Catalog vs Lightning Fm MCP

In-depth architectural comparison of the Catalog and Lightning Fm MCP 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?

C

Choose Catalog when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
• You prefer remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).

Explore Catalog Details

Choose Lightning Fm MCP 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).

Explore Lightning Fm MCP Details

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	C Catalog Developer Tools	Lightning Fm MCP Developer Tools
Summary	Search real parts with datasheet-provenance specs, check compatibility and compose priced BOMs.	Search Lightning FM's Nostr music catalog, look up artists, and check what's live now.
Category & Scope	Developer Tools	Developer Tools
Quality signal

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": {
    "catalog-5": {
      "url": "https://partsgraph.ai/catalog"
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "lightning-fm-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "lightning-fm-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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