Best MCP Servers for Claude Desktop in 2026

The best MCP servers for Claude Desktop are the ones that transform Claude from a conversational AI into a capable agent that reads your files, queries your databases, manages your code, and automates your workflows. After testing dozens of MCP servers across development, productivity, and data workflows, we have compiled the top 15 servers that every Claude Desktop user should consider.

For the full guide on connecting MCP servers to Claude Desktop, see our complete walkthrough: How to Connect MCP Servers to Claude Desktop and Claude Code.

How We Selected These Servers

We evaluated MCP servers across five criteria:

Criteria	What We Looked For
Reliability	Stable connections, graceful error handling, no crashes mid-conversation
Tool Quality	Well-defined tool schemas, clear descriptions, predictable behavior
Ease of Setup	One-line install via npx or uvx, minimal configuration needed
Active Maintenance	Regular updates, responsive maintainers, compatible with latest MCP spec
Practical Value	Solves real problems in daily Claude Desktop workflows

Top 15 MCP Servers for Claude Desktop

1. Filesystem Server

Category: File Management Publisher: Anthropic (Official) Best for: Reading, writing, searching, and managing local files

The official Filesystem server is the foundation of most Claude Desktop setups. It gives Claude controlled access to directories you specify, enabling file reading, writing, moving, and searching.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/Users/you/projects", "/Users/you/documents"]
    }
  }
}

Key tools: read_file, write_file, list_directory, search_files, move_file

Why it ranks first: Almost every Claude Desktop workflow benefits from filesystem access. Whether you are writing code, editing documents, or organizing files, this server is essential.

2. GitHub Server

Category: Version Control Publisher: GitHub / Community Best for: Managing repositories, issues, pull requests, and code reviews

The GitHub MCP server connects Claude to your repositories so it can create branches, open pull requests, review code diffs, search issues, and manage releases.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "ghp_your_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Key tools: create_pull_request, search_repositories, get_file_contents, create_issue, list_commits

Why it ranks highly: GitHub is central to most development workflows. Giving Claude direct access eliminates context-switching between your chat and the browser.

For more on version control MCP servers, see Version Control Servers.

3. Brave Search Server

Category: Web Search Publisher: Brave / Community Best for: Giving Claude real-time web search capabilities

Claude Desktop does not have built-in internet access. The Brave Search MCP server fixes that by giving Claude the ability to perform web searches and return structured results.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-search": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search"],
      "env": {
        "BRAVE_API_KEY": "your_brave_api_key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Key tools: brave_web_search, brave_local_search

Why it ranks highly: Web search is the single most requested capability for Claude Desktop. Brave Search offers a generous free tier and high-quality results.

4. PostgreSQL / SQLite Database Servers

Category: Databases Publisher: Community Best for: Querying databases, analyzing data, generating reports

Database MCP servers let Claude run SQL queries, explore schemas, and analyze your data without you needing to copy-paste query results manually.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "postgres": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres"],
      "env": {
        "POSTGRES_CONNECTION_STRING": "postgresql://user:pass@localhost:5432/mydb"
      }
    },
    "sqlite": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-sqlite", "/path/to/database.db"]
    }
  }
}

Key tools: query, list_tables, describe_table, read_resource (for schema inspection)

Explore more options in our Database and Vector DB Servers guide.

5. Puppeteer Browser Automation Server

Category: Browser Automation Publisher: Community Best for: Web scraping, screenshot capture, automated testing, form filling

Puppeteer gives Claude a headless browser it can control -- navigating pages, clicking elements, extracting content, and taking screenshots.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "puppeteer": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-puppeteer"]
    }
  }
}

Key tools: puppeteer_navigate, puppeteer_screenshot, puppeteer_click, puppeteer_fill, puppeteer_evaluate

For more browser automation options, see Browser Automation Servers.

6. Slack Server

Category: Communication Publisher: Community Best for: Reading messages, posting updates, searching channels, managing workflows

The Slack MCP server lets Claude interact with your workspace -- searching messages, posting updates, and reading channel history.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slack": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-slack"],
      "env": {
        "SLACK_BOT_TOKEN": "xoxb-your-token",
        "SLACK_TEAM_ID": "T0123456789"
      }
    }
  }
}

Key tools: send_message, search_messages, list_channels, get_channel_history

Learn more about communication integrations in our Productivity and Communication Servers overview.

7. Google Drive Server

Category: Cloud Storage Publisher: Community Best for: Searching, reading, and managing Google Drive files and documents

This server gives Claude access to your Google Drive, enabling it to search across files, read document contents, and help you organize your cloud storage.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gdrive": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-gdrive"],
      "env": {
        "GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID": "your_client_id",
        "GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET": "your_client_secret"
      }
    }
  }
}

Key tools: search_files, read_file, list_files

8. Memory / Knowledge Graph Server

Category: Persistence Publisher: Community Best for: Giving Claude persistent memory across conversations

Claude Desktop conversations are stateless by default. The Memory server gives Claude a knowledge graph it can write to and read from, enabling it to remember facts, preferences, and context across sessions.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "memory": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-memory"]
    }
  }
}

Key tools: create_entity, create_relation, search_nodes, open_nodes

Why it stands out: Persistent memory is one of the most impactful upgrades you can make to Claude Desktop. It turns Claude from a conversation-by-conversation tool into an assistant that learns your preferences over time.

9. Notion Server

Category: Productivity Publisher: Community Best for: Managing Notion pages, databases, and knowledge bases

Connect Claude to your Notion workspace to search pages, read content, create new entries, and update databases.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notion": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "notion-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "NOTION_API_KEY": "ntn_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Key tools: search_pages, read_page, create_page, update_database_entry

10. Sequential Thinking Server

Category: Reasoning Publisher: Community Best for: Complex multi-step reasoning and problem decomposition

This server provides Claude with a structured thinking tool that breaks complex problems into sequential steps, improving accuracy on difficult analytical tasks.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sequential-thinking": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking"]
    }
  }
}

Key tools: sequentialthinking

11. Sentry Server

Category: Developer Tools Publisher: Sentry Best for: Debugging production errors, analyzing crash reports

The Sentry MCP server lets Claude search and analyze error reports from your Sentry projects, helping you debug production issues directly in conversation.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sentry": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@sentry/mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN": "your_sentry_token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Key tools: search_issues, get_issue_details, list_projects

Explore more in our Developer Tools Servers category.

12. Docker Server

Category: Infrastructure Publisher: Docker / Community Best for: Managing containers, images, and Docker Compose stacks

Give Claude the ability to list, start, stop, and inspect Docker containers and images -- useful for development environment management.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "docker": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "docker-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Key tools: list_containers, start_container, stop_container, container_logs, list_images

13. Todoist / Linear Server

Category: Task Management Publisher: Community Best for: Managing tasks, projects, and sprint boards

Task management servers connect Claude to your project management tools, letting it create tasks, update statuses, and search through backlogs.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "linear": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "linear-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "LINEAR_API_KEY": "lin_api_your_key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Key tools: create_issue, search_issues, update_issue, list_projects

14. AWS Server

Category: Cloud Infrastructure Publisher: Community Best for: Managing AWS resources, checking costs, monitoring services

The AWS MCP server gives Claude access to your AWS infrastructure for checking resource status, reading CloudWatch logs, and managing services.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aws": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "aws-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID": "your_access_key",
        "AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY": "your_secret_key",
        "AWS_REGION": "us-east-1"
      }
    }
  }
}

Key tools: list_resources, describe_instance, get_logs, check_costs

See our Cloud Provider Servers guide for more cloud options.

15. Fetch / HTTP Server

Category: Web Requests Publisher: Anthropic (Official) Best for: Making HTTP requests, fetching web page content, calling APIs

The Fetch server gives Claude the ability to make HTTP requests, retrieve web page content as markdown, and call REST APIs.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fetch": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-fetch"]
    }
  }
}

Key tools: fetch

Quick Comparison Table

Server	Category	Setup Difficulty	Free Tier	Best Use Case
Filesystem	Files	Easy	Yes (open source)	Local file management
GitHub	Version Control	Easy	Yes	Code repos and PRs
Brave Search	Web Search	Easy	Yes (2,000 queries/mo)	Real-time web search
PostgreSQL/SQLite	Database	Medium	Yes (open source)	Data analysis
Puppeteer	Browser	Easy	Yes (open source)	Web scraping
Slack	Communication	Medium	Yes (with Slack app)	Team messaging
Google Drive	Cloud Storage	Medium	Yes (with OAuth)	Document search
Memory	Persistence	Easy	Yes (open source)	Cross-session memory
Notion	Productivity	Easy	Yes (with API key)	Knowledge management
Sequential Thinking	Reasoning	Easy	Yes (open source)	Complex analysis
Sentry	DevOps	Easy	Yes (free tier)	Error debugging
Docker	Infrastructure	Easy	Yes (open source)	Container management
Linear/Todoist	Tasks	Easy	Yes (with API key)	Project management
AWS	Cloud	Medium	Yes (with credentials)	Cloud resource management
Fetch	HTTP	Easy	Yes (open source)	API calls and web content

Recommended Starter Bundles

For Software Developers

Start with these five servers for a powerful development setup:

Filesystem -- read and write code files
GitHub -- manage repos and PRs
Docker -- manage development containers
Sentry -- debug production errors
Brave Search -- look up documentation

For Knowledge Workers

These four servers create a productive general-purpose assistant:

Filesystem -- manage local documents
Google Drive -- access cloud files
Notion -- interact with knowledge bases
Memory -- maintain context across conversations

For Data Analysts

Three servers that turn Claude into a data analysis assistant:

PostgreSQL or SQLite -- query your databases directly
Filesystem -- read and write CSV/JSON files
Fetch -- pull data from APIs

Compatibility Notes

All servers listed above are compatible with Claude Desktop on macOS, Windows, and Linux. Keep these considerations in mind:

Consideration	Details
Node.js requirement	Most servers run via npx, which requires Node.js 18 or later installed on your system
Python servers	Some servers use uvx instead of npx, requiring Python 3.10 or later and uv installed
Restart required	Claude Desktop must be fully restarted after any config change -- use Cmd+Q on macOS or fully close the app on Windows
Multiple servers	You can run as many servers as you want simultaneously; see our guide on configuring multiple MCP servers
Performance	Each server runs as a separate process; running 10+ servers may increase memory usage by 200-500 MB total