MCP Mode Switcher

An MCP server that lets you switch between different MCP configuration profiles directly from inside Claude Desktop.

Why?

Claude Desktop loads MCP servers at startup from claude_desktop_config.json. More MCPs = more tokens used on every message. This tool lets you:

• Switch profiles - Toggle between "full", "minimal", "research" modes etc.
• Save snapshots - Capture your current setup as a new profile
• Auto-backup - Every switch creates a timestamped backup

Unlike CLI tools, this runs as an MCP server - so you can switch modes by just asking Claude: "Switch to minimal mode".

Installation

1. Clone this repo:

   git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/mcp-mode-switcher.git ~/Projects/mcp-mode-switcher
   cd ~/Projects/mcp-mode-switcher

2. Create virtual environment and install dependencies:

   python3 -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate
   pip install mcp

3. Create the configs directory:

   mkdir -p ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/configs

4. Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "mcp-mode-switcher": {
         "command": "/path/to/mcp-mode-switcher/venv/bin/python",
         "args": ["/path/to/mcp-mode-switcher/server.py"]
       }
     }
   }

5. Restart Claude Desktop

Tools

Tool	Description
list_modes()	Show all available profiles with descriptions and token costs
current_mode()	Identify which profile is currently active
switch_mode(mode, confirm)	Switch to a different profile (requires confirmation)
save_current_as_mode(name, description?, token_cost?)	Save current config as a new profile
list_backups()	View timestamped backup history

Usage Examples

In Claude Desktop:

• "What modes are available?"
• "What mode am I in?"
• "Switch to minimal mode"
• "Save my current setup as 'writing' mode"
• "Show me my backups"

File Structure

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/
├── claude_desktop_config.json      # Active config (Claude reads this)
├── configs/
│   ├── modes.json                  # Mode metadata (descriptions, token costs)
│   ├── full.json                   # Profile: all MCPs
│   ├── minimal.json                # Profile: minimal MCPs
│   └── [your-custom-modes].json    # Your saved profiles
└── backups/
    └── config.YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS.json  # Auto-backups before each switch

Creating Profiles

Option 1: Use the tool

Ask Claude: "Save my current setup as 'research' mode with description 'For deep research work'"

Option 2: Manually

1. Create a config file in ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/configs/research.json
2. Add metadata to modes.json:

   {
     "research": {
       "description": "Research focused - perplexity, zotero, readwise",
       "token_cost": "~25k tokens"
     }
   }

How It Works

1. Profiles are stored as complete claude_desktop_config.json files in configs/
2. Switching copies the selected profile to claude_desktop_config.json
3. Claude Desktop is automatically restarted to load the new config
4. A backup is created before every switch

Requirements

• macOS (uses osascript and open -a for restart)
• Python 3.10+
• Claude Desktop

License

MIT