mcp-catalog

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}" } }
  }
}