mcp-use

mcp-use is an open-source TypeScript and Python framework for building, testing, and shipping Model Context Protocol (MCP) apps and servers. Backed by Y Combinator and developed by Manufact, Inc., it provides a fullstack development experience from scaffolding to production deployment on Manufact Cloud. The project has accumulated over 10,000 GitHub stars and, according to the Manufact website, more than 7 million SDK downloads across Python and TypeScript.

What It Is

mcp-use is a fullstack MCP development framework that covers the entire lifecycle of an MCP server or app: scaffolding, local development, visual inspection, cross-client testing, and cloud deployment. It targets developers who want to publish tools to the ChatGPT Apps Store, Claude Connectors, or expose MCP servers to AI agents built on frameworks like LangChain, Vercel AI SDK, Mastra, and OpenAI Agents. The core SDK is MIT-licensed and open source; Manufact Cloud is the commercial hosting layer built on top of it.

Architecture and Ecosystem

The mcp-use ecosystem is organized as a set of composable packages:

• mcp-use — TypeScript v2 server framework with React Views, Zod-typed tool schemas, and a built-in CLI
• @mcp-use/client — Connect to MCP servers from Node.js, browsers, React, and sandboxes
• @mcp-use/agent — Build model-powered agents on top of MCP clients
• @mcp-use/inspector — Inspect and debug MCP servers and apps visually or headlessly
• create-mcp-use-app — Scaffold new servers and interactive apps in one command
• mcp-use for Python — Build Python MCP servers, clients, and agents

The framework is built on the official MCP TypeScript SDK v2 and adds native React Views, typed tool-to-UI contracts, an optimized stateless runtime, screenshot verification, agent-first CLI workflows, and built-in tunneling for local-to-cloud testing.

Developer Workflow

The development loop is designed to minimize friction at every step:

1. Scaffold — npx create-mcp-use-app generates a project with server entry, TypeScript config, dev scripts, and a React view pipeline in under a minute.
2. Develop — npm run dev serves the MCP endpoint locally and opens the built-in Inspector at localhost:3000/mcp/inspector.
3. Inspect — The Cloud Inspector lets developers fire tool calls, inspect JSON-RPC traffic, swap between GPT, Claude, and Gemini models, and capture View screenshots — no live LLM required for basic testing.
4. Deploy — npm run deploy or a git push via the GitHub App auto-deploys to Manufact Cloud with branch preview URLs, custom domains, and SSL handled automatically.
5. Publish — Marketplace checklists and auto-generated submission assets (logo, copy, screenshots) help developers meet ChatGPT Apps Store and Claude Connectors requirements before submitting.

Platform Capabilities

Manufact Cloud wraps the open-source SDK with production infrastructure:

• MCP Hosting — Deploy MCP apps and servers with sub-60-second deploy times per the Manufact website
• Cross-client testing — Run automated evals across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Cursor, and more from a single test suite
• Publishing checks — Audit an MCP app against marketplace requirements before submission
• Cloud Inspector — Trace, replay, and debug MCP traffic in production
• Public chat — Embeddable chat surfaces for sharing an MCP server with end users
• Analytics — Traffic, tool-call volume, latency, session replay, and error-rate observability

Update: mcp-use 2.0.1

The latest release is mcp-use 2.0.1, published on August 5, 2026. Version 2 is a significant update from v1, introducing native Views support aligned with the MCP 2026 protocol, one-line OAuth adapters, built-in tunneling, and an agent-first CLI. The GitHub README includes a migration guide for v1 users. The repository was created in March 2025 and has been actively maintained since, with the last push recorded on August 6, 2026. The project also underwent a branding rename from the original mcp-use identity to Manufact as the commercial platform name, while the open-source SDK retains the mcp-use name.

Why It Got Attention

The mcp-use project attracted early community attention as one of the first open-source libraries to connect any LLM to any MCP server without requiring a closed-source client. Y Combinator highlighted it as "open source infrastructure and dev tools for MCP agents." LangChain's official account noted its integration support. The Manufact website attributes community commentary comparing the project to "Vercel for MCP" due to its single-endpoint deployment and aggregation model. The repository reached 10,000+ GitHub stars and the SDK crossed 7 million downloads, according to Manufact's own published figures.