Originally published on Build to Launch
Most people use Claude Code with zero MCPs. Here's what happens when you connect it to Perplexity, NotebookLM, Stripe, Gumroad, Notion, and everything else — research, payments, scheduling, publishing, all without breaking your chain of thought.
If there is one rabbit hole I have gone deep into over the past year, it's MCP.
I'm an AI builder and vibe coder whose attention is spread across everything: writing articles, creating products, managing a community, selling on Gumroad, researching, coding, publishing across platforms.
And every time I hit friction in any of those workflows, the answer kept being the same: there's an MCP server for that.
So when I say "best MCP servers," I don't mean the ones with the most GitHub stars. I mean the ones that survived daily use. I tried dozens. Dropped most. Kept a handful.
How Anthropic Wrote the USB Standard for AI — Then Gave It Away
What MCP is (2-minute version)
- MCP = Model Context Protocol. It's how AI tools connect to everything else.
- Claude Code without MCP is a phone that only makes calls. MCP servers are the apps.
- You don't need to build these connections yourself. Over 1,000 already exist.
- Without MCP: copy-paste between Claude and everything else.
- With MCP: Claude reads your real data, takes actions, remembers across sessions.
The origin story
November 2024: Anthropic creates MCP and open-sources it.
March 2025: Sam Altman announces OpenAI will adopt MCP. Their direct competitor's protocol.
Then: Google follows with Gemini. Microsoft brings it to Copilot.
Then: Anthropic donates MCP to an independent foundation so no single company owns it.
By early 2026: 1,000+ community-built MCP servers.
The protocol is client-agnostic. A properly built server works in Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code:
Two things most lists get wrong
The best MCPs match your friction, not the trending list.
I started with three questions: What am I copy-pasting? What tabs do I keep switching between? Where do I lose 10 minutes every time?
Memory is the most underrated category.
Memory changes the whole relationship. Claude goes from "tool I explain things to every session" to "collaborator who knows my projects, my voice, my decisions."
The Best MCP Servers — Ranked by Friction Killed
Every MCP does one of four things: connects to your data, researches for you, remembers across sessions, or takes action on your behalf.
🟢 Easy (one config line) · 🟡 Medium (API key, under an hour) · 🔴 Advanced (self-hosting)
#1. Connect: Direct Line to Your Stuff
Notion MCP · 🟢 · Daily · Free
claude mcp add --transport http notion https://mcp.notion.com/mcp
Slack MCP · 🟢 · Daily · Free
claude mcp add --transport http slack https://mcp.slack.com
Supabase MCP · 🟢 · Every session · Free
claude mcp add --transport http supabase "https://mcp.supabase.com/mcp?project_ref=YOUR_REF"
Google Drive MCP · 🔴 · Weekly (no official server yet, self-host community version)
Obsidian MCP · 🟡 · Daily · Free
#2. Research: Let Claude Look Things Up
Perplexity MCP · 🟡 · Every session
claude mcp add perplexity -e PERPLEXITY_SESSION_TOKEN="your_token" -- uvx --from "perplexity-webui-scraper[mcp]@latest" perplexity-webui-scraper-mcp
The MCP I reach for most. Web search, fact-checking, competitive analysis.
Verifying OpenAI's MCP adoption — 10 seconds, with citations
NotebookLM MCP · 🟡 · Weekly · Free
claude mcp add notebooklm -- uvx notebooklm-mcp
Substack Article MCP · 🟡 · Daily · Free (built by me)
claude mcp add substack-article -- npx -y substack-article-mcp
Whois MCP · 🟢 · As needed · Free
claude mcp add whois -- npx -y @bharathvaj/whois-mcp@latest
#3. Remember: Give Claude a Persistent Brain
AI Memory MCP · 🟡 · Every session
Custom build — persists memories with semantic search. Claude remembers my projects, decisions, preferences across sessions. The MCP I use the most.
I don't remember my server connection details — my AI memory does
#4. Act: Let Claude Ship, Sell, and Publish
Substack Notes MCP · 🟡 · Daily
claude mcp add -s user substack-notes -- npx -y substack-notes-mcp --token YOUR_TOKEN
Scheduling the note for this article — then going to sleep
Gumroad MCP · 🟡 · Weekly
claude mcp add gumroad -e GUMROAD_ACCESS_TOKEN="your_token" -- npx -y gumroad-mcp-server
Checking my store for products and offer codes
Stripe MCP · 🟢 · Weekly
claude mcp add --transport http stripe https://mcp.stripe.com
Checking Stripe for pending payment issues
Crosspost MCP · 🟡 · Weekly
claude mcp add crosspost -e CROSSPOST_API_KEY="your_key" -e CROSSPOST_API_URL="https://postingly.io" -- npx -y crosspost-mcp
n8n MCP · 🔴 · As needed
claude mcp add n8n -e N8N_BASE_URL="http://localhost:5678" -e N8N_API_KEY="your_key" -- npx -y @nicobailon/n8n-mcp-server
What Real Work With MCP Looks Like
As a Writer
Every week I collaborate with a guest writer. Before MCPs: log into multiple platforms, copy-paste, manually generate questions. Now it's one session:
Fetching guest writer details and shared draft via Supabase MCP
Try this prompt: "Read my last 5 articles and tell me which topics I should've written."
As a Publisher
Perplexity fact-checks mid-sentence. NotebookLM does deep research. Gumroad MCP checks what I've already published.
Try this prompt: "Fact-check this claim: [paste sentence]. Give me the source."
As a Builder
Supabase handles the database. Stripe handles payments. End-to-end debugging without opening three dashboards.
Checking app resource allocation on Vercel — without leaving Claude Code
Try this prompt: "List all my Gumroad products without an active offer code."
As a Planner
AI Memory is the connective tissue. "What did we settle on for the MCP article angle?" — Claude pulls it from three conversations ago.
Try this prompt: "Remember that I'm working on [project] and my next milestone is [goal]."
When the MCP You Need Doesn't Exist
The ecosystem isn't just something you consume — it's something you shape. 1,000+ servers today, doubling every few months.
I've built several (all free and open source):
- Substack Newsletter MCP — explore creators
- Substack Notes MCP — notes performance analytics
- Substack Article MCP — fetch any article
- AI Memory MCP — persistent memory across sessions
- Crosspost MCP — distribute to X, Bluesky, LinkedIn, Threads
Start Here: One Server, One Prompt, Five Minutes
Write content → Substack Article MCP → "Suggest 3 social posts from my latest article."
Live in Notion → Notion MCP → "Pull my content calendar, what's overdue?"
Sell on Gumroad → Gumroad MCP → "Products without an active offer code?"
Build with Supabase → Supabase MCP → "Show schema, flag what needs an index."
Research constantly → Perplexity MCP → "Research [topic] with citations."
Once two MCPs are active together, they don't just add up. They multiply.
FAQ
Do I need Claude Code specifically? No. MCPs work with Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code. Same servers, different config path.
Are MCPs safe? Most are read-only. Write-capable ones ask for confirmation.
Do I need to pay? Most MCP servers are free/open source. They connect to services with their own pricing.
How many is too many? I run 15 without issues. Start with 1-2.
What tool do you wish Claude could talk to? Drop it in the comments — there's probably an MCP for it, and if not, maybe we could build one.
— Jenny | buildtolaunch.ai
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