diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 3c1156e..68408ef 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -10,6 +10,22 @@ Versioning follows [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/).
 ## [Unreleased]
 
 ### Added
+- **MCP Client Config** (v0.5 MCP track, part 1 of 2). Pure-Swift
+  data layer for connecting macMLX to external MCP servers (mirror
+  of v0.4.0's MCP server role, but reversed: now we *are* the host
+  and chat models tool-call out to other people's MCP servers).
+  - `MCPClientConfig` Codable struct mirroring Claude Desktop's
+    `~/.claude_desktop_config.json` `mcpServers` shape — users
+    with existing MCP setups can copy the file across without
+    reformatting.
+  - `MCPClientConfigStore` actor reads / writes
+    `~/.mac-mlx/mcp.json`. Missing-file → empty config (no error
+    on first run). Malformed JSON → empty config; the bad bytes
+    stay on disk for the user to fix manually.
+  - 7 new unit tests cover Claude Desktop schema decode, JSON
+    round-trip, missing-file behaviour, and malformed-JSON fall-
+    through. Subprocess pool + chat-side tool-call routing follow
+    in v0.5 MCP track part 2.
 - **LoRA Parameters Inspector picker** (v0.5, part 4 of 4). User-
   facing surface for selecting and applying LoRA adapters.
   - `AppState.adapterStore` actor + `availableAdapters: [LocalAdapter]`
diff --git a/MacMLXCore/Sources/MacMLXCore/MCP/MCPClientConfig.swift b/MacMLXCore/Sources/MacMLXCore/MCP/MCPClientConfig.swift
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c3a032f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/MacMLXCore/Sources/MacMLXCore/MCP/MCPClientConfig.swift
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+import Foundation
+
+/// Codable mirror of Claude Desktop's `~/.claude_desktop_config.json`
+/// `mcpServers` shape (and Cursor's identical schema). Persisted at
+/// `~/.mac-mlx/mcp.json` so users with existing MCP setups can copy
+/// the file across without translating.
+///
+/// Wire format:
+///
+/// ```json
+/// {
+///   "mcpServers": {
+///     "everything": {
+///       "command": "npx",
+///       "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-everything"],
+///       "env": { "OPENAI_API_KEY": "…" }
+///     }
+///   }
+/// }
+/// ```
+public struct MCPClientConfig: Codable, Hashable, Sendable, Equatable {
+
+    /// Map of human-readable server name → spawn instructions.
+    /// The map is unordered on the wire; `MCPClientPool.connectAll`
+    /// iterates `mcpServers.keys.sorted()` for stable ordering in
+    /// tool listings + UI.
+    public var mcpServers: [String: ServerEntry]
+
+    public init(mcpServers: [String: ServerEntry] = [:]) {
+        self.mcpServers = mcpServers
+    }
+
+    public struct ServerEntry: Codable, Hashable, Sendable, Equatable {
+        /// Executable to spawn (`npx`, `uvx`, an absolute path, …).
+        public let command: String
+        /// Arguments passed to the executable. Empty array is fine.
+        public let args: [String]
+        /// Optional environment variables merged into the
+        /// subprocess's environment. Nil means "inherit ours
+        /// unchanged"; an empty dict means "inherit + add nothing".
+        public let env: [String: String]?
+
+        public init(command: String, args: [String] = [], env: [String: String]? = nil) {
+            self.command = command
+            self.args = args
+            self.env = env
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+// MARK: - Persistence
+
+/// Filesystem-backed config loader / saver.
+///
+/// On-disk default: `~/.mac-mlx/mcp.json`. Atomic writes; tolerates
+/// missing files (returns `MCPClientConfig()` with no servers) so
+/// first-run users see an empty list rather than an error.
+public actor MCPClientConfigStore {
+
+    private let url: URL
+    private let fileManager: FileManager
+
+    /// Default URL: `~/.mac-mlx/mcp.json` (real home, dotfile data
+    /// root).
+    public init(url: URL? = nil, fileManager: FileManager = .default) {
+        self.url = url ?? DataRoot.macMLX("mcp.json")
+        self.fileManager = fileManager
+    }
+
+    /// Read the config from disk. Missing file → empty config (no
+    /// servers). Malformed file → empty config + the bad bytes are
+    /// preserved on disk so the user can fix manually.
+    public func load() async -> MCPClientConfig {
+        guard let data = try? Data(contentsOf: url) else {
+            return MCPClientConfig()
+        }
+        return (try? JSONDecoder().decode(MCPClientConfig.self, from: data))
+            ?? MCPClientConfig()
+    }
+
+    /// Persist `config` atomically. Creates the parent directory if
+    /// it doesn't exist yet.
+    public func save(_ config: MCPClientConfig) async throws {
+        let dir = url.deletingLastPathComponent()
+        if !fileManager.fileExists(atPath: dir.path) {
+            try fileManager.createDirectory(at: dir, withIntermediateDirectories: true)
+        }
+        let encoder = JSONEncoder()
+        encoder.outputFormatting = [.prettyPrinted, .sortedKeys]
+        let data = try encoder.encode(config)
+        try data.write(to: url, options: .atomic)
+    }
+}
diff --git a/MacMLXCore/Tests/MacMLXCoreTests/MCP/MCPClientConfigTests.swift b/MacMLXCore/Tests/MacMLXCoreTests/MCP/MCPClientConfigTests.swift
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b7e07f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/MacMLXCore/Tests/MacMLXCoreTests/MCP/MCPClientConfigTests.swift
@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+import Testing
+import Foundation
+@testable import MacMLXCore
+
+@Suite("MCPClientConfig")
+struct MCPClientConfigTests {
+
+    @Test
+    func decodesClaudeDesktopShape() throws {
+        let json = """
+        {
+          "mcpServers": {
+            "everything": {
+              "command": "npx",
+              "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-everything"]
+            },
+            "filesystem": {
+              "command": "uvx",
+              "args": ["mcp-server-filesystem", "/tmp"],
+              "env": { "FOO": "bar" }
+            }
+          }
+        }
+        """
+        let config = try JSONDecoder().decode(MCPClientConfig.self, from: Data(json.utf8))
+        #expect(config.mcpServers.count == 2)
+
+        let everything = try #require(config.mcpServers["everything"])
+        #expect(everything.command == "npx")
+        #expect(everything.args == ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-everything"])
+        #expect(everything.env == nil)
+
+        let fs = try #require(config.mcpServers["filesystem"])
+        #expect(fs.env?["FOO"] == "bar")
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    func roundTripsThroughJSON() throws {
+        let original = MCPClientConfig(mcpServers: [
+            "x": .init(command: "uvx", args: ["mcp-server-x"], env: nil),
+            "y": .init(command: "node", args: ["server.js"], env: ["KEY": "val"]),
+        ])
+        let data = try JSONEncoder().encode(original)
+        let back = try JSONDecoder().decode(MCPClientConfig.self, from: data)
+        #expect(back == original)
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    func emptyConfigDecodesAndEncodes() throws {
+        let json = #"{"mcpServers": {}}"#
+        let cfg = try JSONDecoder().decode(MCPClientConfig.self, from: Data(json.utf8))
+        #expect(cfg.mcpServers.isEmpty)
+    }
+}
+
+@Suite("MCPClientConfigStore", .serialized)
+struct MCPClientConfigStoreTests {
+
+    @Test
+    func loadReturnsEmptyConfigWhenFileMissing() async throws {
+        let temp = try TempDir()
+        let store = MCPClientConfigStore(url: temp.url.appendingPathComponent("mcp.json"))
+        let cfg = await store.load()
+        #expect(cfg.mcpServers.isEmpty)
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    func saveAndLoadRoundTrip() async throws {
+        let temp = try TempDir()
+        let store = MCPClientConfigStore(url: temp.url.appendingPathComponent("mcp.json"))
+        let original = MCPClientConfig(mcpServers: [
+            "everything": .init(command: "npx", args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-everything"])
+        ])
+        try await store.save(original)
+        let loaded = await store.load()
+        #expect(loaded == original)
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    func saveCreatesParentDirectory() async throws {
+        let temp = try TempDir()
+        let nestedURL = temp.url
+            .appendingPathComponent("never-existed", isDirectory: true)
+            .appendingPathComponent("also-not", isDirectory: true)
+            .appendingPathComponent("mcp.json")
+        let store = MCPClientConfigStore(url: nestedURL)
+        try await store.save(MCPClientConfig())
+        #expect(FileManager.default.fileExists(atPath: nestedURL.path))
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    func loadReturnsEmptyConfigOnMalformedJSON() async throws {
+        let temp = try TempDir()
+        let url = temp.url.appendingPathComponent("mcp.json")
+        try Data("{not json".utf8).write(to: url)
+        let store = MCPClientConfigStore(url: url)
+        let cfg = await store.load()
+        #expect(cfg.mcpServers.isEmpty, "malformed file must not crash; loader returns empty")
+    }
+}
+
+private struct TempDir {
+    let url: URL
+    init() throws {
+        let base = FileManager.default.temporaryDirectory
+            .appendingPathComponent("macmlx-mcp-config-tests-\(UUID().uuidString)", isDirectory: true)
+        try FileManager.default.createDirectory(at: base, withIntermediateDirectories: true)
+        self.url = base
+    }
+}