Remote or local: which kind of MCP server to use

Remote servers

Nothing is installed: the assistant connects to the publisher's endpoint. That makes remote servers the kind that web and mobile assistants can use, where the assistant offers remote connections at all. The publisher runs and updates the server, so you always get its current version — and its outages.

Sign-in is usually OAuth, where you approve access on the service's own page and can revoke it there later, or an API key sent in a header. What you ask passes through the publisher's servers, under its terms.

Local servers

A local server needs its runtime — Node.js for npm packages, Python or uv for PyPI packages, Docker for container images — and a client that can start programs: usually a desktop app, a code editor or a command-line agent. It can reach your files, applications and local network, which is the reason to choose one.

Credentials go in environment variables in the client's configuration, on your computer. You decide when to update, and can pin a version so the server does not change under you.

Questions that decide it

Does the assistant you use accept remote servers, local ones, or both? Does the job need local files or applications? Should the credentials stay on your computer, or is a revocable sign-in with the service better? Who will keep it updated? A page for each server in this directory shows which kinds it offers, from its registry entry.