Add the BigQuery MCP server to Claude Code

Config last verified Jun 1, 2026

The exact config to run BigQuery in Claude Code — paste it in, restart, and the tools load.

Prerequisites

Claude Code installed.
BIGQUERY_PROJECT — Default Google Cloud project ID used for all BigQuery operations.

Setup

1. Open `~/.claude.json`

2. Add this configuration

Add to ~/.claude.json

~/.claude.json

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "bigquery": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e",
        "BIGQUERY_PROJECT",
        "us-central1-docker.pkg.dev/database-toolbox/toolbox/toolbox:latest",
        "--prebuilt",
        "bigquery",
        "--stdio"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BIGQUERY_PROJECT": "<BIGQUERY_PROJECT>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or via CLI

bash

claude mcp add bigquery -- docker run -i --rm -e BIGQUERY_PROJECT us-central1-docker.pkg.dev/database-toolbox/toolbox/toolbox:latest --prebuilt bigquery --stdio

3. Restart Claude Code and confirm the BigQuery tools load.

Gotchas

Claude Code stores MCP servers under an "mcpServers" object in ~/.claude.json. It also reads a project-scoped .mcp.json and supports adding servers from the command line with "claude mcp add". Each entry must declare either a "type" or a "command"; Claude Code refuses an entry that has neither. Remote servers connect natively over Streamable HTTP with OAuth.

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