Claude Desktop cannot start the local Apify MCP server
The local package needs Node.js 22 or newer. If it still fails with a connection error, clear the npx cache (rm -rf ~/.npm/_npx on macOS and Linux, the _npx folder under %LOCALAPPDATA%\npm-cache on Windows) or use the custom connector instead, which needs no local install.
Source: Apify documentation: Claude Desktop. Applies to: Claude Desktop and claude.ai.
The question people ask
Claude Desktop cannot start the local server. How do I fix it?