`officecli mcp claude` registers to the wrong file (~/.claude/settings.json); Claude Code never loads it

[vlasky]

Summary

officecli mcp claude registers the MCP server in the wrong file — ~/.claude/settings.json — which Claude Code does not read MCP servers from. As a result the server is never loaded by Claude Code, yet officecli mcp list reports it as registered (false positive).

Claude Code loads MCP servers from ~/.claude.json (user scope) or a project-level .mcp.json — not from ~/.claude/settings.json. (settings.json is for permissions/hooks/env/model/etc.; an mcpServers key there is silently ignored.)

Environment

• officecli 1.0.111 (installed via Homebrew)
• macOS (Apple Silicon)
• Claude Code (CLI)

Steps to reproduce

$ officecli mcp claude
Registered officecli MCP in Claude Code.
  Config: /Users/<me>/.claude/settings.json

$ claude mcp list | grep -i officecli
# (nothing — Claude Code does not see it)

$ officecli mcp list
  ...
  ✓ Claude Code     registered      # <-- false positive

officecli writes:

// ~/.claude/settings.json
"mcpServers": {
  "officecli": { "command": ".../officecli", "args": ["mcp"] }
}

but claude mcp list still does not list it, confirming Claude Code ignores mcpServers in settings.json.

Expected

After officecli mcp claude, the server should appear in claude mcp list and be usable in Claude Code.

Root cause

src/officecli/McpInstaller.cs:

// L120-124
private static string GetClaudeSettingsPath() =>
    Path.Combine(..., ".claude", "settings.json");        // wrong file

private static void InstallClaude() =>
    InstallJson("Claude Code", GetClaudeSettingsPath(), "mcpServers");

The status check (L277, CheckJsonStatus("Claude Code", GetClaudeSettingsPath())) reads the same wrong path, which is why it reports success.

Suggested fix

Target a location Claude Code actually loads. Two options:

1. Preferred — shell out to the official CLI, which handles file + scope correctly across versions:
   claude mcp add -s user officecli -- officecli mcp
2. Or write directly to ~/.claude.json under the top-level mcpServers key (user scope), instead of ~/.claude/settings.json.

Secondary issues

• Uninstall leaves residue: officecli mcp uninstall claude removes the server entry but leaves an empty "mcpServers": {} key behind in settings.json.
• Status check is a false positive: because install and status both read settings.json, officecli mcp list reports "registered" even though Claude Code never loads the server. The status check should verify the location Claude Code actually reads.

[goworm]

Fixed on main (commits 6e6c699, f931a60, 3292adb).

What changed:

• Registration now uses the official CLI. officecli mcp claude runs claude mcp add -s user officecli -- officecli mcp, which persists to ~/.claude.json — the file Claude Code actually reads. When the claude CLI is not on PATH it falls back to writing ~/.claude.json directly (top-level mcpServers), so registration still works without the CLI.
• No more false positive. officecli mcp list and officecli mcp uninstall claude now read/write ~/.claude.json, so the status check reflects reality and the empty "mcpServers": {} residue on uninstall is gone (the key is dropped when officecli was the only server).
• Upgrade-proof command path. The recorded command resolves to a stable location: the canonical install path (~/.local/bin/officecli) when present, otherwise officecli as found on PATH (e.g. the Homebrew wrapper /opt/homebrew/bin/officecli) returned verbatim — not the symlink-resolved .../Cellar/<version>/... target that would rot on the next upgrade.

Verified end-to-end: after registering, claude mcp get officecli reports Scope: User config / Status: ✔ Connected.

This will ship in the next release. After upgrading, re-run officecli mcp claude (or officecli install) to re-register. Thanks for the precise report and the root-cause pointer.