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On a locked-down work laptop:
sdods mcp install claude -p demo-shop -e stagingclaude mcp add failed: EACCES: permission denied, open '/Users/hb/.claude.json'
→ Re-run with --file to write the config file directly.I do not have write access to that file and IT will not change it this quarter. Does the hint actually help me, or is it just a different way to fail?
Accepted answer
It helps. Those are two different files.
By default the installer prefers the client's own CLI — claude mcp add -s project sdods -- npx sdods mcp ... — so the client's config format stays authoritative. That writes into the CLI's own config in your home directory, which is the one you cannot open.
--file skips the CLI entirely and merges .mcp.json in the repository instead:
sdods mcp install claude -p demo-shop -e staging --fileProject-scoped .mcp.json is read by Claude Code the same way, it lives in a directory you own, and it has the side benefit that it is committable, so your colleagues get the same registration without running anything.
The merge does not clobber other servers in that file.
Look before you write, if you are nervous about a locked-down box:
sdods mcp install claude -p demo-shop -e staging --printPrints the target path and the exact snippet, touches nothing. Then decide between --file and pasting it yourself.
Wrap commands and output in triple backticks and they will render as a code block.
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