client setup · updated August 2026

Add MCP servers to Windsurf

Windsurf manages MCP servers through its settings panel and a JSON config, and Cascade picks the tools up in agentic flows.

The config Windsurf expects

Lives in: mcp_config.json, via the Windsurf MCP settings panel

One entry per server, under the top-level mcpServers key:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "your-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "the-server-package"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Swap the placeholder for a real server: every server page on this site renders the exact block, ready to paste.

Official setup guide: Windsurf documentation ↗

Five proven servers to start with

The highest-ranked servers we track; each page carries the paste-ready config.

01 Playwright MCP 25,988,876 installs/mo · ★ 36,436 · commit 2026-08-21 02 Chrome DevTools MCP 7,879,708 installs/mo · ★ 49,617 · commit 2026-08-23 03 Context7 4,108,483 installs/mo · ★ 61,171 · commit 2026-08-24 04 Firebase MCP 10,734,044 installs/mo · ★ 4,460 · commit 2026-08-25 05 Storybook MCP Addon 7,699,261 installs/mo · ★ 268 · commit 2026-08-21

Prefer running nothing locally? Start from a hosted endpoint instead: the best remote MCP servers.

Quick answers

Where does Windsurf keep its MCP configuration?

In mcp_config.json, via the Windsurf MCP settings panel. The official documentation covers edge cases and the newest options.

Do all MCP servers work with Windsurf?

Any server speaking standard MCP transports should work: local servers run as a process your client starts, remote servers are a URL you point it at. Each server page on this site shows its exact config, and states when a server needs credentials first.

About this page

Client mechanics come from each client's public documentation, linked above; anything we are not certain of defers to those docs rather than guessing. Server rankings are ours: monthly installs, GitHub stars, and commit recency, recomputed nightly. How we verify.