Best Claude MCP Servers
Model Context Protocol servers that connect Claude to tools and data.
What are MCP Servers?
MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard published by Anthropic in late 2024 that lets AI assistants talk to external tools, databases, APIs and data sources through a common JSON-RPC interface. An MCP server is a small program, local or remote, that exposes one or more of three primitives: tools (functions Claude can call), resources (data Claude can read) and prompts (templates Claude can use).
Think of MCP as USB-C for AI. Before MCP you had to write a custom adapter every time you wanted Claude to read your Notion, query Postgres or control a browser. After MCP, anyone can publish a server in any language; Claude (and now OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Cursor, Zed, Continue, Warp…) discovers it automatically and can use it in conversation. The ecosystem went from 50 servers in January 2025 to over 1.990 today.
Below you'll find the largest curated MCP server directory on the web, every server with stars, last activity, language, license and our automatic Trust Score. Sort by Recientes to see what's been pushed today.
Questions about MCP Servers
How do I install an MCP server in Claude Desktop?+
Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (Windows), add the server config under mcpServers, then restart Claude Desktop. Each repo's page on ClaudeWave shows the exact JSON to paste.
What's the difference between stdio and HTTP MCP servers?+
Stdio servers run as a child process of Claude and communicate over stdin/stdout, best for local tools. HTTP servers expose an SSE endpoint over the network, best for remote services or shared infrastructure. The protocol is the same; the transport changes.
Can MCP servers access my files and execute commands?+
Yes, that's the point. Many servers (filesystem, shell, github) need filesystem or network access. Always read the README before installing, and prefer servers with a high Trust Score. Use Claude's tool-confirmation prompts to approve each call manually if you want extra safety.
Do MCP servers work outside Claude?+
Yes. OpenAI adopted MCP in April 2025 (ChatGPT desktop, agents API). Google DeepMind, Cursor, Zed, Continue, Warp and most serious AI tooling speak MCP. The same server file works across all of them.
How do I write my own MCP server?+
Use one of the official SDKs, TypeScript (@modelcontextprotocol/sdk), Python (mcp), Go, Rust, Java. Define your tools with JSON Schema, expose them over stdio or HTTP, register in claude_desktop_config.json. Anthropic's docs and the templates in this directory walk you through a hello-world in 10 minutes.