5 MCP Servers I Actually Use (And Why You Should Too)

Vibe Coding - MCP MCP MCP… Phew !!!

In the vibe coding era, it's the best time to be a developer. Things which used to take months now just take a couple of vibe coding sessions. Every day new tools are getting introduced. MCP servers are one of them.

It's easy to get lost as there are endless MCP servers out there which are claiming to be super productive. I'm sharing my favorites that I actually use (not just hype about). Let me break this down for you - what they are, why they matter, and how they'll change your workflow.

My Top 5 MCP Servers

Here's my shortlist of MCP servers that actually move the needle:

1. Serena MCP - The Memory Master

2. Sequential Thinking - The Problem Solver

3. Context7 - The Documentation Expert

4. Ref-Tool MCP - The Efficiency Beast

5. Playwright - The Reality Check

Now let me tell you why each one is worth your time...

Why These 5 Actually Matter (The Important Part!)

1. Serena MCP - The Context Clean-Up Champion

Let's say you want to add a Lombok dependency to your pom.xml (simple example to make you understand).

Without Serena: Your prompt sends the entire file to the LLM... it makes context dirtier, burns more tokens, and gives you generic answers.

With Serena: What if I can just send the relevant portion of my file?

Less content → less tokens → context stays clean and slim

Here's what actually happens:

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Real numbers: 42% token reduction (300→175), 75% fewer back-and-forth rounds. That's not just efficiency, it makes you BP low when you get what you want on time ;)

2. Sequential Thinking - When Your Brain Needs Backup

You're building a React drag-and-drop component builder, but your components won't drop into the canvas area. Users can drag, but nothing happens on drop...

Without Sequential Thinking: Your AI tool will try random solutions, mess with event handlers, still broken. It's like fixing a car by randomly replacing parts.

With Sequential Thinking: It systematically investigates the drag-and-drop flow, checks each step of the process, and isolates where things break.

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See how Sequential Thinking approaches it? Instead of random fixes, it:

1. Analyzes the drag-drop flow - What should happen vs what's happening?

2. Investigates each step - Drag start ✅, Drag over ❓, Drop ❓

3. Validates the event chain - Are all required handlers present?

4. Finds the exact missing piece - onDragOver with preventDefault()!

This is gold when you're dealing with complex UI interactions where multiple events need to work together. No more "try this random fix", just systematic debugging that actually finds the root cause.

The difference? Generic LLM throws solutions at you. Sequential Thinking helps you understand WHY it's broken, so you actually learn something for next time! 🎯

Trust me you will save a visit to your hair doc 😉

3. Context7 : When Your LLM Is Living in the Past

LLM models get outdated and don't have the latest documentation. You're trying to use the new React 18 features, but your AI is giving you React 16 patterns.

Context7 gives you fresh documentation straight from the source.

Simple use case: You want to implement the new useId hook in React 18.

Without Context7: "Here's how you generate unique IDs in React... gives you some random uuid library from 2019"

With Context7: "Here's the official React 18 useId hook documentation with current best practices and real examples."

It's like having the official docs injected directly into your conversation. No more outdated patterns, no more "this used to work but doesn't anymore" moments.

4. Ref-Tool MCP - The Smart Efficiency Beast

Same concept as Context7 but smarter, it only sends the relevant portion of documentation. Cost-effective and laser-focused.

Remember our Material-UI slider test?

• Context7: 2,900 tokens of comprehensive docs

• Ref-Tool: 175 tokens of exactly what you need

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93% token reduction while getting the exact answer. That's the difference between paying for a textbook and paying for just the page you need.

5. Playwright - Because "It Works on My Machine" Doesn't Cut It

You build a beautiful form, test it manually, ship it. Users complain it's broken.

The problem: You tested in Chrome on your laptop. Users are on Safari mobile, Firefox, Edge...

Playwright MCP: Tests your stuff in actual browsers, takes screenshots, validates accessibility, checks responsive design.

Use case: You want to test if your login form actually works across browsers.

Without Playwright: "Looks good to me!" ships broken mobile experience

With Playwright: "Tested on Chrome, Firefox, Safari. Found 2 mobile issues and 1 accessibility problem. Here are the fixes."

It's like having a QA team that never sleeps and actually catches the stuff users will complain about.

The HOW Part (Your Exercise!)

I'm not going to spoon-feed you the installation steps as you are pretty smart !! and honestly, it's pretty straightforward. Just follow the steps from each server's docs.

But here's the thing ,this is the really important part. When you finish reading the WHY section and you're like "okay, this makes sense," that's when you need to practice. Treat it as an exercise 😉

Final Thoughts - Don't Be That Person

Here's my final advice: Don't load up your vibe coding tool with 100s of MCP servers and make your context fatter. It will really slow you down.

Choose wisely !! Choose smartly !!

Think about what problems you actually have:-

• Want token efficiency? → Ref-Tool

• Need better project context? → Serena

• Need real browser testing? → Playwright

• Debugging complex issues? → Sequential Thinking

• Working with latest frameworks/learning ? → Context7

Because all of this is just words until you get your hands dirty ( read this sentence in bold with caps and twice !!)

Go ahead and try.

Try at least one. Fail. Fix. Run again. Learn. Try the next one !!

That's how you figure out which ones actually work for your workflow, not just mine.

The vibe coding era is here, and these tools are your force multipliers. But they're only as good as your willingness to experiment with them.

What's stopping you from trying one right now?

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P.S. - I'm always curious about which MCP servers you end up loving (or hating). Drop a comment and let me know your experience!