Carbon vs Kiln
A side-by-side look at the Carbon and Kiln MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Carbon for industrial & iot work over a hosted endpoint; choose Kiln for industrial & iot as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Carbon when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Industrial & IoT domain.
- You prefer a remote HTTP/SSE transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
CARBON_API_KEY.
Choose Kiln when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Industrial & IoT domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: API key required.
- You want tools like
load_filament, unload_filament, plan_only.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Industrial & IoT | Industrial & IoT |
| Quality signal | 56/100 · Good | 64/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Remote HTTP/SSE | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | API key required |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Required env vars | CARBON_API_KEY | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 2,756 | 206 |
| Directory activity | 3 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 8 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | Not listed | 5 |
| Full listing | View Carbon | View Kiln |
Tools & capabilities
Carbon tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
Kiln tools 5
load_filamentunload_filamentplan_onlyplate_clearlook_at_plate
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Carbon
{
"mcpServers": {
"carbon-2": {
"url": "https://docs.carbon.ms/api/mcp"
}
}
}
Kiln
{
"mcpServers": {
"codeofaxel-kiln": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"--from",
"kiln3d",
"kiln"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Carbon is categorized under Industrial & IoT and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. Kiln belongs to Industrial & IoT and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Carbon for industrial & iot work and Kiln for industrial & iot.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Carbon is listed as free. Kiln is listed as free. Auth: api key required. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add carbon-2 and codeofaxel-kiln as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Carbon has a quality signal of 56/100 (Good) with 3 views, 0 installs and 2,756 GitHub stars. Kiln has 64/100 (Good) with 8 views, 0 installs and 206 GitHub stars.