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# Introduction
Establishing Mannequin Context Protocols (MCPs) servers in your native machine will be difficult. You need to take care of putting in numerous packages, managing Node/nvm variations, fixing PATH points, and troubleshooting servers that received’t begin even after you comply with all of the setup steps. Regardless of following guides, native internet hosting can nonetheless be tough and take lots of time.
A a lot simpler answer is to make use of distant hosted MCP servers. You’ll be able to join to those servers just by utilizing a URL and an API key or OAuth token. This implies you received’t have to fret about setting something up regionally, coping with dependency points, or always managing processes. In lots of circumstances, distant servers are quicker and extra dependable than making an attempt to run every part by yourself pc.
On this article, we are going to discover seven free distant MCP servers that simplify the administration of planning, design, coding, and analysis in a seamless workflow. You’ll study their use circumstances and key functionalities that they supply.
# 1. GitHub
The distant GitHub MCP Server, hosted by GitHub, offers the simplest strategy to join MCP-compatible assistants and IDEs to your GitHub instruments with a one-click OAuth setup and computerized updates.
As soon as related, your assistant can work together with repositories, points, and pull requests immediately out of your chat or editor. It might probably even automate workflows, corresponding to opening pull requests, initiating steady integration, and performing safety triage, permitting you to ship code quicker with much less context switching.
The MCP Server helps OAuth 2.1 with PKCE and is built-in with first-party Copilot IDEs, together with VS Code, Visible Studio, JetBrains, Eclipse, and Xcode, making certain a easy setup expertise.
{
"mcpServers": {
"github": {
"url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_GITHUB_PAT"
}
}
}
}
# 2. Canva
The Canva MCP Server offers a seamless connection between your AI assistant, corresponding to Claude or Cursor, and Canva. This integration enhances your design expertise by permitting you to generate new designs effortlessly.
With the MCP Server, you may routinely fill templates along with your distinctive content material and simply export your outcomes as pictures or PDFs. This streamlines the design course of and saves you precious time.
Moreover, the server facilitates work with current designs. You’ll be able to summarize them or generate new content material primarily based on what you have already got. This implies you may preserve a easy workflow with out switching between totally different instruments, protecting your inventive course of flowing inside your editor or chat surroundings.
{
"mcpServers": {
"Canva": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-remote@latest",
"https://mcp.canva.com/mcp"
]
}
}
}
# 3. Figma
The Figma MCP distant server (open beta) connects MCP-compatible assistants in instruments like VS Code, Cursor, and Claude Code on to your Figma recordsdata utilizing OAuth and a share hyperlink.
This integration means that you can generate code from chosen frames, extract variables, parts, and structure metadata, retrieve Make assets, and be certain that the output aligns along with your design system by means of Code Join.
In consequence, groups can incorporate correct design context into their IDEs while not having the desktop app, scale back handoff friction, and iterate extra shortly from prototype to manufacturing.
{
"inputs": [],
"servers": {
"figma": {
"url": "https://mcp.figma.com/mcp",
"sort": "http"
}
}
}
# 4. Notion
Notion MCP Server is a hosted service that securely connects standard AI assistants, corresponding to ChatGPT, Claude, and Cursor, to your workspace through a easy one-click OAuth course of. This integration offers real-time learn and write entry to your pages and databases, together with instruments particularly designed for AI brokers.
As soon as related, you may search your whole workspace, create new pages primarily based on search outcomes, and replace properties throughout a number of pages. By combining these options, you may automate documentation, planning, and activity updates immediately out of your editor or chat. This minimizes context switching and streamlines your workflow.
{
"mcpServers": {
"Notion": {
"url": "https://mcp.notion.com/mcp"
}
}
}
# 5. Hugging Face
The Hugging Face MCP Server connects your MCP-compatible assistant on to the Hugging Face Hub. This lets you seek for and discover fashions, datasets, Areas, and papers immediately out of your editor, chat, or command line interface (CLI). It helps standard shoppers like VS Code, Cursor, Zed, and Claude Desktop.
Moreover, it lets you run neighborhood instruments by means of MCP-compatible Gradio apps hosted on Areas and brings the outcomes again into your assistant with wealthy metadata, hyperlinks, and context. These options streamline the invention, analysis, and fast prototyping of fashions and datasets with out the necessity for context-switching, protecting analysis and implementation inside one built-in workflow.
{
"mcpServers": {
"hf-mcp-server": {
"url": "https://huggingface.co/mcp?login"
}
}
}
# 6. Linear
Linear MCP offers your AI assistant with premium entry to your Linear workspace, permitting you to handle software program initiatives and monitor points utilizing pure language.
You’ll be able to simply discover, create, and replace Linear objects corresponding to points, initiatives, and groups. Moreover, it lets you automate frequent duties immediately from shoppers like Claude, Cursor, and Windsurf.
This integration brings Linear into your enhancing surroundings, enhancing your improvement expertise and streamlining planning, triage, and standing updates.
{
"mcpServers": {
"linear": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.linear.app/sse"]
}
}
}
# 7. Firecrawl
The Firecrawl MCP Server is on the market for each native and distant use, integrating the Firecrawl API to supply LLM shoppers with highly effective net crawling, scraping, and search capabilities. You could find it on GitHub.
Along with fundamental scraping, it provides options corresponding to JavaScript rendering, batch scraping, and search performance. It helps self-hosted choices and consists of superior options like parallel processing, computerized retries, and content material filtering.
Designed particularly for AI workflows, Firecrawl can fetch and construction net content material into machine-readable codecs corresponding to Markdown, JSON, or HTML, making certain dependable content material extraction.
It’s generally used to reinforce instruments like Cursor and Claude, including real-time net knowledge to mannequin context.
{
"mcpServers": {
"firecrawl-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "firecrawl-mcp"],
"env": {
"FIRECRAWL_API_KEY": "YOUR-API-KEY"
}
}
}
}
# Conclusion
Integrating MCP servers corresponding to GitHub, Canva, Figma, and Notion streamlines planning, design, coding, and analysis right into a single workflow. This consolidation reduces context switching and accelerates supply. With safe OAuth-based entry and actionable instruments obtainable immediately in your editor or chat, you may improve collaboration and set up quicker suggestions loops all through all the product lifecycle.
Listed here are some use circumstances of MCP servers:
- GitHub: Open PRs, triage points, and set off CI from chat/editor to ship quicker.
- Canva: Generate designs, autofill templates, and export property (PNG/JPG/PDF) with out leaving your IDE/chat.
- Figma: Flip frames into starter code and pull variables/parts for design‑system‑constant output.
- Notion: Search, create, and replace pages to automate docs, duties, and standing experiences.
- Hugging Face: Uncover fashions/datasets/Areas and run Gradio instruments for fast analysis and prototyping.
- Linear: Create/replace points and initiatives, automate triage, and put up standing updates out of your assistant.
- Firecrawl: Crawl/scrape websites with JS rendering and return structured Markdown/JSON/HTML to floor AI responses.
Abid Ali Awan (@1abidaliawan) is an authorized knowledge scientist skilled who loves constructing machine studying fashions. Presently, he’s specializing in content material creation and writing technical blogs on machine studying and knowledge science applied sciences. Abid holds a Grasp’s diploma in expertise administration and a bachelor’s diploma in telecommunication engineering. His imaginative and prescient is to construct an AI product utilizing a graph neural community for college kids scuffling with psychological sickness.
