Ref Tools MCP Server

by ref Your server? Claim it

answering

Ref Tools MCP is answering right now. Last checked 11 min ago. Last commit 29 Sep 2026.

Token-efficient search for coding agents over public and private documentation.

Uptime history 91 days of history · worst day 95%

91 days agonow

100.0%

Uptime 24h

91 of 91 checks

—

Tools

hidden behind auth

246 ms

Response time

average over 24h

1 183

Stars

last commit 29 Sep 2026

Nothing serious here today

Today is the operative word: we check Ref Tools MCP every 15 minutes and re-read its code on every release. Watch it and you find out the day that stops being true.

Connect this server

Endpoint below is the one we actually reach during checks — not the one copied from a README. Last verified 11 min ago.

Claude Code Claude Desktop Codex Cursor VS Code

run in your terminal

claude mcp add ref-tools-mcp --transport http https://api.ref.tools/mcp

Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector, then paste this address

https://api.ref.tools/mcp

~/.codex/config.toml

[mcp_servers.ref-tools-mcp]
url = "https://api.ref.tools/mcp"

.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ref-tools-mcp": {
      "url": "https://api.ref.tools/mcp"
    }
  }
}

.vscode/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "ref-tools-mcp": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.ref.tools/mcp"
    }
  }
}

This endpoint answered with an authorization challenge. The server is running, but it did not say what kind of credentials it expects.

Endpoints

URL	Transport	State	Latency	Checked
https://api.ref.tools/mcp	streamable-http	needs auth	222 ms	11 min ago

Alternatives to Ref Tools MCP

same job, measured the same way

Ref Tools MCP

by ref-tools

Token efficient search for coding agents over public and private documentation.

1 347 installs/wk local only

Fabricate

by fabricate

Public Fabricate pricing and documentation tools.

4 tools answering

OpenVidu Docs

by openvidu

The official OpenVidu documentation, per version, for coding agents.

7 tools answering

DotNetSearch

by puneethdc99

Token-efficient MCP server for codebase search, NuGet decompilation, and deep PDF reading.

local only

Llmref

by llmref

Versioned documentation registry and semantic search for AI tools and coding assistants.

5 tools answering

Ref Tools Ref Tools MCP

by smithery

Provide your AI coding tools with token-efficient access to up-to-date technical documentation for…

answering

Semlith

by semlith

Local search over your code and documents for AI agents.

local only

Lynta Public Documentation

by lyntahq

Search and read Lynta's public documentation.

answering

Ref Tools MCP — questions

Answers built from our own checks of this server.

Why is there no tool list for Ref Tools MCP?

The server answered our handshake with an authorization challenge, so it is running — but it will not describe its tools to an anonymous client. To see them you need to connect with your own credentials. We record it as alive, not as broken: 100.0% of checks in the last 24 hours got a reply.

Is Ref Tools MCP working right now?

We send a real MCP handshake every 15 minutes. Over the last 24 hours 91 of 91 checks got a reply (100.0%), average response time 246 ms. The bar chart above shows every period we have measured.

How do I connect Ref Tools MCP?

Copy the ready config from this page. We generate it for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Codex, Cursor and VS Code, each in the form that client actually reads. It is a remote server, so there is nothing to install — the client connects to the address. You will need your own credentials: it refuses anonymous clients.

Does Ref Tools MCP need an API key?

Yes. Every time we knock, Ref Tools MCP answers with an authorization challenge instead of its tool list — that is how we know it is running and gated rather than broken. Bring your own credentials and it will talk.

How fast is Ref Tools MCP?

It answers our handshake in 246 ms on average, which is faster than 58% of all working MCP servers we measure. The comparison comes from our own checks across the whole registry, every 15 minutes.

Is Ref Tools MCP open source?

The code is open source: it is published under the MIT licence, written in TypeScript, 1 183 stars on GitHub and 5 open issues. The licence covers the code in the repository, not the hosted service at api.ref.tools, which runs on its operator's own terms.