Best MCP servers for developers in 2026

1// Configuration for any host using mcpServers key:
2"filesystem": {
3  "command": "npx",
4  "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/Users/you/projects"]
5}
6
7// Test with Inspector:
8// npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/inspector npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /Users/you/projects
9
10// Tools: read_file, write_file, list_directory, search_files, create_directory, move_file, get_file_info
11// ~11 tools total

1// Configuration (requires Docker):
2"github": {
3  "command": "docker",
4  "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm",
5    "-e", "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN",
6    "ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server"],
7  "env": {
8    "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "ghp_your_token_here"
9  }
10}
11
12// Tools: create_issue, list_issues, create_pull_request, search_repositories,
13// get_file_contents, push_files, create_branch, list_commits, and more
14// ~20+ tools total

1// Configuration:
2"brave-search": {
3  "command": "npx",
4  "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search"],
5  "env": {
6    "BRAVE_API_KEY": "your-brave-api-key"
7  }
8}
9
10// Get a free API key at: https://brave.com/search/api/
11// Tools: brave_web_search, brave_local_search
12// ~2 tools total

1// Configuration:
2"postgres": {
3  "command": "npx",
4  "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres"],
5  "env": {
6    "POSTGRES_CONNECTION_STRING": "postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/mydb"
7  }
8}
9
10// Tools: query, list_tables, describe_table, list_schemas
11// ~5 tools total

1// Configuration:
2"memory": {
3  "command": "npx",
4  "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-memory"]
5}
6
7// No API keys or environment variables needed
8// Tools: create_entities, create_relations, search_nodes, open_nodes, delete_entities
9// ~5 tools total

1// Puppeteer (browser automation):
2"puppeteer": {
3  "command": "npx",
4  "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-puppeteer"]
5}
6
7// SQLite (lightweight database):
8"sqlite": {
9  "command": "npx",
10  "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-sqlite", "/path/to/database.db"]
11}
12
13// Slack (team messaging — requires bot token):
14"slack": {
15  "command": "npx",
16  "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-slack"],
17  "env": { "SLACK_BOT_TOKEN": "xoxb-your-token" }
18}