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The MCP Context Cheat Sheet

Updated 2026-10-25

One page. Print it or save it as a PDF (Ctrl or Cmd + P). Figures last checked 2026-10-22.

1. Every MCP server spends context before your first message

Most clients load every tool's name, description and schema upfront. Anthropic measured five common servers (GitHub, Slack, Sentry, Grafana, Splunk) at about 55K tokens for 58 tools.

2. Heaviest servers (Anthropic's count)

Tool count is a weak guide. Long descriptions and big schemas cost more than many small tools, so check the token figure.

Source: Anthropic Engineering: Introducing advanced tool use (Tool Search Tool, five-server token example) (published 2025-11-24; checked 2026-10-22)

3. Client limits (as of 2026-10-22)

• Claude Code: tool search is on by default on supported models; only tool names load at start; no fixed per-server cap; warns when one tool's output passes 10,000 tokens; default output cap 25,000. Claude Code docs: Connect Claude Code to tools via MCP (tool search, output limits) (checked 2026-10-22)
• VS Code: at most 128 tools per chat request. VS Code docs: Use tools with agents (128 tools per request) (checked 2026-10-22)
• Cursor: current MCP docs state no tool cap. Some older posts cite 40; check your version. Cursor docs: Model Context Protocol (MCP) (checked 2026-10-22)

4. Cut context in 5 steps, cheapest first

1. Disable servers per project.
2. Load toolsets, not whole servers. GitHub's server supports named toolsets. GitHub MCP Server README: toolsets (checked 2026-10-22)
3. Turn on tool search where your client supports it.
4. Cap tool output. Claude Code: MAX_MCP_OUTPUT_TOKENS.
5. Use code execution for multi-step jobs. Anthropic's example: 150,000 to 2,000 tokens. Anthropic Engineering: Code execution with MCP (published 2025-11-04; checked 2026-10-22)

5. Add your first server

• Claude Code: claude mcp add --transport http <name> <url>, then /mcp to sign in if it uses OAuth. See the best MCP servers for Claude Code. Example: the Firecrawl MCP server setup.
• Cursor: add a url entry under mcpServers in .cursor/mcp.json. See the best MCP servers for Cursor.
• Codex: codex mcp add <name> -- <command> for a local server; for a remote one, a [mcp_servers.<name>] table with a url in ~/.codex/config.toml. See the best MCP servers for Codex.

Another OAuth example: connecting Context.dev's MCP server.

6. Which servers to keep

Keep the maintained ones that answer reliably and match a job you run every week. We trust-score 1,327 MCP servers daily; 703 of them ask for auth before they list tools (DartzDabz counts, as of Oct 25, 2026). Check one in the best MCP servers list or browse all 1,578 MCP servers.

Figures are from Anthropic Engineering ("Introducing advanced tool use", published 2025-11-24) and the Claude Code, VS Code and Cursor docs, checked 2026-10-22. Full sources and more detail: how many MCP servers is too many. Scores are automated, point-in-time checks, not endorsements. This page has no affiliate links; our disclosure.