Graft vs PatchWarden
A side-by-side look at the Graft and PatchWarden MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Graft for coding agents work as a local process; choose PatchWarden for coding agents as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Graft when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Coding Agents domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You have the keys it needs:
GRAFT_ROOT_PATH. - You want tools like
safe_read, graft_edit, file_outline.
Choose PatchWarden when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Coding Agents domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
CONTROL_PLANE_API_KEY, PATCHWARDEN_OWNER_TOKEN. - You want tools like
save_plan, get_plan, health_check.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Coding Agents | Coding Agents |
| Quality signal | 65/100 · Great | 64/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | No auth required | Not declared |
| Pricing | Free | Not declared |
| Required env vars | GRAFT_ROOT_PATH | CONTROL_PLANE_API_KEYPATCHWARDEN_OWNER_TOKEN |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 17 | 6 |
| Directory activity | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 34 | 30 |
| Full listing | View Graft | View PatchWarden |
Tools & capabilities
Graft tools 34
safe_readPolicy-enforced file read. Returns full content for small files, structural outline with jump table for large files, or refusal with reason code for banned files. Detects re-reads and returns cached outlines or structural diffs.graft_editPerform one governed exact string replacement in a repo file. Requires path, old_string, and new_string. Refuses missing or ambiguous old_string matches and policy-denied paths.file_outlineStructural skeleton of a file — function signatures, class shapes, exports. Includes a jump table mapping each symbol to its line range for targeted read_range follow-ups.read_rangeRead a bounded range of lines from a file. Maximum 250 lines. Use jump table entries from file_outline or safe_read to target specific symbols.changed_sinceCheck if a file changed since it was last read. Returns structural diff (added/removed/changed symbols) or 'unchanged'. Peek mode by default; pass consume: true to update the observation cache.graft_diffStructural diff between two git refs. Shows added, removed, and changed symbols per file — not line hunks. Defaults to working tree vs HEAD.run_captureExecute a shell command and return the last N lines of output (default 60). Responses include an explicit policy boundary. Persisted logs can be disabled and obvious secrets are redacted before writing to .graft/logs/capture.log.state_saveSave session working state (max 8 KB). Use for session bookmarks: current task, files modified, next planned actions.state_loadLoad previously saved session state. Returns null if no state has been saved.doctorRuntime health check. Shows project root, parser status, active thresholds, session depth, message count, and burden summary.activity_viewInspect recent bounded local artifact history for the active workspace, anchored to the current commit when possible.causal_statusInspect the active causal workspace and persisted local-history posture.- +22 more on the listing page
PatchWarden tools 30
save_planSave an execution plan — ChatGPT writes the plan, PatchWarden stores it for local agent execution. Supports plan_ref to load a plan file already placed inside .patchwarden/plans.get_planRead a saved plan by its plan_id.health_checkCheck MCP catalog consistency, watcher freshness/supervisor state, workspace readiness, and configured agents. Use detail=self_diagnostic for expanded read-only evidence.list_agentsList configured local agents and check whether each executable currently exists. This does not start an agent or contact its model provider.create_taskCreate a repo-scoped task from exactly one source. For ChatGPT, prefer the guarded inspect_only, feature_small, or fix_tests template when it fits. A stale watcher preserves the task but returns execution_blocked and directs the client to health_check; otherwise call wait_for_task until terminal. Use execution_mode=assess_only to pre-assess risk and get an assessment_id without creating a task; then invoke the returned next_tool_call using only execution_mode=execute and the full assessment_id.get_task_statusCheck task status, execution phase, watcher health, pending reason, current command, timeout, and change evidence.get_resultRead result.md, or return structured availability and watcher evidence while the task is not terminal.get_result_jsonRead the structured result.json for deterministic task acceptance.get_diffRead task diff evidence, or return structured availability and watcher evidence while it is not ready.get_test_logRead test.log, or return structured availability and watcher evidence while it is not ready.list_workspaceList files and directories within the workspace (sensitive files excluded).read_workspace_fileRead a file within the workspace. Sensitive files (secrets, keys, tokens) are blocked. In Direct mode (with session_id), reads are scoped to the session's repo_path and return sha256.- +18 more on 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.
Graft
{
"mcpServers": {
"flyingrobots-graft": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@flyingrobots/graft"
],
"env": {
"GRAFT_ROOT_PATH": "YOUR_GRAFT_ROOT_PATH_HERE"
}
}
}
}
PatchWarden
{
"mcpServers": {
"jiezeng2004-design-patchwarden": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"patchwarden@0.6.1"
],
"env": {
"CONTROL_PLANE_API_KEY": "YOUR_CONTROL_PLANE_API_KEY_HERE",
"PATCHWARDEN_OWNER_TOKEN": "YOUR_PATCHWARDEN_OWNER_TOKEN_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Graft is categorized under Coding Agents and uses a local stdio subprocess. PatchWarden belongs to Coding Agents and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Graft for coding agents work and PatchWarden for coding agents.
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.
Graft is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. PatchWarden has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. 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 flyingrobots-graft and jiezeng2004-design-patchwarden as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Graft has a quality signal of 65/100 (Great) with 1 views, 0 installs and 17 GitHub stars. PatchWarden has 64/100 (Good) with 1 views, 0 installs and 6 GitHub stars.