# Remote MCP servers: how they work, plus every one we track

A remote MCP server is one the vendor runs for you: a URL, a sign-in screen, and you're connected. It's the difference between installing software and opening a tab — and it's where the official half of the MCP ecosystem is heading.

## Remote vs local

| | Remote | Local |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Runs | On the vendor's servers | On your machine, as a subprocess |
| Setup | Paste a URL, sign in | Configure a launch command + API key |
| Auth | OAuth grant, revocable at the vendor | API key in an env var, yours to manage |
| Updates | Vendor's job — always current | Yours — `npx -y` re-resolves, pinned versions don't |
| Reach | The vendor's API only | Whatever the process can touch — filesystem included |

## What connecting feels like

1. You give your client the server URL — `https://mcp.linear.app/mcp`, say.
2. The client opens the vendor's own sign-in page in your browser.
3. A consent screen lists what the server will be able to do; you approve.
4. The client holds a short-lived OAuth token from then on — no key to paste, and the grant is revocable from the vendor's dashboard.

That flow is the MCP spec's OAuth 2.1 authorization model — the security story is covered in the [MCP security guide](https://mcpyet.com/guides/mcp-security.md).

## Client support

Every major client speaks streamable HTTP now; only the config key differs. Claude takes remote servers as [custom connectors](https://mcpyet.com/connect/claude.md) (paid plans), [ChatGPT](https://mcpyet.com/connect/chatgpt.md) is remote-*only*, [Cursor](https://mcpyet.com/connect/cursor.md) and [VS Code](https://mcpyet.com/connect/github-copilot.md) take a `url` in their JSON config, [Codex CLI](https://mcpyet.com/connect/codex.md) a `url` in TOML, [Windsurf](https://mcpyet.com/connect/windsurf.md) a `serverUrl`, and [Gemini CLI](https://mcpyet.com/connect/gemini-cli.md) an `httpUrl`.

## Every remote server we track (36)

Each of these is a vendor-hosted endpoint verified against the vendor's own documentation — the verdict page has the receipt and copy-paste config per client:

| Brand | Endpoint | Verdict |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [fal.ai](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/fal-ai.md) | `https://docs.fal.ai/mcp` | Official |
| [Atlassian](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/atlassian.md) | `https://mcp.atlassian.com/v1/mcp` | Official |
| [Datadog](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/datadog.md) | `https://mcp.datadoghq.com/v1/mcp` | Official |
| [Buffer](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/buffer.md) | `https://mcp.buffer.com/mcp` | Official |
| [Google Drive](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/google-drive.md) | `https://drivemcp.googleapis.com/mcp/v1` | Official |
| [Confluence](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/confluence.md) | `https://mcp.atlassian.com/v1/mcp` | Official |
| [Slack](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/slack.md) | `https://mcp.slack.com/mcp` | Official |
| [Perplexity](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/perplexity.md) | `https://api.perplexity.ai/mcp` | Official |
| [Facebook](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/facebook.md) | `https://mcp.facebook.com/ads` | Official |
| [Tavily](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/tavily.md) | `https://mcp.tavily.com/mcp/` | Official |
| [Exa](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/exa.md) | `https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp` | Official |
| [Bright Data](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/bright-data.md) | `https://mcp.brightdata.com/mcp` | Official |
| [Context7](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/context7.md) | `https://mcp.context7.com/mcp` | Official |
| [Excalidraw](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/excalidraw.md) | `https://api.excalidraw.com/api/v1/mcp` | Official |
| [Canva](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/canva.md) | `https://mcp.canva.com/mcp` | Official |
| [Google Sheets](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/google-sheets.md) | `https://sheetsmcp.googleapis.com/mcp/v1` | Official |
| [Asana](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/asana.md) | `https://mcp.asana.com/v2/mcp` | Official |
| [Robinhood](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/robinhood.md) | `https://agent.robinhood.com/mcp/trading` | Official |
| [Instantly](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/instantly.md) | `https://mcp.instantly.ai/mcp` | Official |
| [Vercel](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/vercel.md) | `https://mcp.vercel.com` | Official |
| [Tableau](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/tableau.md) | `https://mcp.tableau.com` | Official |
| [Todoist](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/todoist.md) | `https://ai.todoist.net/mcp` | Official |
| [Granola](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/granola.md) | `https://mcp.granola.ai/mcp` | Official |
| [Notion](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/notion.md) | `https://mcp.notion.com/mcp` | Official |
| [GitHub](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/github.md) | `https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/` | Official |
| [Stripe](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/stripe.md) | `https://mcp.stripe.com` | Official |
| [Shopify](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/shopify.md) | `https://{shop}.myshopify.com/api/mcp` | Official |
| [Jira](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/jira.md) | `https://mcp.atlassian.com/v1/mcp` | Official |
| [Airtable](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/airtable.md) | `https://mcp.airtable.com/mcp` | Official |
| [HubSpot](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/hubspot.md) | `https://mcp.hubspot.com` | Official |
| [Gmail](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/gmail.md) | `https://gmailmcp.googleapis.com/mcp/v1` | Official |
| [Zapier](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/zapier.md) | `https://mcp.zapier.com` | Official |
| [Linear](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/linear.md) | `https://mcp.linear.app/mcp` | Official |
| [Twilio](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/twilio.md) | `https://mcp.twilio.com/docs` | Official |
| [PayPal](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/paypal.md) | `https://mcp.paypal.com` | Official |
| [CoinGate Gift Cards](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/coingate-gift-cards.md) | `https://mcp.eu.algolia.com/1/xe5UKTfUQlyUr3Hs4nkiiA/mcp` | Official |

## Questions

**What is a remote MCP server?**
An MCP server the vendor hosts at a public URL, reached over streamable HTTP. You paste the URL into your client and sign in with OAuth — no package to install, no API key to manage, no process running on your machine.

**Are remote MCP servers safer than local ones?**
Generally yes, for official ones: the vendor runs and patches the code, auth is an OAuth grant you can revoke from their dashboard, and your password never touches a config file. The trade-off is that your requests flow through the vendor's infrastructure — which for an official server they already did.

**Which clients support remote MCP servers?**
Effectively all current ones: Claude (claude.ai, Desktop and Code), ChatGPT — which supports only remote servers — Cursor, VS Code with Copilot, Codex CLI, Windsurf and Gemini CLI. The config key differs per client (url, serverUrl or httpUrl), but the server is the same.

**Can I turn a local MCP server into a remote one?**
Not by flipping a switch — a local stdio server has to be hosted somewhere and exposed over streamable HTTP, which is what MCP gateways do. That puts a third party in the path of your credentials, so it's a last resort when a client (like ChatGPT) can't run the server locally.

Related: [Official servers](https://mcpyet.com/browse/official/) · [MCP security](https://mcpyet.com/guides/mcp-security.md) · [MCP Inspector](https://mcpyet.com/guides/mcp-inspector.md)

---

Source: https://mcpyet.com/guides/remote-mcp-servers/ — data refreshed 2026-08-11