AI tools for MCP developers (2026)
SDKs, gateways, registries and identity tools for developers building and running Model Context Protocol servers. We picked the top tools for 4 jobs MCP developers do every day: 23 tools in all, 23 of them free or with a free tier.
Jump to: Build MCP servers · Connect tools with MCP · Agent identity and logins · Run code safely
Free tools from AgentScout for MCP developers: MCP config builder · Tool schema builder
How we picked: each section takes the tools matched to that task in our directory, putting tools whose category and stated use cases fit the task first, then ordering by tracked GitHub stars. No paid placements.
Build MCP servers
Tools and SDKs for building, hosting and publishing your own MCP servers. All 34 tools →
Pi Open source
Minimal, extensible open-source terminal coding agent and agent toolkit from Earendil, with a multi-provider LLM API, TypeScript SDK, RPC mode and installable extensions, skills and themes. · ★ 116,073
LiteLLM Open source + cloud
Open-source AI gateway and Python SDK that calls 100+ LLM providers in the OpenAI format, with cost tracking, guardrails, load balancing and logging. · ★ 61,465
Kong Gateway Open source + cloud
Cloud-native API, LLM and MCP gateway that adds routing, auth, multi-LLM support, semantic security and MCP traffic analytics through plugins. · ★ 44,278
OpenAI Agents SDK (Python) Open source
OpenAI's Python SDK for building multi-agent workflows; v0.23.0/0.23.1 released Oct 1-2. · ★ 30,023
FastMCP Open source
Pythonic framework for building MCP servers and clients quickly. · ★ 28,106
MCP Python SDK Open source
Official Python SDK for building Model Context Protocol servers and clients. · ★ 24,595
Connect tools with MCP
MCP servers, clients and registries that give agents safe access to your apps and data. All 382 tools →
MarkItDown Open source
Microsoft's Python tool and MCP server that converts PDFs, Office documents, images, audio and web pages to Markdown for LLM and agent pipelines. · ★ 190,824
CC Switch Open source
Desktop manager for Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, OpenClaw and other coding agents that switches API providers in one click and manages MCP servers, skills and prompts. · ★ 145,685
MCP reference servers Open source
Official collection of reference MCP servers. · ★ 91,237
Scrapling Open source
Python web-scraping framework with fast HTTP requests, stealth browsers, adaptive parsing and concurrent crawling, plus an MCP server for agents. · ★ 88,372
OmniRoute Open source
Self-hosted AI gateway that puts hundreds of model providers behind one endpoint for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and others, with quota-aware fallback and MCP/A2A support. · ★ 77,863
Headroom Open source
Library, proxy and MCP server that compresses tool outputs, logs, files and RAG chunks locally before they reach the LLM, cutting tokens for coding agents. · ★ 75,629
Agent identity and logins
Identity, auth and credential tools that let agents sign in to apps, prove who they act for and use secrets without ever seeing the raw passwords or keys. All 22 tools →
- Kong Gateway Open source + cloud
Cloud-native API, LLM and MCP gateway that adds routing, auth, multi-LLM support, semantic security and MCP traffic analytics through plugins. · ★ 44,278 
Casdoor Open source
Agent-first identity and access management with an MCP and agent gateway. · ★ 14,592
Nango Freemium
Integration platform that connects products and AI agents to 1,000+ APIs with managed auth, syncs and tool calls. · ★ 12,807
Tyk Gateway Open source + cloud
Cloud-native API and AI gateway supporting REST, GraphQL, gRPC and MCP, with rate limiting, auth and analytics. · ★ 10,863
Bindu Open source
Identity, communication and payments layer that lets AI agents talk to and pay each other. · ★ 10,056
Agent Governance Toolkit Open source
Microsoft toolkit for policy enforcement, identity and sandboxing for AI agents. · ★ 6,435
Run code safely
Sandboxes that let agents run code and tools in isolation, away from your machine and data. All 61 tools →
NVIDIA OpenShell Open source
Sandboxed runtime for autonomous agents with declarative YAML policies on file, network and credential access. · ★ 16,156
OpenSandbox Open source
Secure, fast sandbox runtime for AI agents to run code. · ★ 15,907
CubeSandbox Open source
Lightweight, concurrent sandbox for running AI agent code securely. · ★ 12,960
microsandbox Open source
Local-first microVM runtime for running untrusted agent code safely. · ★ 8,717
smolvm Open source
Portable, branchable virtual machine for running agents safely on your computer. · ★ 6,746
agentOS Open source + cloud
A lightweight operating system for agents from Rivet that runs coding agents and their tools inside fast WebAssembly sandboxes with a file system, processes and networking, so you can spin up thousands cheaply. · ★ 4,808
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Best-of lists for MCP developers: Kong Gateway alternatives · Most-Starred Open-Source AI Agent Projects · All best lists
Related categories: Agent infra · Sandboxes & code execution · MCP servers
Facts come from our directory listings; pricing is as each maker states it and can change. Missing a tool? Submit it free.