diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 14a67ff..0417a19 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ make dashboard                # Observable preview on :3000
 make check                    # curl /state/health
 ```
 
-The MCP server is registered in `.mcp.json` at the repo root. After `make install` creates `.venv`, restart Claude Code for `/mcp` to show `state-hub`.
+The MCP server runs as a persistent SSE service (`make mcp-http`, port 8001). Registered at user scope via `claude mcp add-json -s user state-hub '{"type":"sse","url":"http://127.0.0.1:8001/sse"}'`. Restart the MCP server independently — no Claude Code restart needed.
 
 ### Docker Setup (WSL2, one-time)
 
diff --git a/state-hub/Makefile b/state-hub/Makefile
index 4567d68..9016020 100644
--- a/state-hub/Makefile
+++ b/state-hub/Makefile
@@ -25,11 +25,11 @@ migrate:
 seed:
 	uv run python scripts/seed.py
 
-## MCP server in SSE/HTTP mode for remote Claude Code sessions (e.g. COULOMBCORE).
-## Exposes the same tools as the stdio server over HTTP at http://127.0.0.1:8001/sse
-## Remote clients connect via the ops-bridge tunnel (port 18001 on the remote host).
-## Registration on the remote: claude mcp add-json -s user state-hub '{"type":"sse","url":"http://127.0.0.1:18001/sse"}'
+## Start (or restart) the MCP SSE server on :8001 — primary transport for Claude Code.
+## Remote clients (e.g. COULOMBCORE) connect via the ops-bridge tunnel (port 18001).
+## Registration: claude mcp add-json -s user state-hub '{"type":"sse","url":"http://127.0.0.1:8001/sse"}'
 mcp-http:
+	@fuser -k 8001/tcp 2>/dev/null && echo "Stopped running MCP server" || true
 	MCP_TRANSPORT=sse MCP_PORT=8001 uv run python mcp_server/server.py
 
 dashboard:
diff --git a/state-hub/README.md b/state-hub/README.md
index eb35140..f3c2301 100644
--- a/state-hub/README.md
+++ b/state-hub/README.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # State Hub v0.1
 
-The operational brain of the Custodian: a local PostgreSQL database, FastAPI REST service, FastMCP stdio server for Claude Code, Observable Framework dashboard, and a `custodian` CLI.
+The operational brain of the Custodian: a local PostgreSQL database, FastAPI REST service, FastMCP SSE server for Claude Code, Observable Framework dashboard, and a `custodian` CLI.
 
 ---
 
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ The operational brain of the Custodian: a local PostgreSQL database, FastAPI RES
 |-------|-----------|------|
 | Database | PostgreSQL 16-alpine (Docker) | `127.0.0.1:5432` |
 | API | FastAPI + SQLAlchemy 2.0 async + asyncpg | `127.0.0.1:8000` |
-| MCP server | FastMCP stdio (Claude Code native) | stdio |
+| MCP server | FastMCP SSE | `127.0.0.1:8001` |
 | Dashboard | Observable Framework | `127.0.0.1:3000` |
 | CLI | `custodian` (Python, uv entry point) | — |
 
@@ -147,15 +147,22 @@ Returns a full snapshot in one call — used by both the MCP server and dashboar
 
 ## MCP Server
 
-Registered in `~/.claude.json` at user scope. Config in `.mcp.json` (repo root).
+Runs as a persistent SSE service on `:8001`, independent of the Claude Code session.
+Restart it anytime without restarting Claude Code.
 
-Uses absolute path + `PYTHONPATH` so `cwd` is not required:
+```bash
+make mcp-http   # start (or restart) the MCP SSE server on :8001
+```
+
+Registered at user scope in `~/.claude.json`:
 ```json
-{
-  "command": "/home/worsch/the-custodian/state-hub/.venv/bin/python",
-  "args": ["/home/worsch/the-custodian/state-hub/mcp_server/server.py"],
-  "env": { "PYTHONPATH": "/home/worsch/the-custodian/state-hub", "API_BASE": "http://127.0.0.1:8000" }
-}
+{ "type": "sse", "url": "http://127.0.0.1:8001/sse" }
+```
+
+To re-register from scratch:
+```bash
+claude mcp remove state-hub -s user 2>/dev/null || true
+claude mcp add-json -s user state-hub '{"type":"sse","url":"http://127.0.0.1:8001/sse"}'
 ```
 
 See `mcp_server/TOOLS.md` for the full tool reference card (30 lines, faster than reading `server.py`).
@@ -202,7 +209,7 @@ Prints API health, totals, and any blocking decisions.
 | Script | Purpose |
 |--------|---------|
 | `scripts/register_project.sh` | Shell version of `custodian register-project` |
-| `scripts/patch_mcp_cwd.py` | Patches `cwd` into `~/.claude.json` after `claude mcp add-json` drops it |
+| `scripts/patch_mcp_cwd.py` | Legacy: patched `cwd` for the old stdio registration (no longer needed) |
 | `scripts/project_claude_md.template` | CLAUDE.md template with `{PROJECT_NAME}`, `{DOMAIN}`, `{TOPIC_ID}` |
 | `scripts/seed.py` | Insert the 6 canonical topics into a fresh database |
 | `scripts/pull_image.py` | WSL2 workaround: pull Docker images via Python urllib with Range-request chunking |
@@ -231,5 +238,5 @@ rm -rf dashboard/src/.observablehq/cache/
 ## Known Issues / WSL2 Notes
 
 - **TLS bad record MAC on large downloads**: WSL2 corrupts packets on big TCP transfers. Use `scripts/pull_image.py` instead of `docker pull` for future image pulls.
-- **`claude mcp add-json` drops `cwd`**: Known Claude Code bug. Run `python3 scripts/patch_mcp_cwd.py` after any re-registration. The current `.mcp.json` uses absolute path + `PYTHONPATH` so `cwd` is not strictly needed.
+- **MCP server is now SSE, not stdio**: Re-registration is `claude mcp add-json -s user state-hub '{"type":"sse","url":"http://127.0.0.1:8001/sse"}'`. The `patch_mcp_cwd.py` script and `.mcp.json` config are legacy artifacts from the old stdio setup.
 - **AsyncSession concurrency**: SQLAlchemy 2.0 async sessions don't support concurrent operations. All queries in `/state/summary` run sequentially on a single session.