everything vs ref-tools-mcp
Side-by-side comparison to help you pick between these two MCP servers.
everything by modelcontextprotocol | ref-tools-mcp by ref-tools | |
|---|---|---|
| Stars | ★ 85,748 | ★ 1,104 |
| 30d uses | — | — |
| Score | 77 | 54 |
| Official | ✓ | — |
| Categories | Developer ToolsAI / LLM ToolsOther | Developer ToolsAI / LLM ToolsSearch |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last commit | this month | this month |
everything · Summary
Official MCP test server exercising all protocol features for client builders.
ref-tools-mcp · Summary
Ref MCP provides token-efficient API documentation search tools to reduce context rot and minimize costs.
everything · Use cases
- Testing MCP client implementations against all protocol features
- Learning MCP protocol capabilities through a reference server
- Validating client compatibility with different transport methods
ref-tools-mcp · Use cases
- AI coding agents searching API documentation without overwhelming context windows
- Development teams maintaining up-to-date references for multiple services
- Cost reduction by minimizing token usage when fetching documentation
everything · Install
NPX (recommended)
{
"mcpServers": {
"everything": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-everything"]
}
}
}On Windows, use cmd /c:
{
"mcpServers": {
"everything": {
"command": "cmd",
"args": ["/c", "npx", "-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-everything"]
}
}
}Docker
{
"mcpServers": {
"everything": {
"command": "docker",
"args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "mcp/everything"]
}
}
}Global install
npm install -g @modelcontextprotocol/server-everything@latest
npx @modelcontextprotocol/server-everythingref-tools-mcp · Install
Installation Options
Streamable HTTP (Recommended)
Add to your Cursor configuration:
"Ref": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://api.ref.tools/mcp?apiKey=YOUR_API_KEY"
}stdio (Legacy)
Add to your Cursor configuration:
"Ref": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["ref-tools-mcp@latest"],
"env": {
"REF_API_KEY": <sign up to get an api key>
}
}Claude Desktop
Add to claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"ref-tools": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["ref-tools-mcp@latest"]
}
}
}