5 Powerful MCP Servers To Transform Your Development Workflow
Original Source: https://www.hongkiat.com/blog/mcp-servers-development-tools/
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that lets AI assistants connect with external data sources, tools, or systems. This makes them much more useful by allowing them to do things like run code, manage files, and interact with APIs.
In my previous article, we looked at how MCP works, how to install it, and how to use a few MCP servers. In this article, we’ll explore more MCP servers, this time focusing on tools that can help developers save time and work more efficiently.
We’ll continue using Claude to run the MCP servers as it has MCP capabilities built-in, is easy to install, and is compatible with major platforms.
So, let’s dive in!
1. 21st.dev Magic
21st.dev Magic is an AI powered tool that allows you to build modern UI components just by describing them in plain language. It works with popular editors like Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code (with Cline), as well as Claude.
So you can just type what you need, and it will instantly create ready-to-use code. This makes building UI prototypes faster and easier, with less manual work.
Installation
To get started, first create an account at 21st.dev to get your API key. Once you’ve signed up, you can find your API key on the API Access page.
To install the MCP server, add the following configuration and replace [api-key] with your own API key.
{
“mcpServers”: {
“@21st-dev/magic”: {
“command”: “npx”,
“args”: [
“-y”,
“@21st-dev/magic@latest”,
“API_KEY=”[api-key]””,
]
}
}
}
Example Prompts
When sending a prompt to trigger 21st Magic MCP, it’s best to start your prompt with code /ui, for example:
/ui create a signup form
After sending the prompt, you will receive the code for the signup form, usually with some variants. You can then copy and paste this code into your editor to use it.
We can improve our prompt by giving it more detailed instructions, for example:
/ui create a pricing table component with two plans: Free and Pro. Each plan should include a signup button at the bottom.
It’s smart enough to understand the instruction and generates pricing tables with just two plans, as shown below, and even provides some variants.
This is a great MCP server for any designers or developers to create prototypes. It can help you create UI components quickly and easily.
2. Filesystem
The Filesystem MCP Server allows an AI assistant to work with your local filesystem to read, write, and manage files. With this setup, the AI can do things like create folders, move files, or check file details. This makes it easier to automate everyday file tasks and boost your productivity.
Installation
{
“mcpServers”: {
“filesystem”: {
“command”: “npx”,
“args”: [
“-y”,
“@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem”,
“/Users/tfirdaus/Desktop”
]
}
}
}
Example Prompts
Let’s first try with a simple prompt:
how many files are there in my Desktop directory?
As we can see above, it’s smart enough to give us the count and details about the files.
You can even take it a step further by giving more detailed instructions. For example, let’s say your Downloads folder is cluttered with all kinds of files and folders. You could ask it to find all the directories that appear to be WordPress plugins with the following prompt:
find and list all the directories that appear to contain a WordPress plugin. A typical plugin folder includes a readme.txt file and several .php files.
3. MySQL
The MySQL MCP Server allows an AI assistant to connect to a MySQL database so it can run SQL queries, manage database connections, and fetch data. This integration makes it easier to retrieve information using natural language commands.
Installation
To install this server, you need to make sure that you have access to MySQL installed either on your machine or on a remote server. Then add the following:
{
“mcpServers”: {
“mysql”: {
“command”: “npx”,
“args”: [
“-y”,
“@benborla29/mcp-server-mysql”
],
“env”: {
“MYSQL_HOST”: “127.0.0.1”,
“MYSQL_PORT”: “3306”,
“MYSQL_USER”: “[your-mysql-username]”,
“MYSQL_PASS”: “[your-mysql-password]”,
“MYSQL_DB”: “your_database”,
“ALLOW_INSERT_OPERATION”: “false”,
“ALLOW_UPDATE_OPERATION”: “false”,
“ALLOW_DELETE_OPERATION”: “false”,
“PATH”: “/Users/[username]/.nvm/versions/node/v22.14.0/bin:/usr/bin:/bin”,
“NODE_PATH”: “/Users/[username]/.nvm/versions/node/v22.14.0/lib/node_modules”
}
}
}
}
Make sure to replace [your-mysql-username] and [your-mysql-password] with your own MySQL username and password. You can also change the MYSQL_DB to the database you want to connect to.
As for the PATH and the NODE_PATH, you can find them by running the following command in your terminal:
which node
Example Prompts
To use the MySQL MCP server, you can start by asking it to show you the tables in your database. For example:
List all the tables from my wordpress database?
As shown above, we get a full list of tables. What’s impressive is that the AI even understands and classifies which tables belong to WordPress Core and which ones are from WooCommerce.
We can also ask it to show us specific data. For example:
Get the ID of all posts where the title starts with “Hello”
And we get the results in a nice table, as shown below:
4. Git
The Git MCP Server allows an AI assistant to interact with a Git repository directly. It supports operations such as cloning repositories, creating branches, committing changes, and viewing logs. This integration allows you to manage your Git workflows using just natural language commands. No need to remember complex Git commands.
Installation
To install this server, you need to have Git installed on your machine. You can check if you have Git installed by running the following command in your terminal:
git –version
Then, you will also need to have the uv command installed.
{
“mcp”: {
“servers”: {
“git”: {
“command”: “uvx”,
“args”: [“mcp-server-git”]
}
}
}
}
Example Prompts
Let’s try a simple prompt to check the current branch in a local repository:
Check the current branch in this repository [path-to-repository]
We can also perform more complex operations, such as reverting the latest commit. For example:
Revert the latest commit in this repository [path-to-repository]
It is smart enough to first check if the Git tree is clean, meaning that there are no uncommitted changes. Then, it will revert the latest commit and show you the commit message.
There are many other Git commands that this MCP server can execute, such as Git Checkout, Commit, Create branch, Add, etc.
5. Docker
The Docker MCP Server is an MCP server that lets you manage Docker using natural language. You can create containers with simple prompts, inspect and debug running ones, and handle persistent data through Docker volumes. It’s great for server admins managing remote Docker setups.
Installation
To install this server, you need to have Docker installed on your machine. You can check if you have Docker installed by running the following command in your terminal:
docker –version
Then, add the following configuration to run the MCP server:
“mcp-server-docker”: {
“command”: “uvx”,
“args”: [
“mcp-server-docker”
]
}
Example Prompts
First, we can try a simple prompt:
List running containers
Since this MCP server supports many Docker commands—like creating containers, starting them, pulling images, and more—we can try a more advanced prompt, such as:
Run a WordPress container using the official image, with MySQL, and Nginx running on port 8000.
This command will set up three containers: one for WordPress using the official image, one for MySQL, and another for Nginx, which will run on port 8000.
Wrapping Up
In this article, we have explored MCP servers that can help you work more efficiently. These servers allow you to automate tasks and interact with internal systems in your local or external services using natural language commands.
You can send prompts that will trigger these MCP servers and save you a lot of time and effort in your daily work.
We hope you find this article helpful and that you can use these MCP servers to boost your productivity.
The post 5 Powerful MCP Servers To Transform Your Development Workflow appeared first on Hongkiat.
