Glazecalc vs Next AI Draw IO
A side-by-side look at the Glazecalc and Next AI Draw IO MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Glazecalc for developer tools work over a hosted endpoint; choose Next AI Draw IO for developer tools as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Glazecalc when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
- You prefer a remote HTTP/SSE transport.
- You want tools like
search_materials, get_material, analyze_recipe.
Choose Next AI Draw IO when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: API key required.
- You want tools like
get_drawing_guide, get_shape_library, start_session.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Developer Tools | Developer Tools |
| Quality signal | 72/100 · Great | 73/100 · Great |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Remote HTTP/SSE | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | API key required |
| Pricing | Not declared | BYOK (pay the provider) |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 36,406 |
| Directory activity | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 7 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 33 | 16 |
| Full listing | View Glazecalc | View Next AI Draw IO |
Tools & capabilities
Glazecalc tools 33
search_materialsFinds ceramic raw materials (feldspars, clays, frits, fluxes) and, if asked, colorants in Glazecalc's library by name, alias or maker. Use it to find the exact name the other tools take.get_materialOne material from Glazecalc's library: its oxides, loss on ignition, whether it is discontinued and what replaces it, where it is sold, hazards and the data sheet it comes from.analyze_recipeWorks out a glaze recipe's unity (Seger) formula, oxide groups, silica to alumina ratio, fired analysis, loss on ignition and calculated thermal expansion, as the Glazecalc app does. stull says where the recipe sits on Stull's chart (1912, as the recipe page draws it): silica and alumina in moles, the region (unfused, matte, semi-matte, bright or underfired) and whether it falls in the crazed area; a guide to the surface, not a promise.check_limitsChecks a glaze recipe for what is past a recommended limit for its firing (too much boron or alkali, too little alumina, too little or too much clay, rising expansion...) and says what the fired glaze will likely do, as the Glazecalc app does. A cone is checked in the band the recipe page gives it (low cone 06-02, mid 1-7, high 8-11); from cone 12 up (band 'top') no published limits reach, so the band's limits are not checked and limitsNote says so. With a firing, coneFit says whether the chemistry looks like that firing's, by Katz's boron rule and Hesselberth & Roy's silica and alumina whatever limit set is chosen: verdict 'cooler' or 'hotter' only when boron and silica or alumina agree on another band; 'fits' (nothing points away, not a pass); 'skipped' where the published figures do not reach (lead, lithium, much soda and potash or zinc, raku, cones 01 to 3, cooler than cone 06 or hotter than cone 10...). Cone 6 against cone 10 is told apart only roughly (strength 'soft'). stull says where the recipe sits on Stull's chart, as analyze_recipe gives it. These are cautions and guides from published figures, not a test and not a guarantee of food safety.convert_cone_temperatureConverts between a pyrometric cone and its temperature, and between °C and °F. Orton cones run 022 to 42: Glazecalc's figure, from 022 to 15, is Orton's older chart for large cones at 150 °C an hour, and Orton's current figures (self-supporting cones at 15, 60 and 150 °C an hour, large cones at 60 and 150, cone 022 to 14) come beside it; Orton publishes no figure above cone 14, so cones from 16 up have none. SK cones (JIS R 8101, SK 022 to SK 20) by the standard's nominal figures. Give a cone, or a temperature to find the nearest cones.suggest_substitutesFinds the discontinued or scarce materials in a recipe and the modern ones that replace them, then suggests amounts that keep the unity formula as near as the materials allow, as the Glazecalc app does. report.closeness says how near the new unity formula comes to the old, oxide by oxide, as match_from_materials does. Test any suggestion before using it.match_from_materialsRemakes a glaze recipe from only the materials listed in "have", keeping its unity formula as near as they allow, as Match with what I have does in the Glazecalc app. report.closeness says how near the new unity formula comes to the old, oxide by oxide: close (within 0.02, or 5% of a large amount such as silica's), off, or far (more than three times that), with a verdict (close, fair or poor) and a summary. report.miss and report.best are the solver's own scores, for comparing runs. Raw clay is held to 20% of the batch where that costs the match little (report.capped and allowMore say more). Test any suggestion before using it.solve_targetMakes a glaze recipe, in percent, from the materials given whose unity formula comes as near a target as they allow (Solve for a target in the Glazecalc app). The target is a unity formula (moles; the fluxes are scaled to add up to 1) or an oxide analysis (percent by weight of the fired glaze), with potash and soda apart. Give the materials by their library names, or onHand for the materials on the person’s shelf (with a token or connected app that may read it). closeness says how near each oxide comes: close (within 0.02, or 5% of a large amount such as silica’s), off, or far (more than three times that), with a verdict (close, fair or poor) and a summary; unreachable names the target’s oxides nothing given supplies. Raw clay is held to 20% of the batch where that costs the match little (capped and allowMore say more). Test any recipe before using it.blend_recipesWorks out the test tiles of a line blend between recipes a and b (2 to 11 steps), or of a triaxial blend when c is given too (2 to 6 rows, up to 21 tiles), as the Blends page of the Glazecalc app does. Each tile is a mix of the corner recipes, each taken as a percent of its base: its shares, its recipe in percent, its key unity formula figures (silica, alumina, boron, the fluxes), silica to alumina, calculated expansion, its place on the Stull chart (stull), the names of the limit cautions it has, and, with a firing, whether its chemistry fits that firing (coneFit verdict). With two recipes and steps 2 it compares them oxide by oxide (differences). Give base materials only, no colorants. This is a calculation from published figures, not a test result: the tiles, fired, decide, and the cautions are guides, not a guarantee of food safety.vary_materialShows what one material does to a glaze, by putting more and more of it into a base recipe (an ingredient blend or progression test: whiting 0 to 20, say, in 2 to 11 tiles). With mode "add" (the default) it goes on top of the base, so the recipe grows; with mode "replace" the same amount comes out of another material of the base (`instead`), so the total stays the same. Each tile has its amount of the material, its recipe in percent, its key unity formula figures (silica, alumina, boron, the fluxes), silica to alumina, calculated expansion, its place on Stull's chart (stull: region, crazed), the names of the limit cautions it has, and, with a firing, whether its chemistry fits that firing (coneFit verdict). trend sums up what moves from the first tile to the last, and which Stull regions the tiles cross. Give base materials only, no colorants. This is a calculation from published figures, not a test result: the tiles, fired, decide, and the cautions are guides, not a guarantee of food safety.compare_recipesCompares two glaze recipes side by side: for each, its recipe in percent, key unity formula figures, silica to alumina, calculated expansion, place on Stull's chart (stull), the names of the limit cautions it has and, with a firing, whether its chemistry fits that firing (coneFit verdict); then what changes from A to B oxide by oxide (differences), and which materials are in A only, in B only, or in both, with their percents. It is the same comparison blend_recipes makes with two recipes and two steps, under a name that is easy to find. Give base materials only, no colorants. This is a calculation from published figures, not a test result: fire both, and the tiles decide.search_guidesSearches Glazecalc's plain-language guides for potters (glazing from first principles, making a glaze, safe mixing, safety at home with children and pets, firing a kiln, and a companion to John Britt's free glaze course, in English only) in the language asked for, or in English where that language has no match. Returns each matching section's title, anchor, a short excerpt, its address on the website and its resource URI, which resources/read returns in full. Use it for glaze defects, safety, firing and terms, and cite the address.- +21 more on the listing page
Next AI Draw IO tools 16
get_drawing_guideReturn the drawing guide: XML format, layout, edge routing, style and editing rules. start_session already returns it; call this only if the guide is no longer in your context. With topic, returns a short XML reference for tables, layers or groups.get_shape_libraryGet the style syntax and shape names of a draw.io icon library. Call this BEFORE drawing with cloud, network or other icon shapes, and use the exact names it returns; never guess them. Libraries: - Cloud: aws4, azure2, gcp2, alibaba_cloud, openstack, salesforce - Networking: cisco19, network, kubernetes, vvd, rack - Business: bpmn, lean_mapping - General: flowchart, basic, arrows2, infographic, sitemap - UI/Mockups: android, material_design - Enterprise: citrix, sap, mscae, atlassian - Engineering: fluidpower, electrical, pid, cabinets, floorplan - Icons: webiconsstart_sessionStart a new diagram session, or continue a saved one with session_id, and open the browser for real-time preview. Starts an embedded server and opens a browser window with draw.io. The browser will show diagram updates as they happen. The result includes the drawing guide; follow it when drawing.list_saved_diagramsList the diagrams saved by earlier sessions (auto-save files), newest first, with their pages. Continue one with start_session session_id=<id>; the file path also works with load_diagram.create_new_diagramCreate a NEW diagram, REPLACING the whole document: every page and any unsaved user changes (the previous state stays in History). To add a tab use add_page; to change cells use edit_diagram. Before using icon shapes (AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes, Cisco...), call get_shape_library first. Follow the drawing guide returned by start_session (call get_drawing_guide if it is no longer in your context). Pass screenshot: true on the last call of a complex diagram to check the result. Accepted xml: 1) Only the mxCell elements of one page (recommended). The server adds <mxfile>, <mxGraphModel>, <root> and the root cells "0" and "1": <mxCell id="2" value="Shape" style="rounded=1;" x="40" y="40" w="120" h="60"/> 2) A bare <mxGraphModel> with <root> (one page). 3) A full <mxfile> with one or more <diagram> pages. Every page's <root> must start with <mxCell id="0"/><mxCell id="1" parent="0"/>. Rules: cells are siblings (never nested), ids are unique per page and start from "2", parent only for shapes inside a container, no XML comments, and shapes stay within x 0 to 800 and y 0 to 600. A style used by several cells is defined once with <mxStyle name="..." value="..."/> before the cells and used by name (see the drawing guide); html=1 and whiteSpace=wrap are added automatically. To clear the canvas to one blank page, send only the two root cells <mxCell id="0"/><mxCell id="1" parent="0"/>; the previous diagram stays in History.load_diagramLoad a .drawio diagram into the current session, REPLACING the entire diagram (all pages). To change an existing file, load it here, edit with edit_diagram, then export_diagram to the same path; never rewrite the file by hand. Provide ONE of two mutually exclusive sources: 'path' (the server reads the file from disk — you do NOT need to read the file yourself or pass its XML through create_new_diagram) or 'xml' (the raw file content you already have — from another tool, a repository read, or an API response — so no temporary file needs to be written first). Both accept plain XML and draw.io's compressed save format. .drawio.svg (Editable SVG, the format export_diagram writes) is accepted too; .png files (also draw.io's editable PNG) and plain .svg files cannot be loaded. After loading from 'path' (or from compressed 'xml'), call get_diagram before edit_diagram — you haven't seen the file's cell IDs yet. Plain-XML 'xml' content you supplied yourself is already known and can be edited immediately.edit_diagramEdit a specific page in the current diagram by ID-based operations (update/add/delete cells). All-or-nothing: if any operation fails, nothing is applied and every failure is listed. Freshness: the server remembers the last diagram state you have seen, and rejects this call only if the user edited the diagram in the browser since then. You do NOT need to call get_diagram before every edit: a rejected call changes nothing and includes the current XML of the page, so you can rebuild your operations and retry. Call get_diagram first only when you don't know the current diagram content (cell IDs, structure) — e.g. the diagram wasn't created in this conversation, or you're unsure your memory of it is accurate. Multi-page targeting: - page_id / page_name / page_index are optional; when all omitted, the FIRST page is targeted - Use list_pages to discover what pages exist Operations: - add: Add a new cell. Provide cell_id (new unique id within the page) and new_xml. One cell per operation. - update: Replace an existing cell by its id. Provide cell_id and complete new_xml. - delete: Remove a cell by its id. Only cell_id is needed. Its children and connected edges are deleted too, so give only a container's id. For add/update, new_xml is the complete mxCell (inside its <object> wrapper when it has custom data, see the drawing guide) in the compact form (a shape with x, y, w, h; an edge with source and target). No XML comments. Every " inside new_xml must be escaped as \" in the JSON. Example - Add a rectangle on the default (first) page: {"operations": [{"operation": "add", "cell_id": "rect-1", "new_xml": "<mxCell id=\"rect-1\" value=\"Hello\" style=\"rounded=1;\" x=\"100\" y=\"100\" w=\"120\" h=\"60\"/>"}]} Example - Delete a cell on the default page: {"operations": [{"operation": "delete", "cell_id": "rect-1"}]}get_diagramGet the current diagram XML (fetches latest from browser, including user's manual edits). Call this when you don't know the current diagram content (cell IDs, pages, structure) — e.g. before editing a diagram you didn't create in this conversation, or after edit_diagram was rejected because the user changed the diagram in the browser. Returns the full <mxfile> by default. If a page selector is provided, returns just that page's <mxGraphModel> embedded in a one-page <mxfile> wrapper.get_selectionReturn the cells the user has selected in the preview: their ids and labels, for edges the source and target ids, for shapes the position and size, and the page they are on. Call this when the user refers to what they selected ("this box", "these arrows", "the selected shapes"), then act on the ids with edit_diagram. Says when nothing is selected. Needs the preview tab to be open.screenshot_diagramRender the diagram in the preview and return it as a PNG image, so you can see your own result. Call this once after drawing or heavily editing a complex diagram, then fix overlaps and edges that cross shapes. Without a page selector it shows the page on screen; with one it renders that page without changing what the user sees. Needs the preview tab to be open.export_diagramExport the current diagram to a file. Supports .drawio (XML), .png, .svg, and .drawio.svg (an SVG with the diagram embedded, which draw.io and load_diagram can open again). The format is auto-detected from the file extension, or can be specified explicitly. Images get a 20 px margin; a PNG has a white background (or the page's own background color) unless transparent is true. Multi-page behaviour: - .drawio with NO page selector: writes the full <mxfile> (all pages). - .drawio with a page selector: writes a single-page <mxfile> containing only that page. - .png / .svg with NO page selector: exports the currently active page in the browser. - .png with a page selector: renders that page without changing what the user sees. - .svg / .drawio.svg with a page selector: temporarily loads that page into the browser, captures it, then restores the full document (the user sees a brief flicker).list_pagesList every page (tab) in the current diagram. Returns each page's id, name, 0-based index, and cell count. Use this to discover what pages exist before targeting one with edit_diagram, get_diagram, export_diagram, rename_page, or delete_page.- +4 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.
Glazecalc
{
"mcpServers": {
"glazecalc": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"ng"
]
}
}
}
Next AI Draw IO
{
"mcpServers": {
"next-ai-draw-io": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@next-ai-drawio/mcp-server@latest"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Glazecalc is categorized under Developer Tools and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. Next AI Draw IO belongs to Developer Tools and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Glazecalc for developer tools work and Next AI Draw IO for developer tools.
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.
Glazecalc has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Next AI Draw IO is bring-your-own-key: usage is billed by the API provider you supply a key for. 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 glazecalc and next-ai-draw-io as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Glazecalc has a quality signal of 72/100 (Great) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. Next AI Draw IO has 73/100 (Great) with 7 views, 0 installs and 36,406 GitHub stars.