Formio MCP vs Paper Lantern

In-depth architectural comparison of the Formio MCP and Paper Lantern 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 Formio 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 Formio MCP Details

Choose Paper Lantern 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: explore_approaches, deep_dive, compare_approaches.

Explore Paper Lantern Details

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	Formio MCP Developer Tools	Paper Lantern Developer Tools
Summary	Create and manage Form.io forms, resources, actions, roles, and projects from your AI agent.	Research intelligence for AI coding agents. 2M+ CS papers with evidence and tradeoffs.
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": {
    "formio-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@formio/mcp@0.13.0"
      ]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "paper-lantern": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "paperlantern@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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