Photo by author
# Introduction
Setting up Model Context Protocol (MCPS) servers on your local machine can be difficult. You have to install various packages, manage node/nvm versions, fix path issues, and deal with troubleshooting servers that won’t start even after following all the setup steps. Despite following the guide, local hosting can still be difficult and time-consuming.
A very simple solution is to use remote hosted MCP servers. You can connect to these servers simply by using a URL and an API key or OAUTH token. This means you won’t have to worry about configuring anything locally, dealing with dependency issues, or managing persistent processes. In many cases, remote servers are faster and more reliable than trying to run everything on your own computer.
In this article, we’ll explore seven free remote MCP servers that simplify planning, designing, coding, and managing research in a seamless workflow. You will learn about their use cases and the key features they provide.
# 1. GitHub
The remote GitHub MCP Serversponsored by GitHub, provides the easiest way to integrate MCP-compliant assistants and IDEs with your GitHub tools with one-click setup and automatic updates.
Once connected, your assistant can communicate directly with your chat or editor with collections, issues, and direct requests. It can even automate workflows, such as opening pull requests, initiating continuous integration, and performing security triage, allowing you to ship code faster with less context switching.
MCP Server supports OAUTH 2.1 with PKCE and integrates with first-party Copilot IDEs, including VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrain, Eclipse, and Xcode, ensuring a smooth setup experience.
{
 "mcpServers": {
  "github": {
   "url": "
   "headers": {
    "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_GITHUB_PAT"
   }
  }
 }
}# 2. Canva
Canva MCP Server Provides seamless communication between your AI assistant, such as Cloud or Cursor, and Canva. This integration enhances your design experience by allowing you to easily create new designs.
With MCP Server, you can automatically populate templates with your unique content and easily export your results as images or PDFs. This streamlines the design process and saves you valuable time.
Additionally, the server facilitates work with existing designs. You can summarize them or create new content based on what you have. This means you can maintain a smooth workflow without having to switch between different tools while keeping your creative process in your editor or chat environment.
{
 "mcpServers": {
  "Canva": {
   "command": "npx",
   "args": (
    "-y",
    "mcp-remote@latest",
    "
   )
  }
 }
}# 3. Figma
Figma MCP Remote Server (open beta) connects MCP-compliant assistants to tools like VSCode, Cursor, and CloudCode directly to your Figma files using OAUTH and ShareLink.
This integration allows you to generate code from selected frames, extract variables, components, and layout metadata, retrieve resources, and ensure that the output code aligns with your design system via Connect.
As a result, teams can add the right design context to their IDEs without the need for a desktop app, reduce handoff friction, and iterate more quickly from prototype to production.
{
  "inputs": (),
  "servers": {
   "figma": {
    "url": "
    "type": "http"
   }
  }
 }# 4. Idea
Idea MCP Server is a hosted service that securely connects popular AI assistants, such as ChatGupt, Cloud, and Cursor, to your workspace through a simple one-click OAUTH process. This integration provides real-time read and write access to your pages and database, along with tools designed specifically for AI agents.
Once connected, you can search your entire workspace, create new pages based on search results, and update properties on multiple pages. By combining these features, you can automate documents, plans, and task updates directly from your editor or chat. It minimizes context and streamlines your workflow.
{
 "mcpServers": {
  "Notion": {
   "url": "
  }
 }
}# 5. Face hugging
Hugging Face MCP Server Connects the assistant directly to the center of the huggable face according to your MCP. It allows you to browse and search for models, datasets, spaces, and papers directly from your editor, chat, or command-line interface (CLI). It supports popular clients like VSCode, Cursor, Z, and Cloud Desktop.
Additionally, it enables you to run community tools through MCP-compliant Gradio apps hosted on spaces and return results to your backend with rich metadata, links, and context. These features streamline the discovery, evaluation, and rapid prototyping of models and datasets without the need for context switching, keeping research and implementation within an integrated workflow.
{
 "mcpServers": {
  "hf-mcp-server": {
   "url": "
  }
 }
}# 6. Linear
Linear MCP Gives your AI assistant premium access to your linear workspace, allowing you to manage software projects and track issues using natural language.
You can easily search, create and update linear objects such as issues, projects and teams. Additionally, it enables you to automate common tasks directly from clients like Cloud, Cursor and Windsurf.
This integration brings linearity to your editing environment, enhancing your development experience and streamlining planning, triage and status updates.
{
 "mcpServers": {
  "linear": {
   "command": "npx",
   "args": ("-y", "mcp-remote", "
  }
 }
}# 7. Crackers
FireCrawl MCP Server LLM is available for both local and remote use, integrating the Cracker API to provide the client with powerful web crawling, scraping, and searching capabilities. You can find it on GitHub.
In addition to basic scraping, it offers features like JavaScript rendering, batch scraping, and search functionality. It supports self-hosting options and includes advanced features such as parallel processing, automated attempts, and content filtering.
Designed specifically for AI workflows, Firecrackers can import and format web content into machine-readable formats such as Markdown, JSON, or HTML, ensuring reliable content extraction.
It is commonly used to extend tools such as Cursor and Cloud, which add real-time web data to the model context.
{
 "mcpServers": {
  "firecrawl-mcp": {
   "command": "npx",
   "args": ("-y", "firecrawl-mcp"),
   "env": {
    "FIRECRAWL_API_KEY": "YOUR-API-KEY"
   }
  }
 }
}# The result
MCP servers like GitHub, Canva, Figma, and Visualize to streamline planning, design, coding, and research into a single workflow. This consistency reduces context switching and speeds up delivery. With OAUTH-based access and actionable tools available directly in your editor or chat, you can increase collaboration and establish a rapid feedback loop throughout the product lifecycle.
Some of the use cases of MCP servers are:
- GitHub: Open PRS, triage issues and trigger CIs from chat/editor to fast ship.
- Canva: Create designs, autofill templates, and export assets (PNG/JPG/PDF) without leaving your IDE/Chat.
- Figma: Convert frames to starter code and draw variables/components for design – system – constant output.
- Idea: Search, create, and update pages to automate documents, tasks, and status reports.
- Hug Face: Explore models/datasets/blanks and run Grado tools for rapid evaluation and prototyping.
- linear: Create/update issues and projects from your assistant, automate triage, and post status updates from your assistant.
- Crackers: Crawl/scrape sites with JS and return structured Markdown/JSON/HTML to ground AI responses.
Abid Ali Owan For centuries.@1abidaliawan) is a certified data scientist professional who loves building machine learning models. Currently, he is focusing on content creation and writing technical blogs on machine learning and data science technologies. Abid holds a Master’s degree in Technology Management and a Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunication Engineering. His vision is to create an AI product using graph neural networks for students with mental illness.