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This guide walks you through integrating the PagerDuty MCP Server with Claude Desktop.

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Setup

1

Locate Configuration File

Find your Claude Desktop configuration file based on your operating system:
  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
If the file doesn’t exist, create it.
2

Edit Configuration File

Open the configuration file in a text editor and add the following configuration:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pagerduty-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "pagerduty-mcp",
        "--enable-write-tools"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PAGERDUTY_USER_API_KEY": "your-pagerduty-api-key-here",
        "PAGERDUTY_API_HOST": "https://api.pagerduty.com"
      }
    }
  }
}
The --enable-write-tools flag enables write operations, allowing you to create incidents, schedule overrides, and more.
3

Replace Placeholder Values

Update the configuration with your actual values:
  • Replace your-pagerduty-api-key-here with your actual PagerDuty User API Token
  • If your PagerDuty account is located in the EU, update PAGERDUTY_API_HOST to https://api.eu.pagerduty.com
4

Restart Claude Desktop

Completely quit and restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect.
5

Test the Integration

Start a conversation with Claude and test the integration:
  • “Show me my latest PagerDuty incidents”
  • “List my event orchestrations”
  • “Create a test incident”

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Configuration Details

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Configuration File Locations

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macOS

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
To access this folder quickly, you can use Finder’s “Go to Folder” feature (Cmd+Shift+G) and paste the path.

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Windows

%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
You can access this location by typing %APPDATA%\Claude in the Windows Explorer address bar.

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Complete Configuration Example

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pagerduty-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "pagerduty-mcp",
        "--enable-write-tools"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PAGERDUTY_USER_API_KEY": "your-pagerduty-api-key-here",
        "PAGERDUTY_API_HOST": "https://api.pagerduty.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

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Environment Variables

  • PAGERDUTY_USER_API_KEY: Your PagerDuty User API Token. This must be stored directly in the configuration file.
  • PAGERDUTY_API_HOST: The PagerDuty API endpoint. Use https://api.pagerduty.com for US accounts or https://api.eu.pagerduty.com for EU accounts.

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Security Considerations

Unlike VS Code’s secure input prompts, Claude Desktop requires you to store your API key directly in the configuration file as plain text.
To protect your API key:
  1. Set proper file permissions to ensure the configuration file is readable only by your user account:
    • macOS/Linux: chmod 600 ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
    • Windows: Right-click the file > Properties > Security > Edit > Remove unnecessary users
  2. Never commit the configuration file to version control systems like Git
  3. Use a dedicated API key for Claude Desktop integration with appropriate scoped permissions
  4. Regularly rotate your API keys as part of your security practices
  5. Consider the security implications of storing credentials in plain text on your system

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Testing the Integration

To verify the MCP server is working correctly:
  1. Restart Claude Desktop completely
  2. Start a new conversation
  3. Ask Claude: “Show me my latest PagerDuty incidents”
  4. Verify that Claude responds with your incident data
If the integration is working, Claude will be able to access your PagerDuty data and perform operations based on your queries.

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Troubleshooting

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Server Not Starting

If the MCP server doesn’t start:
  1. Verify that uvx is installed and available in your system PATH
  2. Check that the configuration file is valid JSON (use a JSON validator)
  3. Ensure there are no syntax errors in the configuration
  4. Try running uvx pagerduty-mcp --enable-write-tools manually in your terminal to check for errors

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Configuration File Not Found

If Claude Desktop doesn’t recognize the configuration:
  1. Verify the file path is correct for your operating system
  2. Ensure the directory exists (create it if necessary)
  3. Check the file name is exactly claude_desktop_config.json
  4. Make sure there are no hidden file extensions (like .txt)

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API Authentication Errors

If you’re seeing authentication errors:
  1. Verify your PagerDuty API key is correct
  2. Check that the API key has the necessary permissions in PagerDuty
  3. Ensure there are no extra spaces or quotes around the API key in the configuration
  4. Try generating a new API key from PagerDuty and updating the configuration

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Connection Issues for EU Accounts

If you’re in the EU region and experiencing connection issues:
  1. Update PAGERDUTY_API_HOST to https://api.eu.pagerduty.com
  2. Save the configuration file
  3. Completely restart Claude Desktop

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Write Operations Not Working

If you can read data but not create or modify resources:
  1. Ensure the --enable-write-tools flag is included in the args array
  2. Verify your API key has write permissions in PagerDuty
  3. Restart Claude Desktop after making configuration changes

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Changes Not Taking Effect

If your configuration changes aren’t being applied:
  1. Ensure you completely quit Claude Desktop (not just close the window)
  2. On macOS, use Cmd+Q to fully quit the application
  3. On Windows, check the system tray to ensure Claude is not still running
  4. Wait a few seconds before restarting
  5. Check the configuration file was saved correctly

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