Amazon Q Developer is AWS's AI coding assistant, available as a CLI tool and as IDE extensions for VS Code and JetBrains. The CLI variant reads MCP server configuration from ~/.aws/amazonq/mcp.json using the standard mcpServers root key, compatible with the canonical format used by Claude Desktop. MCP servers extend Amazon Q's capabilities within the terminal agent, enabling it to interact with external services, query databases, manage infrastructure, and perform multi-step development tasks. The config path sits within the existing ~/.aws directory, making it natural to manage alongside other AWS credentials and settings. The getmcp CLI detects Amazon Q by checking for the ~/.aws/amazonq directory.
Quick Install with getmcp
The fastest way to install MCP servers in Amazon Q Developer is with the getmcp CLI:
▸Config directory not found: Amazon Q creates ~/.aws/amazonq/ after first login. Run q login and complete authentication before adding MCP servers.
▸Server not available in Q chat: Restart the Amazon Q CLI session after editing mcp.json. The config is read at session startup.
▸Authentication errors from MCP servers: API keys and tokens must be set as string values in the env block. They are not inherited from your AWS credentials file.
▸Conflict with AWS CLI credentials: The ~/.aws/amazonq/ directory is separate from ~/.aws/credentials. MCP config changes do not affect your AWS CLI authentication.
