MCPExplorer
The search engine and trust layer for MCP servers.
→ mcpexplorer.com
MCPExplorer indexes Model Context Protocol servers and verifies each one with a live handshake — so you can see the real tools a server exposes, each labeled by risk, plus a trust score, before you install it.
Every "awesome MCP" list is a static, unverified README. MCPExplorer actually runs the servers.
This repo is the public home for MCPExplorer's docs and its MCP server manifest. The product itself lives at mcpexplorer.com.
The problem
As the MCP ecosystem grew past thousands of servers, the lists stopped being useful. From a name and a one-line description you can't tell:
- what tools a server actually exposes,
- whether those tools are read-only or can delete your data,
- whether it needs credentials,
- or whether it's still maintained —
until you install it and hope.
What MCPExplorer does
- Verifies, doesn't just list. It runs the real MCP
tools/listhandshake on every server — remote servers over the network, local/stdio servers in a hardened, ephemeral Docker sandbox — and extracts the true tool surface. - Labels tool risk. Every tool is tagged read / write / destructive, so you know what a server can do before you connect it.
- Scores trust. A deterministic score from provenance, verification, adoption, and freshness — with every contributing factor shown on the page, not a black box.
- Stays fresh. Every fact carries provenance and a "last checked" timestamp.
Currently ~1,000 servers indexed · 3,500+ tools extracted · 278 handshake-verified.
Start here
- 🔍 Explore the index — https://mcpexplorer.com/explore
- ⭐ Best MCP servers (ranked) — https://mcpexplorer.com/best-mcp-servers
- 📖 What is an MCP server? — https://mcpexplorer.com/what-is-an-mcp-server
- 📊 State of MCP report — https://mcpexplorer.com/reports
The MCPExplorer MCP server
MCPExplorer exposes its own MCP server, so you can search, vet, and assemble
servers from inside your agent — without leaving your client. Hand plan_toolset
a plain-language goal and get back a recommended, governed toolset.
Endpoint: https://mcpexplorer.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no auth)
Add it to Claude Code:
Or add it to any MCP client:
Tools (14):
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
search_servers | Search the index by capability, transport, and risk |
get_server | A server's verified tools, install command, and trust breakdown |
get_capability | Servers that provide a given capability |
compare_servers | Side-by-side comparison of two servers |
get_alternatives | Servers similar to a given one |
check_trust | Explainable trust score and reasoning for a server |
generate_runtime_config | Ready-to-paste client config for a server |
list_capabilities | The capability slugs you can search and look up by |
list_runtimes | Runtimes generate_runtime_config supports |
get_ecosystem_stats | Live totals + provenance/transport breakdowns |
list_loadouts | Curated server kits for a job (GTM, coding, research, …) |
get_loadout | One kit with live trust + aggregated tool-risk |
plan_toolset | Plain-language goal → a recommended governed toolset |
report_broken_server | Flag a stale or broken listing |
How verification works
Every server flows through a crawler pipeline:
The verify stage is the heart of it. Remote servers are probed over the
network; local/stdio servers are executed in a locked-down container
(--read-only, --cap-drop ALL, --security-opt no-new-privileges, no host
mounts, no secrets, memory/CPU/PID limits, auto-removed) that runs only known
launchers (npx/uvx/uv/pnpm/bunx). The handshake extracts the real
tools/list, and each tool's risk is derived from its name and schema.
A page is only indexed once it has real MCP-server evidence and enough verified facts — so the index stays servers, not framework repos or link lists.
For agents & programmatic access
- MCP server:
https://mcpexplorer.com/mcp(see above) - llms.txt: https://mcpexplorer.com/llms.txt
Submit a server
Missing something? Submit it at https://mcpexplorer.com/submit — it enters the same verification pipeline as everything else.
FAQ
Is this affiliated with Anthropic? No. MCP is Anthropic's open protocol; MCPExplorer is an independent index built on top of it.
Is the trust score a black box?
No. It's deterministic, and every +/− factor is shown on each server's page.
How do you run untrusted servers safely? Local/stdio servers only ever run inside the hardened, ephemeral container described above — never on the host, never with secrets.
MCPExplorer · mcpexplorer.com · a discovery, trust, and capability graph for MCP servers.