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Ref Tools MCP

Ref Tools MCP is an MCP server that adds developer tools to AI assistants such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor. Token-efficient search for coding agents over public and private documentation. It has 1,177 GitHub stars, is released under the MIT license and runs locally with npx -y ref-tools-mcp.

github.com/ref-tools/ref-tools-mcp (opens in a new tab)

View on GitHub (opens in a new tab)

Install Ref Tools MCP

Generated from the server's MCP registry entry. Replace your-value with your own values.

Claude Desktop

claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ref-tools-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "ref-tools-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "REF_API_KEY": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Settings > Developer > Edit Config. macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/, Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\. Restart Claude Desktop afterwards.

Claude Code

claude mcp add --env REF_API_KEY=your-value --transport stdio ref-tools-mcp -- npx -y ref-tools-mcp

Cursor

.cursor/mcp.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ref-tools-mcp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "ref-tools-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "REF_API_KEY": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Project file; use ~/.cursor/mcp.json to enable it in every project.

VS Code

.vscode/mcp.json
{
  "inputs": [
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "ref_api_key",
      "description": "REF_API_KEY",
      "password": true
    }
  ],
  "servers": {
    "ref-tools-mcp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "ref-tools-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "REF_API_KEY": "${input:ref_api_key}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code (remote)

claude mcp add --transport http ref-tools-mcp "https://api.ref.tools/mcp"

The same server is also hosted as a remote MCP endpoint, so nothing runs on your machine.

Config formats checked against the official docs on Oct 7, 2026: modelcontextprotocol.io (opens in a new tab), code.claude.com (opens in a new tab), cursor.com (opens in a new tab), code.visualstudio.com (opens in a new tab).

Environment variables

Variables the server reads at startup.

NameRequiredDescription
REF_API_KEYsecretYesYour API key for Ref

Tools (3)

Parsed from the Tools section of the README; check the repository for the current list.

  • ref_search_documentation

    A powerful search tool to check technical documentation. Great for finding facts or code snippets.

  • query

    Query to search for relevant documentation. This should be a full sentence or question.

  • ref_read_url

    A tool that fetches content from a URL and converts it to markdown for easy reading with Ref.

About Ref Tools MCP

A ModelContextProtocol server that gives your AI coding tool or agent access to documentation for APIs, services, libraries etc. It's your one-stop-shop to keep your agent up-to-date on documentation in a fast and token-efficient way.

  • coding-agent
  • documentation-tool
  • mcp
  • mcp-server

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FAQ

Ref Tools MCP FAQ

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

What is Ref Tools MCP?

Ref Tools MCP is an MCP server that adds developer tools to AI assistants such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor. Token-efficient search for coding agents over public and private documentation. It has 1,177 GitHub stars, is released under the MIT license and runs locally with npx -y ref-tools-mcp. The source code is at github.com/ref-tools/ref-tools-mcp.

How do I install the Ref Tools MCP MCP server?

Add the command npx -y ref-tools-mcp to your MCP client: put it in claude_desktop_config.json for Claude Desktop, run claude mcp add for Claude Code, or add it to .cursor/mcp.json (Cursor) or .vscode/mcp.json (VS Code). The snippets on this page are ready to paste.

Is Ref Tools MCP free?

The server is open source under the MIT license, so running it is free. It needs credentials (REF_API_KEY) for the service it connects to, which may require a paid account.

Is Ref Tools MCP actively maintained?

The most recent commit was on Sep 28, 2026. appsgit only lists MCP servers with a commit in the last six months and re-checks every server daily.