MCP reference servers review

Q: How do I install MCP reference servers?

Run npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-memory. It needs Node.js >=24. The install section above has the other options from the project's README.

MCP reference servers is a collection of reference Model Context Protocol server implementations maintained by the MCP steering group.

Updated Nov 1, 2026. Review written Oct 22, 2026 from the project's own sources; usage data refreshed every Monday.

TL;DR

MCP reference servers is a small set of example Model Context Protocol servers, including Filesystem, Git, Fetch, Memory and Time. The servers are educational examples for developers building their own MCP servers. They demonstrate MCP features and SDK usage and are not intended as production-ready solutions.

91.7kGitHub stars
+203new stars, week of Oct 25
~1.4Mdownloads a week, +112% vs 4-week avg
#10in MCP and agent tools this week

MCP reference servers at a glance

Category: MCP and agent tools
Maintained by: Model Context Protocol (organization, @modelcontextprotocol on GitHub)
Language: TypeScript, JavaScript, Python
Repository: github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers
Website: modelcontextprotocol.io
npm package: @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem 2.0.0
npm package: @modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking 2.0.0
Latest release: v2.0.0 on GitHub, Oct 19, 2026
First published: Nov 19, 2024

What MCP reference servers does

The Filesystem server provides file operations with configurable access controls.
The Git server provides tools to read, search, and manipulate Git repositories.
The Fetch server fetches web content and converts it for LLM use.
The Memory server provides persistent memory based on a knowledge graph.
The Time server provides time and timezone conversion.
The Sequential Thinking server supports problem-solving through thought sequences.
The Everything server is a reference and test server with prompts, resources, and tools.

How it works

MCP reference servers are typically built with an MCP SDK. TypeScript servers run with npx, and Python servers run with uvx or pip. Running a server on its own isn't very useful. Instead, you configure it in an MCP client such as Claude Desktop through an mcpServers JSON entry that gives the command and arguments.

How to install and start using MCP reference servers

Memory server with npx

npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-memory

Git server with uvx

uvx mcp-server-git

Git server with pip

pip install mcp-server-git

Requirements

Node.js 24 or later for the Filesystem and Sequential Thinking npm packages.
uv/uvx or pip for the Python-based servers.
An MCP client to make practical use of a server.

First steps

Install uv/uvx for Python servers, or use npx for TypeScript servers.
Add the server to your MCP client's mcpServers configuration, such as Claude Desktop, with its command and args.
On Windows, wrap npx entries with "cmd" and "/c". Leave uvx entries unchanged.
Pass server arguments where needed, such as allowed file paths for Filesystem or --repository for Git.

Who MCP reference servers is for

Developers learning how to build their own MCP servers with the official SDKs.
Testing MCP clients against a reference server with prompts, resources, and tools.
Giving an MCP client local file, Git, fetch, memory, or time tools for experimentation.

Limitations to know

MCP reference servers are educational examples, not production-ready. You must evaluate security and add your own safeguards.
The repository holds only a small number of reference servers. For a broad list of servers, use the MCP Registry.
Several servers have been archived and moved to servers-archived, including GitHub, PostgreSQL, Slack, and SQLite.

Is MCP reference servers growing? Usage data

In the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, MCP reference servers ranked #97 on the Devtoolwatch Board and #10 in MCP and agent tools, with a momentum score of 64 out of 100. Its main package had about 1.4M downloads that week, +112% against its own 4-week average.

New GitHub stars per week for the last 12 weeks, from GitHub's stargazer history (today's stargazers by the week they starred).

Show the weekly numbers

New GitHub stars per week for MCP reference servers
Week of	New stars
Aug 9, 2026	276
Aug 16, 2026	229
Aug 23, 2026	209
Aug 30, 2026	183
Sep 6, 2026	217
Sep 13, 2026	227
Sep 20, 2026	180
Sep 27, 2026	424
Oct 4, 2026	220
Oct 11, 2026	248
Oct 18, 2026	252
Oct 25, 2026	203

On Hacker News

Zero-Touch OAuth for MCP, 278 points and 103 comments (Jun 18, 2026)
New MCP Roadmap, 270 points and 161 comments (Aug 22, 2026)
MCP Specification – version 2025-06-18 changes, 200 points and 121 comments (Jun 18, 2025)
MCP Apps: Extending servers with interactive user interfaces, 192 points and 121 comments (Nov 23, 2025)
MCP 2026-07-28 Specification: transport going stateless, 127 points and 41 comments (Jul 28, 2026)

The Board ranks tools by four signals each week: new stars, new stars for the repo's size, added downloads and download growth beyond the market. How the ranking works.

MCP reference servers alternatives

Other MCP servers and agent tools on the Board in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, by momentum:

MCP and agent tools ranked by momentum, the week of Oct 25–31, 2026
Rank	Tool	Stars	Downloads/wk
#1	REAREA is an MCP server and CLI that lets coding agents reverse engineer native binaries, JavaScript and Electron apps, .NET assemblies,…	415.5k	760.6k
#2	ha-mcpha-mcp is an unofficial Model Context Protocol server that lets AI assistants control and manage Home Assistant using natural language.	5.4k	118.1k
#3	TregTreg is a registry and proxy that gives AI agents one token for a catalog of paid third-party API endpoints and team-shared tools.	6.9k	6.7k
#4	Chrome DevTools MCPChrome DevTools MCP is an MCP server and CLI that lets coding agents control and inspect a live Chrome browser using Chrome DevTools.	54.6k	2.7M
#5	codebase-memory-mcpHigh-performance code intelligence MCP server. Indexes codebases into a persistent knowledge graph — average repo in milliseconds. 162…	47.9k	–
#6	open-computer-use👾 Open Computer Use – Open-Source Alternative to Codex Computer Use	2.8k	–

All MCP servers and agent tools, ranked

Recent MCP reference servers releases

v2.0.0, Oct 19, 2026
v1.0.0, Oct 11, 2026
2026.8.31, Aug 31, 2026
2026.8.18, Aug 18, 2026
2026.7.10, Jul 10, 2026

MCP reference servers FAQ

Is MCP reference servers free and open source?

MCP reference servers's code is on GitHub (modelcontextprotocol/servers), but the repository doesn't declare a standard open-source license. Check its license file before using it commercially.

How do I install MCP reference servers?

Run npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-memory. It needs Node.js >=24. The install section above has the other options from the project's README.

Is MCP reference servers still maintained?

Yes. The modelcontextprotocol/servers repository was last updated on Oct 19, 2026, and the latest release, v2.0.0 on GitHub, came out on Oct 19, 2026.

How popular is MCP reference servers?

MCP reference servers has 91.7k GitHub stars as of Nov 1, 2026. It gained 203 new stars in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, against a 12-week average of 239 a week. Its main package had about 1.4M downloads that week, +112% against its own 4-week average. That made it #10 among MCP servers and agent tools on the Devtoolwatch Board.

What are the best alternatives to MCP reference servers?

Other MCP servers and agent tools on the Devtoolwatch Board in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, by momentum: REA (#1), ha-mcp (#2), Treg (#3), Chrome DevTools MCP (#4), codebase-memory-mcp (#5). The alternatives table above has their numbers.

Are the MCP reference servers production-ready?

No. The MCP reference servers are intended as reference implementations and educational examples. They are not production-ready solutions. Developers should evaluate their own security requirements and implement safeguards that fit their threat model.

What changed in the MCP reference servers v2.0.0 release?

MCP reference servers v2.0.0 refactored all servers to support the modern era spec. The servers still answer legacy era clients as expected. v1.0.0 was the final legacy era release and included many bug and security fixes.

Where did the GitHub, Slack, and PostgreSQL MCP servers go?

These servers are archived in the servers-archived repository. Slack is now maintained by Zencoder. Brave Search was replaced by Brave's official server, @brave/brave-search-mcp-server.

How do I use an MCP reference server with Claude Desktop?

Add an entry under mcpServers in the Claude Desktop configuration. For example, set command to "npx" and args to ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-memory"]. On Windows, use "cmd" with "/c" prepended to the args.

Sources

MCP reference servers README badge

Maintainers can show the tool's weekly Board rank in their README:

[![Devtoolwatch](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/badge/mcp-servers.svg)](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/mcp-servers/)

How this page is made: Devtoolwatch writes each review from the project's README, releases, package metadata and website, with an AI model, then checks every claim against the source it cites and drops what the sources don't support. The numbers come from Devtoolwatch's daily GitHub snapshots, GitHub's stargazer history, and the npm and PyPI download APIs. Spotted an error? Email [email protected].