Record · ref-tools-mcMCP serverOpen sourceVerified Sep 23, 2026

Ref MCP

Token-efficient documentation search and reading for coding agents, across public and private libraries.

Sources and review

Checked against public documentation on September 23, 2026. Suitability guidance is our editorial judgment; this is not a performance benchmark or an endorsement.

Best for

Coding agents that repeatedly look up third-party API docs and need to conserve context.

Avoid if

You'd rather not sign up for a service; it needs a Ref API key.

About Ref MCP

Ref MCP gives coding agents documentation for APIs, services and libraries through search and read tools designed to return only the relevant part of a page, keeping context small. It connects over streamable HTTP or stdio.

Ref MCP is an open-source project written primarily in TypeScript, with 1.2k stars on GitHub. It was last updated in September 2026.

Add Ref MCP to your MCP client

Generated from the launch command in the project's README. Your client starts the server on demand. Replace <your-api-key> with your own value first.

Claude CodeRun in your terminal

claude mcp add ref-tools-mcp -e 'REF_API_KEY=<your-api-key>' -- npx ref-tools-mcp@latest

Cursor~/.cursor/mcp.json or .cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ref-tools-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["ref-tools-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "REF_API_KEY": "<your-api-key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code.vscode/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "ref-tools-mcp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["ref-tools-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "REF_API_KEY": "<your-api-key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktopclaude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ref-tools-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["ref-tools-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "REF_API_KEY": "<your-api-key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Codex~/.codex/config.toml

[mcp_servers.ref-tools-mcp]
command = "npx"
args = ["ref-tools-mcp@latest"]
env = { REF_API_KEY = "<your-api-key>" }

Check the project's README for required accounts, keys and permissions before connecting. Setup guide for each client →

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Ref MCP vs. the alternatives

All 163 alternatives →

Record	Stars	Language	License	Pricing
Ref MCPMCP serverthis listing	1.2k	TypeScript	MIT	Open source
MCP Reference ServersMCP server	91k	TypeScript	MIT AND Apache-2.0	Open source
context7MCP server	62k	TypeScript	MIT	Open source
chrome-devtools-mcpMCP server	53k	TypeScript	Apache-2.0	Open source
Playwright MCPMCP server	37k	TypeScript	Apache-2.0	Open source
github-mcp-serverMCP server	33k	Go	MIT	Open source

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