args flag tells Docker to forward the variable, and the env block sets its value.

Problem: Authorization error from the GW2 API#

Symptom: A tool returns a permissions or authorization error.

Cause: The API key is missing a required scope for that tool.

Solution: Check API Key Scopes for the scopes each tool requires, then update your key at Guild Wars 2 API Key Management .

Problem: Docker image not found#

Symptom: docker: Error response from daemon: manifest for alyxpink/gw2-mcp:v1 not found

Cause: Docker cannot pull the image.

Solution: Try the GitHub Container Registry mirror instead:

"args": ["run", "--rm", "-i", "-e", "GW2_API_KEY", "ghcr.io/alyxpink/gw2-mcp:v1"]

See also#

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