# MCP servers, set up once for chosen projects > Turn an MCP server on for every project or only the ones you pick. Your agents' chats there get it, and one sign-in covers them all. Source: https://shuriken.sh/blog/mcps-for-chosen-projects Turn an MCP server on for every project or only the ones you pick. Your agents' chats there get it, and one sign-in covers them all. [Update](https://shuriken.sh/blog) By Shuriken Updated 3 November 2026 3 min read **Contents** You can now set up an MCP server once and say exactly which projects get it. In Settings › Extensions › MCP servers, each server runs in All projects or in the projects you pick. Your agents' chats in those projects get the server when they start, and one sign-in covers all of them. It's part of Shuriken 5.1. ## Why we built it # [Global MCPs](https://shuriken.sh/features/global-mcps) solved the first problem: signing in to the same server a hundred times. You sign in to GitHub's or Linear's MCP server once, and it works on any account and any device, because the sign-in belongs to the server, not to your AI account. Then we kept hearing about the second problem: the database server showing up in a blog repo, the design tool's server sitting in a backend project. Global meant everywhere, and everywhere is too much. Every MCP server adds tools the agent can see, and depending on the agent, their descriptions take room in its context. A project that never touches Figma has no use for Figma's tools. Fewer servers means less clutter and fewer wrong tools for the agent to reach for. So we kept "set up once" and added "only where you need it". ## How it works # Open Settings › Extensions › MCP servers. It lists every server you use, once, each with where it runs. To add a server, pick one of the 57 ready-made connectors (GitHub, Linear, Notion, Slack, Sentry, Supabase, Playwright and more) or add any server by address or command. Shuriken asks one question: Which projects can use it? Leave All projects on, or turn it off and switch on the projects you want. To change your mind later, open a server to see where it runs. Add a project, remove one, or switch back to All projects. Agents in a project pick up the change when they next start. If the server needs a sign-in, you do it once. Every project that uses the server shares it, on every one of your computers and servers. Sign-ins travel between your devices sealed in your vault, and our cloud keeps a key that opens the vault. ## What Shuriken writes for you # You don't edit config files. A server on All projects goes in Claude Code's user config on that computer, so every project there loads it. A server for chosen projects goes in that project's section of Claude Code's config on that computer, the same place claude mcp add puts one by default. It lives outside the project folder, so it never shows up in a chat's diff or lands in a commit. Your own .mcp.json stays yours. If a project already has one, Shuriken lists its servers and can switch them on and off, but it never creates the file for you. Every agent gets the same list. When a chat starts, Shuriken hands it the servers its project uses, whether the agent is Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI or another one, and whichever of your accounts it runs on. You set it up once, and all of them see it. One honest exception: servers you added straight into Codex's own config file are global to Codex. Codex has no per-project switch for those, so turning one off turns it off everywhere, and Shuriken's list says so on that row rather than pretending otherwise. Shuriken keeps one MCP list for all your agents, and an MCP sign-in follows you to every account and computer. [Try Shuriken](https://shuriken.sh/) ## An example setup # A split for someone with a few repos might look like this. | Server | Where it runs | Why | | --- | --- | --- | | GitHub | All projects | Every repo has issues and pull requests | | Context7 | All projects | Up-to-date library docs help everywhere | | Linear | Product repos only | The website and dotfiles have no tickets | | Supabase | The backend only | Nobody else should touch the database | | Playwright | Frontend projects | Browser tests live there | | Notion (work) and Notion (personal) | Different projects | Two sign-ins, never mixed up | That last row is the one people ask about most: add the same connector twice, give each its own sign-in, and assign them to different projects ([Two Notion workspaces, one MCP list](https://shuriken.sh/blog/two-notion-accounts-one-mcp-list) walks through it). ## Good to know # When Shuriken moves a chat to another of your accounts at a limit, its MCP servers and their sign-ins stay put. Each device runs what it can: if a server needs something a computer doesn't have, its row says so, with the fix. And it's on every plan: Global MCPs, chosen projects included, are part of Free. New to MCP servers? Start with [Set up MCP servers once for every project](https://shuriken.sh/guides/mcp-servers-across-all-projects), then pick a few from [Best MCP servers for Claude Code](https://shuriken.sh/blog/best-mcp-servers-for-claude-code). To see it for yourself, [try Shuriken](https://shuriken.sh/) and open Settings › Extensions › MCP servers. 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You choose when you add it, and you can change it any time from the server's row. **Where does Shuriken write the config?** A server on All projects goes in Claude Code's user config on that computer. A server for chosen projects goes in that project's section of Claude Code's config, outside the project folder, so nothing lands in your repository. **Do I have to sign in again for every project?** No. A sign-in belongs to the MCP server, not to a project or an AI account. Sign in once and every project that uses the server is signed in, on every device. **Does this work for Codex too?** Yes. Every agent in a project is handed the same servers when it starts. Servers you added to Codex's own config file are global to Codex, and Shuriken shows them that way. **Can I use two accounts of the same MCP server?** Yes. Add the server twice, for example a work Notion and a personal Notion, each with its own sign-in, and assign each to different projects. Global MCPs One MCP list for every agent. Add an MCP server once, choose its projects and sign in once. Your Claude Code, Codex and Gemini CLI chats all get it. [Try Shuriken](https://shuriken.sh/) [How it works](https://shuriken.sh/features/global-mcps) ## Keep reading - [How MCP sign-ins travel between your devices: Story 2 Nov 2026 4 min read Sign in to an MCP server once and every device of yours has it, servers included. Our cloud stores it sealed, and keeps a key that can open it.](https://shuriken.sh/blog/mcp-sign-ins-sealed) - [How to add an MCP server to Codex CLI: Guide 27 Oct 2026 4 min read Add an MCP server to Codex CLI with codex mcp add and the server's command, or write its table in config.toml. OAuth servers sign in with codex mcp login.](https://shuriken.sh/guides/codex-cli-mcp-servers) - [Codex MCP server failed to start or timed out: fixes: Guide 27 Oct 2026 6 min read In Codex, "MCP client failed to start" means the command or handshake broke; "timed out after N seconds" means a slow server: raise its startup timeout.](https://shuriken.sh/guides/codex-mcp-server-failed-to-start) - [Shuriken vs Agentastic (2026): Comparison 27 Oct 2026 7 min read Agentastic is a free Mac multi-agent IDE with Design Mode and cloud targets. Shuriken runs on Mac, Windows and Linux and moves chats between your accounts.](https://shuriken.sh/compare/agentastic) - [Claude Code MCP server failed to connect: how to fix it: Guide 27 Oct 2026 6 min read Claude Code says Failed to connect when an MCP server never starts or answers. claude mcp get prints the error; a relative path is a frequent cause.](https://shuriken.sh/guides/claude-code-mcp-server-failed-to-connect) - [Claude Code MCP server timeout: the settings that fix it: Guide 27 Oct 2026 4 min read Claude Code MCP server timeout errors: the startup timeout for slow servers, a per-server limit for long tool calls, the idle window, and big output.](https://shuriken.sh/guides/claude-code-mcp-timeout) - [Claude Code across many projects: keep them apart: Guide 27 Oct 2026 6 min read Claude Code ties sessions, CLAUDE.md, settings and MCP servers to the folder you start it in. Run one session per project; put shared setup in user scope.](https://shuriken.sh/guides/claude-code-multiple-projects) ## Free tools - [Claude limit reset tracker](https://shuriken.sh/tools/limit-resets/claude) - [Codex limit reset tracker](https://shuriken.sh/tools/limit-resets/codex)