Essential MCP Servers

MCP servers are plugins that give Claude Code access to external tools, data sources, and services. This guide covers the 10 most essential servers with exact installation commands and real-world examples.

How to Read This Guide

Every server includes two setup methods: the claude mcp add CLI command (fastest) and the equivalent JSON config (for .mcp.json). Pick whichever you prefer — they produce the same result.

Quick Reference

MCP Server	What It Does	Best For
GitHub	PR management, issue tracking, code search	Team development workflows
PostgreSQL / SQLite	Natural language DB queries, schema inspection	Data analysis & debugging
Playwright	Browser automation, screenshots, E2E testing	QA & visual verification
Brave Search	Live web search, current documentation	Overcoming training cutoff
Sentry	Error tracking, stack traces, root cause analysis	Production debugging
Filesystem	Secure file read/write with directory controls	File operations outside project
Sequential Thinking	Structured multi-step reasoning	Architecture decisions
Memory / Context7	Persistent memory, live documentation	Long-running projects
Fetch	URL fetching, HTML-to-markdown conversion	Reading external docs & APIs
Slack	Read/send messages, search workspace history	Team communication

1. GitHub MCP

Connects Claude directly to your repositories for PR management, issue tracking, code search, and commit history.

Best For

Teams using GitHub who want Claude to manage PRs, triage issues, review code, and automate repository workflows without leaving the terminal.

Setup

CLI:

Bash

claude mcp add --transport http -s user github \
  https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/ \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_GITHUB_PAT"

JSON Config:

JSON

1{
2  "mcpServers": {
3    "github": {
4      "type": "http",
5      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
6      "headers": {
7        "Authorization": "Bearer ${GITHUB_PAT}"
8      }
9    }
10  }
11}

Personal Access Token

Create a GitHub PAT at Settings > Developer Settings > Personal Access Tokens > Fine-grained tokens. Grant repo, issues, and pull_requests permissions.

Real-World Prompts

Bash

List all open PRs that need review and summarize what each one changes.

Bash

Search our repo for files that import the deprecated legacy-auth module.
Create an issue tracking the migration.

Bash

Look at the last 10 commits on main. Are there any that touched both
the API routes and database schema? Summarize the changes.

2. PostgreSQL / Database MCPs

Query databases in plain English, inspect schemas, and analyze data.

Best For

Data analysis, debugging production issues, understanding unfamiliar schemas, and generating reports from live data.

PostgreSQL Setup

CLI:

Bash

claude mcp add postgres -- \
  npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres \
  "postgresql://readonly:password@localhost:5432/mydb"

JSON Config:

JSON

1{
2  "mcpServers": {
3    "postgres": {
4      "command": "npx",
5      "args": [
6        "-y",
7        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres",
8        "postgresql://readonly:password@localhost:5432/mydb"
9      ]
10    }
11  }
12}

SQLite Setup

Bash

claude mcp add sqlite -- \
  npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-sqlite \
  /absolute/path/to/database.sqlite

Security: Always Use Read-Only Access

Never connect with write credentials to production. Create a read-only user:

SQL

CREATE ROLE claude_readonly WITH LOGIN PASSWORD 'secure_password';
GRANT CONNECT ON DATABASE mydb TO claude_readonly;
GRANT SELECT ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA public TO claude_readonly;

Real-World Prompts

Bash

Show me the schema for the users and orders tables. How are they related?

Bash

How many users signed up each month this year? Flag unusual drops.

Bash

Find the top 10 customers by total order value in the last 90 days.

3. Playwright (Browser Automation)

Automate browsers for screenshot verification, E2E testing, and web scraping.

Best For

Visual verification of UI changes, automated E2E testing, web scraping, and checking deployed features.

Setup

Bash

claude mcp add playwright -- npx @playwright/mcp@latest

JSON

1{
2  "mcpServers": {
3    "playwright": {
4      "command": "npx",
5      "args": ["@playwright/mcp@latest"]
6    }
7  }
8}

Puppeteer is Deprecated

The official @modelcontextprotocol/server-puppeteer package has been deprecated. Use Microsoft's Playwright MCP instead.

Real-World Prompts

Bash

Open http://localhost:3000 and take a screenshot. Does the homepage
look correct? Check nav, hero section, and footer.

Bash

Navigate to the login page, fill in test@example.com / testpass123,
click Submit, and verify we land on the dashboard.

Bash

Open our pricing page and scrape all plan names, prices, and
features into a markdown table.

4. Brave Search (Web Search)

Search the live web to overcome Claude's training cutoff.

Best For

Looking up current documentation, finding error solutions, checking latest library versions, and researching changed APIs.

Setup

Bash

claude mcp add --env BRAVE_API_KEY=YOUR_KEY brave-search -- \
  npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search

Getting a Brave API Key

Real-World Prompts

Bash

Search for the latest Next.js 15 app router migration guide.
What breaking changes should I know about?

Bash

I'm getting "Module not found: Can't resolve '@supabase/ssr'".
Search for the current fix.

5. Sentry (Error Tracking)

Connect Claude to your Sentry account to read error reports and correlate bugs with code changes.

Best For

Debugging production errors, triaging by frequency and impact, and connecting stack traces to code changes.

Setup

Bash

# Remote MCP with OAuth — nothing to install
claude mcp add --transport http sentry https://mcp.sentry.dev/mcp

JSON

1{
2  "mcpServers": {
3    "sentry": {
4      "type": "http",
5      "url": "https://mcp.sentry.dev/mcp"
6    }
7  }
8}

OAuth Authentication

Sentry uses OAuth — you will be prompted to log in via your browser the first time Claude connects. No API key needed.

Real-World Prompts

Bash

What are the top 5 unresolved errors from the last 24 hours? Rank by frequency.

Bash

Show the full stack trace for issue PROJ-1234. What's the likely root cause?

Bash

Did any new errors start after yesterday's deploy?

6. Filesystem

Secure local file operations with directory-level access controls.

When Do You Need This?

Claude Code already has built-in file access within your project. The Filesystem MCP is for accessing files outside your project — config files in ~/, data in ~/Downloads, etc.

Setup

Bash

claude mcp add filesystem -- \
  npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem \
  /Users/you/Documents \
  /Users/you/Downloads

Limit Directory Access

Only grant access to directories Claude actually needs. Never add / or your entire home directory.

Real-World Prompts

Bash

List all CSV files in my Downloads folder from the last week.

Bash

Find all package.json files across ~/Documents and list which use React 18 vs 19.

7. Sequential Thinking

Structured reasoning for complex problems — Claude thinks step-by-step with the ability to revise and branch.

Best For

Complex architectural decisions, multi-step debugging, system design, and migration planning.

Setup

Bash

claude mcp add sequential-thinking -- \
  npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking

You Must Ask For It

Claude won't automatically use sequential thinking. Say "use sequential thinking" or "think through this step by step using the sequential thinking tool."

Real-World Prompts

Bash

Use sequential thinking to analyze whether we should migrate
from Pages Router to App Router. Consider: codebase size,
team familiarity, feature requirements, and migration risk.

Bash

Use sequential thinking to debug why authentication state
isn't persisting across page refreshes.

8. Memory & Context7

Two complementary servers for long-term memory and current documentation.

Memory (Knowledge Graph)

Persistent memory that lets Claude remember information across sessions.

Bash

claude mcp add memory -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-memory

Prompts:

Bash

Remember that our project uses Supabase RLS with soft deletes,
and we always use supabase.auth.getUser() in server components.

Bash

What do you remember about our project's architecture?

Context7 (Live Documentation)

Fetches up-to-date, version-specific documentation from official sources.

Bash

claude mcp add context7 -- npx -y @upstash/context7-mcp@latest

Usage Trigger

Append "use context7" to any prompt and Claude will fetch current docs before generating code.

Prompts:

Bash

How do I set up server-side auth with Supabase in Next.js 15? use context7

Bash

Show me the current API for React Query's useMutation with TypeScript. use context7

9. Fetch

Fetch any URL and convert it to markdown — read documentation, API responses, and web pages.

Bash

claude mcp add fetch -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-fetch

Real-World Prompts

Bash

Fetch https://supabase.com/docs/guides/auth/server-side/nextjs
and summarize the key setup steps.

Bash

Fetch our API at https://api.example.com/v1/schema and generate
TypeScript types from the JSON response.

10. Slack

Read and send Slack messages, search workspace history.

Bash

claude mcp add --env SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=xoxb-YOUR-TOKEN \
  --env SLACK_TEAM_ID=T0123456789 \
  slack -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-slack

Creating a Slack Bot Token

Create an app at api.slack.com/apps
Add scopes: channels:history, channels:read, chat:write, users:read
Install to your workspace and copy the Bot User OAuth Token (xoxb-)

Real-World Prompts

Bash

Search #engineering for discussions about the database migration
from the last week. Summarize key decisions.

Bash

Draft a message for #team-updates summarizing what I shipped
this week based on my recent git commits. Show me the draft first.

Managing Your Servers

Bash

claude mcp list              # List all configured servers
claude mcp get github        # Details for a specific server
claude mcp remove github     # Remove a server
claude mcp add -s user fetch -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-fetch  # User scope (all projects)

Scoping Strategy

Use -s user for servers you want everywhere (Brave Search, Memory, Fetch). Use the default local scope for project-specific servers (databases, Sentry).

Recommended Starter Stack

#	Server	Why Start Here
1	Context7	Eliminates outdated code suggestions immediately
2	Playwright	Visual verification of UI changes
3	GitHub	Automates PR and issue workflow end-to-end

Then add Brave Search and Memory as your second round — and project-specific servers (Postgres, Sentry, Slack) as your workflow demands them.

Next Steps

Building Custom MCPs → — When existing servers don't cover your needs
Workflows & Troubleshooting → — Combine servers into real workflows
MCP Fundamentals → — Deeper protocol understanding

Start Small, Then Expand

Pick one MCP server that solves your biggest pain point. Use it for a week until it feels natural. Then add another. Within a month, you'll have Claude querying your database, verifying your UI, and managing your GitHub workflow — all from a single terminal.