CLI & DevTooling, Agent Frameworks
Essential MCP Servers & Tooling for Claude Code CLI
Author
DW
Date Published
Since you're on a fresh Ubuntu VPS with **Claude Code CLI**, the modern extension paradigm has shifted from traditional "plugins" to **MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers**. Claude Code natively supports MCP, so you'll extend it by running local MCP server processes and pointing Claude to them via config.
🔹 **Official Anthropic MCP servers**: Check if already have. (Claude Code CLI auto-bundles or auto-detects the official suite like `filesystem`, `git`, `fetch`, etc. Verify with `claude mcp list` or `claude config`.)
Below are the **most reliable, actively maintained, and trending third-party/community MCP servers & tooling** for development, automation, and agentic workflows as of 2025–2026.
---
### 🧠 1. Development & Code Workflow
| MCP Server | Purpose | Install/Run |
|------------|---------|-------------|
| `mcp-server-github` (community) | PRs, issues, repo navigation, code search | `npx -y @anthropic/mcp-server-github` (or community forks like `@smol-ai/mcp-server-github`) |
| `mcp-server-docker` | Build, run, inspect containers & logs | `npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-docker` |
| `mcp-server-postgres` / `mcp-server-sqlite` | Direct DB querying, schema inspection | `npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres` |
| `mcp-server-playwright` | Headless browser automation for testing/scraping | `npx -y @anthropic/mcp-server-playwright` or `@playwright/mcp` |
| `aider` (standalone CLI) | Git-aware AI coding assistant with shell integration | `pipx install aider-chat` (pairs well alongside Claude Code) |
---
### 🤖 2. Agentic & Automation
| MCP Server | Purpose | Install/Run |
|------------|---------|-------------|
| `mcp-server-terminal` / `mcp-server-shell` | Safe, scoped command execution with context | `npx -y @anthropic/mcp-server-terminal` or community `mcp-server-shell` |
| `firecrawl-mcp` | Web scraping, content extraction, JS rendering | `npx -y @mendable/firecrawl-mcp` |
| `mcp-server-linear` / `mcp-server-jira` / `mcp-server-notion` | Task tracking, sprint automation, doc sync | `npx -y @anthropic/mcp-server-linear` (or `@linear/mcp`) |
| `mcp-server-slack` / `mcp-server-discord` | Notification routing, bot-style workflows | `npx -y @anthropic/mcp-server-slack` |
| `langgraph-mcp` or `crewai-mcp` | Bridge multi-agent frameworks into Claude CLI | `pip install langgraph-mcp` or `crewai[tools]` |
---
### ☁️ 3. Infrastructure & Cloud Ops
| MCP Server | Purpose | Install/Run |
|------------|---------|-------------|
| `mcp-server-aws` / `mcp-server-gcp` | Cloud resource management, logs, IAM, S3/GCS | `npx -y @anthropic/mcp-server-aws` |
| `mcp-server-kubernetes` | Cluster ops, pod logs, deployments, HPA | `npx -y @anthropic/mcp-server-kubernetes` |
| `mcp-server-sentry` | Error tracking, release monitoring | `npx -y @anthropic/mcp-server-sentry` |
| `mcp-server-supabase` / `mcp-server-vercel` | Platform-specific devops & deployments | `npx -y @anthropic/mcp-server-supabase` |
---
### 🛠️ 4. MCP Management & Discovery (Trending 2025–2026)
| Tool | Purpose | Install |
|------|---------|---------|
| `smithery-cli` | npm-style package manager for MCP servers | `npm i -g @smithery/cli` |
| `glama-cli` | MCP registry & version manager | `npm i -g @glama/cli` |
| `mcp-proxy` | Route, auth, and sandbox MCP connections | `go install github.com/modelcontextprotocol/mcp-proxy@latest` |
| `mcp-inspector` | Debug & visualize MCP server interactions | `npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/inspector` |
---
### 📦 Ubuntu VPS Setup & Configuration
1. **Install runtimes** (MCP servers use Node, Python, or Go):
```bash
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y nodejs npm python3-pip python3-venv git curl jq
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.7/install.sh | bash
nvm install 20 && nvm use 20
pip3 install pipx && pipx ensurepath
```
2. **Configure Claude Code CLI to use MCP**:
Create or edit `~/.claude/settings.json` (or `~/.config/claude-code/mcp.json` depending on your version):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"github": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@anthropic/mcp-server-github"],
"env": { "GITHUB_TOKEN": "your_token_here" }
},
"firecrawl": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@mendable/firecrawl-mcp"],
"env": { "FIRECRAWL_API_KEY": "your_key_here" }
},
"docker": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-docker"]
}
}
}
```
Restart Claude Code CLI or run `claude mcp reload`.
---
### 🔒 VPS & Security Best Practices
- **Run as non-root**: Create a dedicated user (`adduser claude-dev`) and run MCP servers under it.
- **Scope permissions**: Use env vars for tokens, never hardcode. Restrict filesystem MCP to specific dirs.
- **Sandbox execution**: Prefer `mcp-proxy` or run MCP servers in `systemd` user services with `PrivateTmp=true`, `RestrictSUIDSGID=true`.
- **Resource limits**: MCP servers are lightweight, but headless browsers (Playwright) need RAM. Add swap if needed: `fallocate -l 2G /swapfile && mkswap /swapfile && swapon /swapfile`.
---
### 📈 Trend Context (2025–2026)
- **MCP is the de facto extension standard** for CLI AI tools. Traditional IDE plugins are deprecated in favor of stateless, local MCP servers.
- **Agentic CLI workflows** now rely on MCP + safe shell wrappers + local execution engines. Tools like `smithery` and `glama` act as the "npm/pip" for the MCP ecosystem.
- **Self-hosted VPS advantage**: You can run MCP servers persistently, secure them with `ufw`/`fail2ban`, and scale them via `systemd` or Docker Compose without rate limits or cloud vendor lock-in.
For source verification & active repos, check:
- GitHub: `github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers`
- MCP Registry: `smithery.ai` & `glama.ai`
- Anthropic MCP Docs: `docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/mcp`
Let me know your primary stack (web, data, infra, etc.) and I'll tailor a minimal, production-ready MCP config + `systemd` templates for your VPS.