How to configure the Ozeki SMS MCP Server with Claude Code

This guide walks you through adding the Ozeki SMS MCP Server to your Claude Code configuration so that Claude Code can send and receive SMS messages on your behalf. By following this tutorial, you will learn how to edit the Claude Code configuration file, add the Ozeki SMS MCP Server and verify the connection.

What is an MCP server?

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server exposes tools that an AI model can call during a conversation. In this setup, the Ozeki SMS MCP Server provides SMS tools such as sending messages and listing incoming SMS. Claude Code connects to the MCP server over HTTP and communicates with it directly using the configured URL and API key, making it straightforward to add mobile messaging capabilities to any Claude Code workflow.

Claude Code SMS MCP Server Overview
Claude Code SMS MCP Server Overview

Claude Code MCP server configuration

# Claude Code configuration file location:
C:\Users\{User}\.claude.json

# Add the following block inside the "mcpServers" property in .claude.json
# Replace the URL with your Ozeki SMS Gateway address and the Bearer token with your API key
"Ozeki SMS Gateway": {
    "type": "http",
    "url": "http://{address}:9529/mcp",
    "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer your-bearer-token"
    }
}

Steps to follow

We assume Ozeki SMS Gateway is already installed on your system and you have already created an MCP user account with an API key. You will also need Claude Code installed on your system. If you have not set it up yet, follow our Claude Code installation guide.

  1. Modify Claude Code config file
  2. Start Claude Code
  3. Verify the MCP server connection

Video tutorial

The following video shows how to add the Ozeki SMS MCP Server to Claude Code step-by-step. The video covers editing the configuration file, launching Claude Code, and verifying the MCP server connection.

Step 1 - Modify Claude Code config file

Navigate to your user directory at C:\Users\{User}\ and open the .claude.json file in a text editor such as Notepad. This file stores all Claude Code configuration, including any MCP servers that Claude Code should connect to on startup (Figure 1).

Open Claude config file in text editor
Figure 1 - Open .claude.json in a text editor

Inside the file, locate the mcpServers property. This is the section where all MCP server entries are registered. If the property does not exist yet, you can add it as a new JSON object (Figure 2).

Locate mcpServers property
Figure 2 - Locate the mcpServers property in the config file

Add the Ozeki SMS MCP Server entry inside the mcpServers block as shown below. Replace the URL with the address of your Ozeki SMS Gateway installation and the Bearer token with the API key you generated for your MCP user account. Save the file after making the changes (Figure 3). 

"Ozeki SMS Gateway": {
    "type": "http",
    "url": "http://{address}:9529/mcp",
    "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer your-bearer-token"
    }
}

Add Ozeki SMS MCP server to config
Figure 3 - Add the Ozeki SMS MCP Server entry to the mcpServers block

Step 2 - Start Claude Code

Open a terminal window by searching for Terminal in the start menu and clicking on the application. It is important to open a new terminal after editing the configuration file so that Claude Code loads the updated settings (Figure 4).

Open a terminal
Figure 4 - Open a new terminal window

Navigate to your working directory and type claude to start Claude Code. Claude Code will launch and attempt to connect to all MCP servers listed in the configuration file, including the Ozeki MCP SMS Server you just added (Figure 5). 

claude

Start Claude Code
Figure 5 - Start Claude Code in the terminal

Step 3 - Verify the MCP server connection

Once Claude Code has started, run the /mcp command to view connected MCP servers. Verify that Ozeki SMS Gateway appears in the list and that its status shows as connected. This confirms that Claude Code has successfully reached your gateway using the configured URL and API key (Figure 6).

Check and confirm MCP server connection
Figure 6 - Verify Ozeki SMS MCP Server connection

Summary

You have successfully configured the Ozeki SMS MCP Server in Claude Code. Claude Code can now send and receive SMS messages through your gateway using plain language prompts. This makes it straightforward to add mobile messaging capabilities to any Claude Code workflow.

More information