mcp-typescript-template vs mcp-use
Two of the top projects in MCP servers and chat-host apps, side by side: who leads on each score part and who each one suits, then setup, license, activity and what each review found.
mcp-typescript-template
TypeScript template for remote MCP servers using Express and Effect
mcp-use
TypeScript framework for building MCP servers with React Views and an Inspector
Verdict
mcp-typescript-template ranks higher, 63 to 56. Of the 5 score parts we measure for both, mcp-typescript-template leads on 3, mcp-use on 1 and 1 is even.
- Adoptionmcp-use leads by 68 points, 68 to 0: a wide gap.
- FreshnessEven at 100.
- Maintenancemcp-typescript-template leads by 3 points, 97 to 94: close to even.
- Easy to runmcp-typescript-template leads by 50 points, 50 to 0: a wide gap.
- Agent-readymcp-typescript-template leads by 85 points, 85 to 0: a wide gap.
Pick mcp-typescript-template if you are
TypeScript developers starting a remote MCP server
- Stateless HTTP transport per the MCP 2026-07-28 spec, with SDK fallback for older clients
- Effect Schema adapted to MCP Standard Schema; tools declare outputSchema and structuredContent
Pick mcp-use if you are
TypeScript developers building MCP servers and ChatGPT or Claude apps
- Zod schemas flow from tool input and output into React View props
- Inspector served at /mcp/inspector in dev; headless CLI can call tools and screenshot Views
| What we compare | mcp-typescript-template | mcp-use |
|---|---|---|
| Score parts, out of 100 | ||
| Adoption | 0, niche | 68, popular |
| Freshness | 100, active | 100, active |
| Maintenance | 97, healthy | 94, healthy |
| Easy to run | 50, easy | 0, hard |
| Agent-ready | 85, ready | 0, none |
| Facts from GitHub and the README | ||
| Stars | 58 | 10.8k |
| License | MIT (permissive) | MIT (permissive) |
| Last commit | Oct 2026 | Oct 2026 |
| Last release | Oct 2026 | Oct 2026 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Docker | Yes | No |
| GPU | Not needed | Not needed |
| arm64 or Apple Silicon | Not stated | Not stated |
mcp-typescript-template
A degit-able starter for a stateless remote MCP server built on the MCP TypeScript SDK, Express and Vite. It ships two example tools (echo and elicit_echo) with typed input and output schemas via Effect, plus an example Agent Skill published through the MCP Skills extension. Includes tests, ESLint, Prettier, a Dockerfile and a compose file with a health check.
Who it is for: TypeScript developers starting a remote MCP server
Strengths
- Stateless HTTP transport per the MCP 2026-07-28 spec, with SDK fallback for older clients
- Effect Schema adapted to MCP Standard Schema; tools declare outputSchema and structuredContent
- Integration tests with in-memory client/server plus HTTP boundary tests
- Example elicitation tool and a bundled skill served via skills/list and skills/get
Weaknesses
- Tool code is written in Effect style, bridged to the SDK with runMcpEffect
- Only toy tools (echo, elicit_echo); no auth or persistence example
- Needs TypeScript 7 plus a TypeScript 6 alias for typescript-eslint
- Targets newer MCP spec revisions; Skills extension needs client support
- TypeScript
- Needs Node.js, npm
- GitHub template
- Docker
mcp-use
mcp-use is a TypeScript v2 framework, built on the official MCP TypeScript SDK, for writing MCP servers with Zod-typed tools. It binds React Views to tools so they render as interactive apps in hosts such as ChatGPT and Claude. It ships a dev Inspector, a headless client CLI, a View screenshot command, tunneling, and a deploy command targeting Manufact.
Who it is for: TypeScript developers building MCP servers and ChatGPT or Claude apps
Strengths
- Zod schemas flow from tool input and output into React View props
- Inspector served at /mcp/inspector in dev; headless CLI can call tools and screenshot Views
- Built-in tunnel (mcp-use dev --tunnel) for testing in ChatGPT and Claude before deploy
- MIT licensed, with a self-hosting guide alongside the hosted option
Weaknesses
- v2 is a breaking change from v1; a migration guide is needed
- Benchmark and comparison figures are the project's own, not independent
- One-command npm run deploy targets the vendor's Manufact platform
- Example apps live in separate repos, not in the main package
- TypeScript
- Needs Node.js, npm, React, Zod
More in MCP servers and chat-host apps
Building with these?
We help teams pick an open-source AI stack and run it in production. Client work never changes a rank.