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5 must-have MCPs for Claude Code

The 5 I use every day. One-click copy commands, just follow along

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MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the standard interface that connects Claude Code to outside tools. Install the 5 below and Claude can search the web, drive a browser, scrape a whole site, generate images and video, and control your tabs. Its reach roughly doubles. Every command here was checked against the official source, and each one has one-click copy. You can follow this with no engineering background.

Before you start

How to use this page

Install Claude Code first. Paste each command below into your terminal and run it, swapping the gold API key text for your own. After installing, restart your Claude Code session to load them. Run claude mcp list to check that they are installed.

Mac vs Windows: Each tool below comes in a Mac / Linux version and a Windows version, so copy the one for your system. The only difference is that on Windows, any command containing npx has to be wrapped in cmd /c npx (this is the official requirement for Claude Code on Windows, and it will not run without it). On Mac / Linux, use the command as is.
1
Perplexity MCP
Live web search, no more switching tabs

Claude calls Perplexity's Sonar models directly for live web search, questions, and deep research.

Mac / Linux

claude mcp add perplexity --env PERPLEXITY_API_KEY="YOUR_KEY" -- npx -y @perplexity-ai/mcp-server

Windows

claude mcp add perplexity --env PERPLEXITY_API_KEY="YOUR_KEY" -- cmd /c npx -y @perplexity-ai/mcp-server

API key: Requires PERPLEXITY_API_KEY. Get one from the API settings on perplexity.ai (paid API, add credit first).

Official source: github.com/perplexityai/modelcontextprotocol

2
Playwright MCP
Let Claude drive a browser, click buttons, fill forms

Made by Microsoft. Real browser automation: open pages, click buttons, fill forms, take screenshots, read page structure. No API key needed, and the browser installs itself on first run.

Mac / Linux

claude mcp add playwright npx @playwright/mcp@latest

Windows

claude mcp add playwright -- cmd /c npx @playwright/mcp@latest

Official source: github.com/microsoft/playwright-mcp

3
Firecrawl MCP
Pull an entire site into Claude in seconds

Turn a whole site into clean Markdown (scrape / crawl / search / map / extract) for Claude to read.

Mac / Linux

claude mcp add firecrawl -e FIRECRAWL_API_KEY=YOUR_KEY -- npx -y firecrawl-mcp

Windows

claude mcp add firecrawl -e FIRECRAWL_API_KEY=YOUR_KEY -- cmd /c npx -y firecrawl-mcp

API key: Requires FIRECRAWL_API_KEY (keys start with fc- prefix). Get one at firecrawl.dev by signing up:free plan available, no credit card.

Official source: github.com/firecrawl/firecrawl-mcp-server

4
Glif MCP
AI images and video, run right inside your workflow

Pull the AI workflows from glif.app (image generation, memes, multimodal models) into Claude and run them there.

Mac / Linux

claude mcp add glif --env GLIF_API_TOKEN=YOUR_TOKEN -- npx -y @glifxyz/glif-mcp-server@latest

Windows

claude mcp add glif --env GLIF_API_TOKEN=YOUR_TOKEN -- cmd /c npx -y @glifxyz/glif-mcp-server@latest

API key: Requires GLIF_API_TOKEN. Get one from glif.app API tokens page.

The official docs only give a JSON config, with no official CLI line, so the command above is an equivalent conversion of that JSON. This package's repo also went read-only in mid-2026. It still installs and runs, but it is no longer maintained.

Official source: github.com/glifxyz/glif-mcp-server

5
Chrome MCP
Claude can see and drive the Chrome tabs you already have open

Different from Playwright. Chrome MCP connects to the Chrome you are already using, so it keeps your logins and your open tabs. It can search across tabs, take screenshots, grab content, click and fill forms. No API key needed, fully local (needs Node.js 20 or later). Setup is not a one-line command. Install the extension and the bridge first:

  1. Go to the official releases page and download the extension
  2. Install the bridge in your terminal:npm install -g mcp-chrome-bridge
  3. In Chrome, open chrome://extensions/ → turn on Developer mode → Load unpacked → pick the folder you just downloaded → click connect
  4. Finally, connect it in Claude Code (it runs on 127.0.0.1:12306 by default):
claude mcp add --transport http chrome-mcp-server http://127.0.0.1:12306/mcp

This line is the same on Mac and Windows (no npx, so no cmd /c wrapper). The earlier npm install -g line is the same on both too.

Several projects go by the name "Chrome MCP". This one is hangwin/mcp-chrome, which fits the "drive my own Chrome" job best. Google also publishes chrome-devtools-mcp, but that one is aimed at web debugging, a different purpose.

Official source: github.com/hangwin/mcp-chrome

Common questions

What is MCP?

Model Context Protocol, a standard interface that connects Claude Code to outside tools and data sources. Install the matching MCP server and Claude can search the web, drive a browser, scrape sites, and generate images. Its reach grows a lot.

Installed it but nothing happens?

After the command finishes, restart your Claude Code session to load them. Run claude mcp list to confirm it was added.

Do I need a paid key?

Not always. Playwright and Chrome need no key. Firecrawl has a free plan. Perplexity and Glif need keys, and the Perplexity API is paid.

This page is a free resource I made for you

I'm Leo Huang (kanisleo328), and I have built several products with AI. If this page helped, say hi on IG. I'll keep adding hands-on Claude Code guides.

Find me on Instagram →

leoaido.com ・ Hands-on AI guides

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