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11 MCP Servers for Claude Code, From Someone Who Isn’t a Developer

I’m not much of a developer. I built a few things before AI coding tools arrived, but nothing I would show off.

I run a marketing agency and several web properties. Most of my Claude Code work involves advertiser emails, invoices, graphics and social posts. Writing code is a smaller part of it than the name Claude Code suggests.

I have tried and removed plenty of MCP servers since 2025. Eleven stayed connected: GitHub, Playwright, Supabase, Xero, Canva, Gmail, Google Drive, OpusClip, ContentStudio, Viraly and Zernio.

Some save me time each week. Others cover one awkward job that none of the obvious developer tools handle. A few servers did nothing except ask for alarming permissions and add another name to /mcp. Those did not last.

11 MCP Servers for Claude Code, From Someone Who Isn’t a Developer

A short explanation of MCP

Anthropic released the Model Context Protocol in November 2024. MCP gives an AI client a standard way to call tools in another service.

Claude Code can edit files and run shell commands without MCP. It needs an integration when you want it to read a GitHub issue, query Supabase or check an invoice in Xero. The MCP server sits between Claude and that service, handles authentication and exposes the actions Claude can call.

Local MCP servers run on your machine through stdio. Hosted servers use HTTP and often OAuth. Both require setup and a permissions check. Hosted does not mean hands-off.

Fix the context problem first

Older MCP advice warned that every connected server loaded its full schema on every turn. That was true before deferred tool loading.

Claude Code’s current MCP documentation says Tool Search is on by default. Claude sees the tool names at session start, then loads the full definitions it needs for the task. Run /context and check that your MCP tools show as loaded on demand.

You may need ENABLE_TOOL_SEARCH=true if you use Vertex AI or route Claude through a third-party proxy. Most users should leave the setting alone.

Before Tool Search, Claude Code loaded every tool description into the prompt. Tool Search defers those descriptions until Claude needs them. That saves context. It does not narrow what a connected server can read or change.

The number of connected servers tells you little on its own. One server with dozens of verbose tools can cost more than four small servers. Check the tool count in /mcp, remove what you do not use and choose read-only access when the job allows it.

Three MCP servers that cover most coding work

GitHub MCP

GitHub is the first server I would add to a coding setup. I use it to read issues, inspect pull requests and check CI without leaving the Claude Code session.

If you hire someone to work on your site, you can ask what shipped instead of taking their word for it. You can also check whether the change went live without refreshing the page and hoping.

GitHub works as a plain to-do list for site fixes. On many sites, the blog posts and pages live there as text files too. I can ask Claude to fix a typo or check a task without opening GitHub.

Claude reads the issue, inspects the affected files and carries that context into the pull request. No pasting half of GitHub into the terminal.

Scope the token. Access to every repository in an organisation turns one compromised session into an organisation-wide problem.

Playwright MCP

Playwright gives Claude a browser it can click around in. That catches problems a type check will miss: a dead button, a hidden modal or a form that never confirms.

It also helps site owners who do not write code. Ask Claude to fill out the contact form and confirm that the message sends. Ask it to open a new blog post and check every link. It handles the clicks and reports what happened.

Install Playwright when you want Claude to check a live page. If neither you nor your clients need browser testing, leave it disconnected.

Supabase MCP

I use Supabase MCP on my project databases to read schemas, work with queries and inspect data. Keeping the database and code in one conversation saves a lot of copying between dashboards.

Start with a read-only role. An agent with write access can damage the same data you are trying to understand. Backups help, but they are a poor substitute for tight permissions.

Supabase MCP makes sense for a Supabase project. A plain Postgres database needs a Postgres server, and some projects need no database connection at all.

The operator stack

Developer lists often stop after GitHub, browser testing and a database. My working day also contains invoices, design work and advertiser follow-ups.

Xero MCP

Xero lets me check aged receivables and invoice status from the same session where I may be working on an advertiser’s site. It saves about five minutes of browser hopping. Across several properties, those five-minute detours add up.

Keep accounting permissions tight. Reading an invoice and creating one are separate jobs. I keep large actions behind confirmation and check totals in Xero before sending a client anything expensive or embarrassing.

Canva MCP

Canva fits my workflow because design jobs tend to appear between other tasks. Claude can search my existing designs, access brand templates and create a new version without making me describe the layout from scratch.

For advertiser creative, I start with a fixed template. Claude replaces the branding and advertiser details while the ad slot dimensions and layout stay put. The graphics remain consistent across the site, even when the advertisers have nothing else in common.

Search is useful too. If I made something similar for another site last month, Claude can find it and adapt it.

I still open the result in Canva before publishing it. The MCP saves the search and setup work. It does not make typography trustworthy. Canva’s own MCP guidance recommends returning an edit link after the agent creates or changes a design.

Brand templates and Brand Kits also depend on your Canva plan. Check the Canva MCP tool list before building a workflow around a feature your account cannot use.

Gmail and Google Drive

Gmail covers the inbox. Drive covers the files that came with it.

My common Gmail task is finding advertiser threads that still need a reply. I ask Claude to search for conversations with no response in the past week. It returns a list instead of making me scan a crowded inbox for the messages I forgot.

Claude can draft the response too. A renewal check-in or late-invoice follow-up sits in Drafts until I read it and press Send.

Drive solves the attachment problem. A client mentions a brief they sent weeks ago. Claude searches Drive, finds the file and pulls its contents into the conversation. I do not have to dig through folders or ask the client to send it again.

Connecting both creates a wide permission surface. An email or shared document can contain instructions Claude should not follow. I keep three limits in place:

Gmail can handle inbox triage on its own. Add Drive when documents start piling up around the same conversations.

OpusClip

OpusClip’s hosted MCP server connects to Claude Code through OAuth without a local package. I point it at a podcast or webinar recording and ask for the strongest moments. It captions the clips, reframes them for vertical video and drafts the social copy.

I can request ten Shorts in one instruction. I still watch every cut. OpusClip does not always pick the moment I would publish, and a forceful sentence is not the same thing as a useful clip. The raw recording also needs to be worth cutting in the first place.

ContentStudio and Viraly

I keep three content tools connected, and I know how that looks. ContentStudio and Viraly both draft and schedule posts. I use ContentStudio for some accounts and Viraly for others.

ContentStudio is where I handle accounts that need more structured planning. I can draft a week of posts, organise them by campaign, reuse media and see the schedule across each workspace. It also has approval tools for client work, so a post can be checked before anyone publishes it.

Viraly handles a different group of accounts. Its Social Sets keep the profiles for each site or brand together, and I use Claude to draft, schedule and update posts without opening the calendar. Viraly also pulls analytics from the connected channels, which helps when I want a quick comparison without checking each network.

Both use OAuth. When I ask Claude to schedule a post, I name the service and account in the prompt. Two publishing tools with similar actions can confuse Claude if I leave the choice open.

Firecrawl MCP

Firecrawl gives Claude Code tools for searching, scraping, and crawling websites, returning clean Markdown or structured data.
It suits research, content audits, and agent workflows that need page content rather than browser interaction.

Zernio

I use Zernio for account health and analytics. That is a small part of what its MCP server exposes.

Zernio can draft and publish posts across the same social platforms. It also manages paid campaigns on the major ad networks. Someone running several client campaigns can inspect an account, create the campaign and monitor the result from the same Claude Code session.

The WhatsApp side goes further than sending a message. Zernio supports WhatsApp Business broadcasts, conversations and automated flows. It can provision phone numbers too, including the KYC process required in regulated countries. That moves it beyond a social scheduler and into customer messaging infrastructure.

Comment-to-DM automation is another useful part of the toolset. A comment on a social post can trigger a direct message. Zernio can then track the contact and continue the conversation through its CRM-style tools. This suits a business running paid social at volume more than someone posting a blog update once a week.

I have not connected the advertising or WhatsApp features myself. I would not hand either one write access and hope for the best. Ad spend, phone numbers and customer messages need narrow permissions and confirmation before Claude changes anything.

Zernio documents its posting, ads, WhatsApp and automation tools in the official MCP guide. Check the plan limits and platform requirements before assuming every action will work on a new account.

A safe MCP installation checklist

Before connecting a server, check:

Then give it one real job. Keep it if it saves time and produces a result you trust. Remove it if its main contribution is another logo in /mcp.

Related: coding tools on AI Tools Directory, n8n and automation tools.