Build vs Telos

In-depth architectural comparison of the Build and Telos MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose Build when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
• Primary tools included: Schema-validated structured JSON output, Human-readable MCP content output, TypeScript compiler support.

Explore Build Details

Choose Telos when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
• Primary tools included: Five-server stdio MCP surface, 69-tool combined catalog, Recomputable MATCH, DRIFT, and UNVERIFIABLE proof packets.

Explore Telos Details

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	Build Developer Tools	Telos HarperZ9 Developer Tools
Summary	Structured build tool output (tsc, generic commands) as typed JSON diagnostics.	Local-first Project Telos MCP tool line for inspectable AI work: source intake, workspace context, routing ledgers, action receipts, and MATCH / DRIFT / UNVERIFIABLE verification packets across 5 stdio servers.
Category & Scope	Developer Tools

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations

Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "build": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@paretools/init"
      ]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "harperz9-telos": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "harperz9-telos"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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