MCP Servers for Codex

Codex reads its servers from ~/.codex/config.toml. Of the 18 391 we track, 5 184 answer right now without any credentials and 2 761 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 Codex

Work as is answering now, no credentials asked 5 184 28.2%

Need a key running, but they will not talk to strangers 2 761 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 2 253 12.3%

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

24 hours agonow

5 184

work with no key

answering now and open to anonymous clients

2 761

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

2 253

listed but dead

skip these — the registry still calls them active

How to add a server to Codex

one file for the whole machine

Open the config

One file for everything — there is no per-project variant to forget about.

open ~/.codex/config.toml

Add a section for the server

Each server is its own table. The name in brackets is what you will see when the tool is called.

[mcp_servers.example]
url = "https://example.com/mcp"

Restart the session

The file is read at start, so an already running session will not notice the change.

What it looks like

a real server, not a placeholder

~/.codex/config.toml Browser Use →

[mcp_servers.browser-use]
command = "uvx"
args = ["browser-use"]

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 Codex

Written from how Codex reads its config, not from its release notes.

TOML, not JSON

This is the one client here that does not take JSON. Copying a block from a Cursor or VS Code example produces a parse error, not a working server — the shape is different, not just the punctuation.

One config, every project

There is no project-level file, so a server added here is present everywhere. Worth thinking about before connecting something that can write.

How is a server written in TOML?

Each server is its own table, named in square brackets, with its settings as plain keys underneath. No nesting of braces, no commas at the end of lines — the structure is flatter than the JSON equivalent, not just spelled differently.

The file was edited but nothing changed

Config is read when the session starts. An already running session keeps the old set of servers no matter what the file says now.

Which servers make sense in a terminal client?

The ones that return text rather than open a window: documentation lookup, repository context, databases, search. A server driving a real browser will work, but its output is meant to be seen.

How to check a server is alive before adding it?

Open its page here. We send a real handshake every 15 minutes and show what came back, including the case where the server is running but refuses anonymous clients.

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

Claude Desktop

One global config for everything, so a server added here is available in every conversation.

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