Best MCP Servers by Client

Every client below reads the same security-scored ranking — pick yours for a ready-to-paste config and setup notes specific to it.

The ranking is identical across clients, but installing an MCP server isn't: Claude Desktop reads a single config file and needs a full restart to pick up changes, Cursor supports both a project-level and a global config with a live status panel, VS Code uses a differently named servers key instead of mcpServers, and Windsurf surfaces servers through its Cascade chat panel. Each client's page below covers its own setup quirks in full, not just a generic config snippet.