Sequential Thinking, verified

MCP server by MCP reference servers · Verified

Work through problems as a sequence of thoughts that can be revised, branched and extended as understanding grows.

Runs locally (Runs on your machine: its page has the install command)Runs with npx

Install Sequential Thinking

Runs on your machine. Your client starts it with this command:

npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking

Needs Node.js on your computer. The setup steps below show where the command goes in each client.

Share this server

Opens this page, with the install command and setup steps.

mcp.tc/i/sequential-thinking

About

Sequential Thinking is a reference server from the Model Context Protocol project. It gives an assistant a tool for dynamic, reflective problem solving: breaking a problem into numbered thoughts, revising earlier steps, and branching into alternative lines of reasoning.

It runs locally over stdio through npx and needs Node.js. It requires no API key, sign-in or environment variables. The repository describes its servers as reference implementations meant for demonstration and education, not production use.

What you can do

  • Break a complex problem into a sequence of thoughts
  • Revise earlier thoughts when new information appears
  • Branch into alternative lines of reasoning
  • Adjust the estimated number of steps as work proceeds

Tools

Local servers list their tools once they’re running, and this one doesn’t publish its list in advance. Your client shows them after you add it.

Example prompts

  • Use sequential thinking to plan a migration from REST to GraphQL.

  • Think step by step about why this test fails intermittently, and revise as needed.

  • Work through the trade-offs of two database designs, branching for each option.

Set up

Every client starts Sequential Thinking on your machine with the same command. Pick yours; the page remembers your choice.

Claude Code

  1. Run this in a terminal, in your project folder:
claude mcp add --transport stdio sequential-thinking -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking
  1. Start Claude Code and type /mcp. sequential-thinking should show as connected.

Add --scope user to make it available in every project.

Claude Desktop

  1. Open Settings → Developer → Edit Config. It opens claude_desktop_config.json. Add:
claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sequential-thinking": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking"
      ]
    }
  }
}
  1. Save the file and restart Claude Desktop.

Needs Node.js on your computer. The file lives in ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/ on macOS and %APPDATA%\Claude\ on Windows.

Cursor

Or add it by hand to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (all projects) or .cursor/mcp.json (this project):

mcp.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sequential-thinking": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Needs Node.js on your computer.

VS Code

Or from a terminal:

code --add-mcp '{"name":"sequential-thinking","type":"stdio","command":"npx","args":["-y","@modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking"]}'

Or commit it to the repo in .vscode/mcp.json:

.vscode/mcp.json
{
  "servers": {
    "sequential-thinking": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Needs Node.js on your computer.

Devin Desktop

  1. Add it to ~/.config/devin/mcp_config.json (macOS and Linux) or %APPDATA%\devin\mcp_config.json (Windows):
mcp_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sequential-thinking": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking"
      ]
    }
  }
}
  1. Refresh the MCP server list in Cascade.

Devin Desktop is the new name for Windsurf.

Codex

codex mcp add sequential-thinking -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking

Or edit ~/.codex/config.toml directly:

config.toml
[mcp_servers.sequential-thinking]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking"]

Needs Node.js on your computer.

Gemini CLI

gemini mcp add sequential-thinking npx -- -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking

This adds it to the current project. Add -s user to use it everywhere.

Any client

Most clients that start local servers accept this shape:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sequential-thinking": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Zed puts servers under context_servers in its settings, with the same command, args and env fields.

Needs Node.js on your computer.

FAQ

Can I paste mcp.tc/i/sequential-thinking into my MCP client?

No. Sequential Thinking runs on your own computer, started by your client, so it has no web address to connect to. The quick link is the page to share; the install command is npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking.

Does Sequential Thinking need an API key?

No. It doesn’t declare any keys or environment variables. It runs with your user account’s permissions, so check what its tools can reach.

Is Sequential Thinking a remote or a local server?

Local. Your client starts it as a process on your computer with npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking, which needs Node.js.

What can Sequential Thinking do?

You can break a complex problem into a sequence of thoughts, revise earlier thoughts when new information appears and branch into alternative lines of reasoning.

Which clients can use it?

Any client that starts local servers: Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Devin Desktop, Codex, Gemini CLI, Zed and others. claude.ai and ChatGPT only connect to remote servers.

Who wrote this page?

mcp.tc’s robot read Sequential Thinking’s public metadata (its package and repository pages), and an AI model drafted the text from it. A person reviews anything the checks can’t confirm. The text can still be wrong, so if you spot a mistake, use Report this listing on this page.

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