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# Introduction
Establishing Mannequin Context Protocols (MCPs) servers in your native machine may be difficult. It’s important to cope with putting in varied 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 difficult and take numerous time.
A a lot simpler answer is to make use of distant hosted MCP servers. You may 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 little thing by yourself laptop.
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 find out about their use circumstances and key functionalities that they supply.
# 1. GitHub
The distant GitHub MCP Server, hosted by GitHub, offers the simplest technique to join MCP-compatible assistants and IDEs to your GitHub instruments with a one-click OAuth setup and automated updates.
As soon as linked, your assistant can work together with repositories, points, and pull requests straight out of your chat or editor. It will 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, guaranteeing a clean 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 useful time.
Moreover, the server facilitates work with current designs. You may summarize them or generate new content material primarily based on what you have already got. This implies you may keep a clean workflow with out switching between completely different instruments, holding your inventive course of flowing inside your editor or chat setting.
{
"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 information utilizing OAuth and a share hyperlink.
This integration lets you generate code from chosen frames, extract variables, parts, and structure metadata, retrieve Make assets, and be sure that the output aligns along with your design system by way of Code Join.
In consequence, groups can incorporate correct design context into their IDEs with no need the desktop app, scale back handoff friction, and iterate extra rapidly from prototype to manufacturing.
{
"inputs": [],
"servers": {
"figma": {
"url": "https://mcp.figma.com/mcp",
"kind": "http"
}
}
}
# 4. Notion
Notion MCP Server is a hosted service that securely connects fashionable 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 linked, you may search your total 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 process updates straight 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 straight out of your editor, chat, or command line interface (CLI). It helps fashionable purchasers like VS Code, Cursor, Zed, and Claude Desktop.
Moreover, it lets you run neighborhood instruments by way 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, holding 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 tasks and monitor points utilizing pure language.
You may simply discover, create, and replace Linear objects corresponding to points, tasks, and groups. Moreover, it lets you automate widespread duties straight from purchasers like Claude, Cursor, and Windsurf.
This integration brings Linear into your enhancing setting, 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 out there for each native and distant use, integrating the Firecrawl API to supply LLM purchasers with highly effective net crawling, scraping, and search capabilities. You could find it on GitHub.
Along with primary scraping, it presents options corresponding to JavaScript rendering, batch scraping, and search performance. It helps self-hosted choices and contains superior options like parallel processing, automated 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, guaranteeing 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 out there straight in your editor or chat, you may improve collaboration and set up quicker suggestions loops all through your entire product lifecycle.
Listed below 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 belongings (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 stories.
- Hugging Face: Uncover fashions/datasets/Areas and run Gradio instruments for fast analysis and prototyping.
- Linear: Create/replace points and tasks, 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. At the moment, 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 battling psychological sickness.
