MCP for Engineering Teams

Why Teams Need a MCP Strategy

When one developer uses MCP, it's a productivity boost. When an entire team does, it becomes infrastructure. Without coordination, you get inconsistent configurations, security risks, and duplicated effort. Here's how to do it right.

Step 1: Create a Shared MCP Config

Version-control your MCP configurations alongside your code. Use environment variables for secrets — never hardcode tokens in config files.

// .cursor/mcp.json (or .claude.json) — committed to git
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
      "env": { "GITHUB_TOKEN": "${GITHUB_TOKEN}" }
    },
    "postgres-staging": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres"],
      "env": { "DATABASE_URL": "${STAGING_DATABASE_URL}" }
    }
  }
}

// Each developer sets their own tokens in .env.local (gitignored)

Step 2: Define Access Tiers

Tier 1: Read-Only

Default for all developers. Database MCP in read-only mode, filesystem limited to project files.

Low risk

Tier 2: Read-Write Dev

For senior developers. Write access to staging databases, GitHub PR creation.

Medium risk

Tier 3: Admin

Team leads only. Production database access, infrastructure MCP servers, deployment tools.

High risk — requires approval

Step 3: Combine with Team AI Skills

Pair your shared MCP config with team-wide AI Skills to ensure everyone's AI assistant follows the same coding standards:

project-root/
├── .cursor/
│   ├── mcp.json              # Shared MCP servers
│   └── rules/
│       ├── architecture.mdc   # Team architecture rules
│       ├── testing.mdc        # Testing conventions
│       └── security.mdc       # Security requirements
├── .claude/
│   ├── settings.json          # Claude Code MCP config
│   └── skills/
│       ├── code-review/SKILL.md
│       └── database-migration/SKILL.md
└── .env.local                 # Personal API tokens (gitignored)

Security Checklist for Teams

Never commit API tokens or secrets to version control

Use environment variables with .env.local (gitignored) for team member tokens

Default to read-only database MCP connections

Never connect MCP servers to production databases without explicit approval

Audit MCP server usage with logging enabled

Review third-party MCP servers before adding to team configs

Pin MCP server package versions to avoid supply chain attacks

Use separate GitHub tokens with minimal scopes for MCP

Why Teams Need a MCP Strategy

Step 1: Create a Shared MCP Config

Step 2: Define Access Tiers

Step 3: Combine with Team AI Skills

Security Checklist for Teams

Set Up MCP for Your Team