MCP Servers for Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop reads its servers from ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Of the 18 391 we track, 5 142 answer right now without any credentials and 2 762 work but ask for a key. The blocks below are ready to paste — each is built from the address we actually reached, in the format this client expects.

What 18 391 servers look like from Claude Desktop

Work as is answering now, no credentials asked 5 142 28.0%

Need a key running, but they will not talk to strangers 2 762 15.0%

Run locally installed from a package, nothing to reach over the network 8 193 44.5%

Not responding listed as active, answer nothing 2 294 12.5%

Availability, last 24 hours share of the 10 198 remote servers answering, hour by hour

24 hours agonow

5 142

work with no key

answering now and open to anonymous clients

2 762

need a key or OAuth

running, but they will not talk to strangers

8 193

run on your machine

installed from npm or PyPI, no uptime to measure

2 294

listed but dead

skip these — the registry still calls them active

How to add a server to Claude Desktop

one file for the whole app

Open the config file

It sits inside the application support folder, which Finder hides by default.

open ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Paste the server block

Same JSON shape as Cursor and VS Code use — those blocks are interchangeable.

Restart the app

Not just the conversation, the whole application: the config is read once at launch.

What it looks like

a real server, not a placeholder

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Browser Use →

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "browser-use": {
      "args": [
        "browser-use"
      ],
      "command": "uvx"
    }
  }
}

Servers to start with

all 18 391 in the catalogue →

Browser Use

com.browser-use/browser-use

Control a real Chrome browser to complete any task: fill forms, extract data, book flights.

13 290 541 installs/wk local only

Playwright MCP

io.github.microsoft/playwright-mcp

Playwright Tools for MCP

6 121 100 installs/wk local only

Firebase MCP

io.github.firebase/firebase-mcp

Gives AI development tools Firebase-specific capabilities and expertise.

2 595 297 installs/wk local only

Storybook MCP Addon

io.github.storybookjs/addon-mcp

Help agents automatically write and test stories for your UI components.

1 753 385 installs/wk local only

Chrome DevTools MCP

io.github.ChromeDevTools/chrome-devtools-mcp

MCP server for Chrome DevTools

1 472 171 installs/wk local only

Context7

io.github.upstash/context7

Up-to-date code docs for any prompt

831 862 installs/wk local only

Snyk

io.snyk/mcp

Easily find and fix security issues in your applications leveraging Snyk platform capabilities.

677 756 installs/wk local only

AWS MCP Server

io.github.aws/mcp-proxy-for-aws

AWS MCP Server lets AI securely access AWS using docs, API calls, and SOP workflows.

383 152 installs/wk local only

Homespun

dev.homespun/homespun

Deploy a multi-user web app from your agent: hosting, auth, database, and permissions.

5 127 installs/wk 22 tools answering

Telnyx

io.github.team-telnyx/telnyx

Official TypeScript library for the Telnyx API

238 394 installs/wk local only

EdgarTools

io.github.dgunning/edgartools

Open-source SEC EDGAR toolkit — 11 tools, 7 prompts, every filing type. No API key required.

232 098 installs/wk local only

Scrapling MCP Server

io.github.D4Vinci/Scrapling

Web scraping with stealth HTTP, real browsers, and Cloudflare bypass. CSS selectors supported.

214 163 installs/wk local only

Browse all 18 391 servers the list is the same for every client — only the config differs

Things that trip people up with Claude Desktop

Written from how Claude Desktop reads its config, not from its release notes.

Available in every conversation

There is no per-project scope here. A server added once is loaded for everything you do in the app, which is convenient and worth being deliberate about.

Restart actually means restart

Closing the window is not enough on macOS — the process keeps running and the file is not re-read. Quit properly, then reopen.

Where is the file if it does not exist yet?

It is created the first time settings are saved, and the folder it lives in is hidden by default. Creating it by hand at the same path works just as well.

Can blocks from Cursor or VS Code be reused?

Yes — the JSON shape is identical across all three. Only the file path and the scope of the settings differ.

Why does a server work for one person and not another?

Local servers run with the permissions and environment of whoever launched them. A missing key in the environment or a path that exists on one machine and not another produces a server that looks broken but is not.

How many of the servers out there actually work?

Of the 19 757 published in the official registry, 7 875 answer a real handshake. The rest are either local — with nothing to reach over the network — or listed as active while responding to nothing.

Same servers, other clients

the servers are the same — the config format is not

Claude Code

Adds servers by command, so nothing to edit by hand. Handles both local processes and remote endpoints, including OAuth logins.

run in your terminal

Cursor

Config sits in the project folder, so servers can differ per repository — useful when one project needs database access and another must not have it.

.cursor/mcp.json

VS Code

Works through GitHub Copilot's agent mode. Like Cursor, the config is per workspace rather than global.

.vscode/mcp.json

Codex

The only client here that uses TOML rather than JSON, so a config copied from elsewhere will not work as is.

~/.codex/config.toml