2026-04-210 picks

MCP essentials — servers every Claude/Cursor/Zed user should know

A starter kit of Model Context Protocol servers: files, git/GitHub, Postgres, web fetch, browser automation, Slack, Cloudflare, Stripe, Linear, Notion, Supabase, Tavily, and sandboxes — ready to plug into Claude, Cursor, or Zed.

Common search intents: “best MCP servers”, “must-have MCP”, “MCP Claude Desktop setup”, “Cursor MCP servers”. Pick one per capability and keep scopes tight: least-privilege tokens, read-only where possible, and domain allow-lists for anything that touches the internet. For production, combine an **edit/read backbone** (filesystem, git, github), a **data plane** (postgres, supabase), and **reach** (fetch, playwright, tavily) with **ops** (cloudflare, sentry) and **business** (stripe, notion, linear, slack).

Related MCP servers

Configure in Claude, Cursor, or Zed (any MCP client) to give agents access to external tools, data sources, or execution environments.

Filesystem
Official
Reference MCP server letting agents read/write/list files under an allow-listed directory. Run with least-privilege paths and read-only mode for sensitive data; ideal when you want to scope a project folder as an agent workspace.
Docs / Knowledge basestdioModel Context Protocol
Git
Official
Reference MCP server exposing common git operations (status, log, diff, blame) to an agent. Great starting point for read-only code reviewers; grant write access carefully.
Coding / DevelopmentstdioModel Context Protocol
GitHub
Official
GitHub’s official MCP server: read/write repos, manage issues/PRs, and search code. Use scoped PATs or a GitHub App with audit logging for production.
Coding / DevelopmenthttpGitHub
PostgreSQL
Official
Reference MCP server for read-only Postgres access and schema introspection—ideal for data-analysis agents. Lock down with a read-only role and schema allow-list.
Database / DatastdioModel Context Protocol
Fetch
Official
Reference MCP server that fetches any HTTP URL and converts it to Markdown—often the minimal “browsing” capability for agents. Add a domain allow-list and rate limits.
Search / ResearchstdioModel Context Protocol
Playwright
Official
Microsoft’s Playwright MCP server: cross-browser automation with broader coverage than Puppeteer—fits scrapers and UI-testing agents that need headless Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit.
Browser / Computer usestdioMicrosoft
Slack
Official
Reference MCP server that reads/writes Slack messages and searches history—turns Slack into an agent’s comms layer. Use a bot token with minimal scopes.
Collaboration / WhiteboardstdioModel Context Protocol
Cloudflare
Official
Cloudflare’s official MCP suite covering Workers, KV, D1, R2, Pages, and DNS. Supports Remote MCP over HTTP, so you can plug it into Claude or Cursor without a local binary.
Cloud / DevOpshttpCloudflare
Stripe
Official
Stripe’s official MCP server exposing accounts, orders, refunds, and products as tools—handy for commerce agents. Restrict to test / restricted keys in production.
Payments / BusinesshttpStripe
Linear
Official
Linear’s official MCP server: create and query Issues, Projects, and Cycles—a lightweight task pipeline for engineering/product agents. Auth via personal API key or OAuth.
Collaboration / WhiteboardhttpLinear
Notion
Official
Notion’s official MCP server: read/write pages and database items—perfect for wiring requirement docs, weekly reports, and knowledge bases into agents. Workspace-level auth applies.
Docs / Knowledge basehttpNotion
Supabase
Official
Supabase’s official MCP server covering database, Storage, and Auth operations—great for wiring a Supabase project into AI IDEs and ops agents.
Database / DatastdioSupabase
Tavily
Official
Tavily MCP server exposes the agent-focused search API as MCP tools—an easy way to give any MCP client a “can search the web” capability with API key control.
Search / ResearchstdioTavily
E2B Code Interpreter
Official
E2B Code Interpreter: official MCP server from E2B—confirm version, auth scopes, and transport with the upstream docs before production use.
Coding / DevelopmentstdioE2B