ChirpStack vs Carbon
A side-by-side look at the ChirpStack and Carbon MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose ChirpStack for industrial & iot work as a local process; choose Carbon for industrial & iot over a hosted endpoint. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose ChirpStack when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Industrial & IoT domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
CHIRPSTACK_SERVER, CHIRPSTACK_API_KEY, CHIRPSTACK_TOOLSETS, CHIRPSTACK_TLS, CHIRPSTACK_TRANSPORT, CHIRPSTACK_HTTP_PORT.
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.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Industrial & IoT | Industrial & IoT |
| Quality signal | 37/100 · Fair | 57/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Remote HTTP/SSE |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Free |
| Required env vars | CHIRPSTACK_SERVERCHIRPSTACK_API_KEYCHIRPSTACK_TOOLSETSCHIRPSTACK_TLSCHIRPSTACK_TRANSPORTCHIRPSTACK_HTTP_PORT | CARBON_API_KEY |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 2,758 |
| Directory activity | 3 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 5 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | Not listed | Not listed |
| Full listing | View ChirpStack | View Carbon |
Tools & capabilities
ChirpStack tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
Carbon tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
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.
ChirpStack
{
"mcpServers": {
"chirpstack": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"chirpstack-mcp-server"
],
"env": {
"CHIRPSTACK_SERVER": "YOUR_CHIRPSTACK_SERVER_HERE",
"CHIRPSTACK_API_KEY": "YOUR_CHIRPSTACK_API_KEY_HERE",
"CHIRPSTACK_TOOLSETS": "YOUR_CHIRPSTACK_TOOLSETS_HERE",
"CHIRPSTACK_TLS": "YOUR_CHIRPSTACK_TLS_HERE",
"CHIRPSTACK_TRANSPORT": "YOUR_CHIRPSTACK_TRANSPORT_HERE",
"CHIRPSTACK_HTTP_PORT": "YOUR_CHIRPSTACK_HTTP_PORT_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Carbon
{
"mcpServers": {
"carbon-2": {
"url": "https://docs.carbon.ms/api/mcp"
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
ChirpStack is categorized under Industrial & IoT and uses a local stdio subprocess. Carbon belongs to Industrial & IoT and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. Pick ChirpStack for industrial & iot work and Carbon 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.
ChirpStack has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Carbon is listed as free. 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 chirpstack and carbon-2 as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, ChirpStack has a quality signal of 37/100 (Fair) with 3 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. Carbon has 57/100 (Good) with 5 views, 0 installs and 2,758 GitHub stars.