| name | mcp-catalog |
| description | Use when choosing, recommending, or wiring MCP servers for a project's .mcp.json. Curated list of strategic MCP servers with safe configuration (env placeholders, scoping). Triggers on "add an MCP", "which MCP servers", "configure .mcp.json", "strategic MCPs". |
Strategic MCP catalog
Curated MCP servers worth adding to a project, and how to wire them safely. The
machine-readable source is lib/data/mcp-catalog.mjs; aia-harness plan --json
emits the recommended subset for the current project.
Catalog
| Server | When to add | Secrets |
|---|
| context7 | Default. Up-to-date library/framework docs. Marginal for dependency-light repos (e.g. tooling-only); high value for React/DB/large-dep projects. | none |
| sequential-thinking | Always. Structured multi-step reasoning. | none |
| github | Default for any git repo — issues, PRs, releases, review in the dev loop. Prereq: gh CLI (token via gh auth token). | GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN |
| playwright | Project has Playwright/Cypress. Browser e2e. | none |
| postgres | Project uses PostgreSQL. Schema + read queries. | DATABASE_URL |
| filesystem | Needs access outside the project dir. | none |
| memory | Want persistent knowledge-graph memory across sessions. | none |
| parallel-search | Want citation-backed web search (HTTP, key-free). | none |
| supabase | Project uses managed Postgres (Supabase). | SUPABASE_ACCESS_TOKEN |
Wiring rules (non-negotiable)
- Write servers to the project-root
.mcp.json (committed, team-shared).
- Use
${ENV_VAR} placeholders for every secret — never a literal token. Put the
real values in .claude/settings.local.json under env (gitignored).
- Keep the set small (high-signal only). Each server costs context; the
practitioner rule of thumb is under ~5 servers. Tool Search defers schemas, so
prefer adding a server over inlining its docs.
- Never set
enableAllProjectMcpServers: true.
- After editing
.mcp.json or env, the user must restart Claude Code.
Example .mcp.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"context7": { "type": "stdio", "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@upstash/context7-mcp@latest"] },
"github": { "type": "http", "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/", "env": { "Authorization": "Bearer ${GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN}" } }
}
}
