REA
Reverse engineer anything from your terminal or agent with one CLI and MCP server.
Runs on your computer
Prefab
What it does
List, create and deploy your Prefab project templates from any MCP agent.
- Connects Runs on your computer
- Account or key No key needed
- Category Developer tools
Install
Pick the AI app you use, then copy the settings.
Passed 2/3 checks · Runs on your computer
First: which AI do you use?
Pick your app and the steps appear below.
Works with Claude, with some setup first
Install Node.js on your computer first (one time) · Only the Claude desktop app (Windows or Mac), not the web or phone
Install Node.js
One time only; it works for every server that needs Node.js
Open the Claude desktop app’s settings file
SettingsDeveloperEdit Config
Paste these settings and save the file
{ "mcpServers": { "prefab": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "prefab-mcp" ] } } }Quit Claude and open it again
Try it
Use Prefab and tell me what you can do for me, then show me one thing✓ If Claude says it is using Prefab or shows a Prefab tool in the answer, you are connected
Menu names checked against Anthropic’s help page on Nov 11, 2026 · your screen may differ slightly by app version
ChatGPT cannot connect Prefab yet
Prefab runs on your computer, but ChatGPT can only connect servers that run on the web
What you can do instead
A · Use an app that can connect Prefab
- Install Node.js on your computer first (one time) · Only the Claude desktop app (Windows or Mac), not the web or phone
- Install Node.js on your computer first (one time)
- Install Node.js on your computer first (one time)
- Install Node.js on your computer first (one time)
B · Others in Developer tools that work with ChatGPT
Picked from the most used in the same category, only ones that connect by address with no key
- Sentry✓ ChatGPT
- Compiler Explorer✓ ChatGPT
- GitDiagram✓ ChatGPT
Works with Claude Code, with some setup first
Install Node.js on your computer first (one time)
Install Node.js
One time only; it works for every server that needs Node.js
Open Terminal
Mac: press Command+Space and type Terminal · Windows: open PowerShell
Paste this command and press Enter
claude mcp add --scope user prefab -- npx -y prefab-mcpType /mcp in Claude Code
You should see Prefab listed as connected
Try it
Use Prefab and tell me what you can do for me, then show me one thing✓ If Claude Code says it is using Prefab or shows a Prefab tool in the answer, you are connected
Menu names checked against Anthropic’s help page on Nov 11, 2026 · your screen may differ slightly by app version
Works with Cursor, with some setup first
Install Node.js on your computer first (one time)
Install Node.js
One time only; it works for every server that needs Node.js
Open the AI chat in Cursor in Agent mode
Try it
Use Prefab and tell me what you can do for me, then show me one thing✓ If Cursor says it is using Prefab or shows a Prefab tool in the answer, you are connected
Menu names checked against Cursor’s help page on Nov 11, 2026 · your screen may differ slightly by app version
Works with VS Code, with some setup first
Install Node.js on your computer first (one time)
Install Node.js
One time only; it works for every server that needs Node.js
Open the AI chat in VS Code in Agent mode
Try it
Use Prefab and tell me what you can do for me, then show me one thing✓ If VS Code says it is using Prefab or shows a Prefab tool in the answer, you are connected
Menu names checked against VS Code’s help page on Nov 11, 2026 · your screen may differ slightly by app version
Other apps that use MCP, such as Windsurf, Zed or Gemini CLI, each add servers differently. See how in the app list.
JSON settings are under “For developers” below
For developers: Terminal commands and JSON settings
Installed on your computer
Claude Code
claude mcp add --scope user prefab -- npx -y prefab-mcpClaude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json)
{
"mcpServers": {
"prefab": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"prefab-mcp"
]
}
}
}Cursor (~/.cursor/mcp.json)
{
"mcpServers": {
"prefab": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"prefab-mcp"
]
}
}
}VS Code (mcp.json)
{
"servers": {
"prefab": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"prefab-mcp"
]
}
}
}These settings are generated from the maker’s registry entry. If the README says otherwise, follow the README.
At a glance
- GitHub starsi
- 2 (Stars belong to another repo)
This listing points to someone else’s repo, so its stars are not counted in rankings - Downloads per weeki
- 29/wk
- Verified domain
- ✓ prefabapp.io
- Connection
- Runs on your computer
- Latest versioni
- 0.1.1
- Categoryi
- Developer tools
- Published to registryi
- Aug 25, 2026
- Code last changedi
- Aug 25, 2026
- Maker
- davidjaykelly
- Packages
npm: prefab-mcp- Registry status
- Active
Which apps can use it
Based on how this server connects and on each app’s own docs, checked Nov 10, 2026.
Run on your computer in
ClaudeGooseLM StudioMsty StudioCherry StudioCursorVS Code + GitHub CopilotVisual StudioWindsurf (Devin Desktop)ZedKiroClineContinueJetBrains AI AssistantClaude CodeCodex CLIGemini CLIOpenCodenodecodeWarpLibreChatRaycast
Related guides
What it can do
Runs on your computer; the tool list appears in your AI app after you install it.
Basic checksi
We check information anyone can see; we have not read the code. Checks that do not apply are left out of the count. · Checked Nov 13, 2026
- ! Caution
Maker matches the repo
The publisher (prefabapp.io) is not the repo owner (davidjaykelly); someone else may have listed it
- ✓ Pass
Still maintained
Code last changed 3 months ago
- ✓ Pass
Has a licence
Uses MIT
- – Not applicable
Endpoint responds
This one runs on your computer; there is no internet endpoint
- – Not applicable
Sign-in with OAuth
Runs on your computer and uses local settings instead
- … Not checked yet
No hidden instructions in tool descriptions
Runs on your computer; we can only read tool lists from internet endpoints
Discussion
Ask, share a tip or report that it does not work. Sorted by what people marked helpful.
No posts yet. Be the first to ask or share.
Posts here are written by users, not the PopNx team.
User reviews
No reviews yet
Compared with others in Developer toolsi
- More stars than 0% of the other 5819 servers in this category
- Published to the registry more recently than 31% of the other 5819 servers in this category
- Basic checks equal to or better than 44% of the other 5819 servers in this category
Compared with every active server in this category in the registry. Stars count only when the publisher owns the repo.
Common questions
Is Prefab safe?
It passed 2 of 3 applicable basic checks. We have not read the code. Before adding a key or token, see what access the server asks for and use a key with only the permissions you need.
What keys or codes does it need?
The registry does not list a required key, though some servers ask you to sign in on first use.
Does it run on my computer or in the cloud?
It runs on your computer. Your AI app starts it when needed, and data does not pass through the maker’s servers (unless it calls an online service itself).
Is it still maintained?
The GitHub repo last changed 3 months ago, and the latest version (0.1.1) reached the registry 3 months ago.
Which apps can use it?
Apps that support MCP, such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code. You also need Node.js on your computer.
What can I use instead?
In the same category: REA, GitHub, Serena MCP: the IDE for your agent
Others in the same category
Servers in the same category from other makers, sorted by stars.
Reading a card:↓ Downloads per weeki★ GitHub starsiThree pillars: reviews · checks · usageiUpdated = latest version published to the registryi
Serena MCP: the IDE for your agent
A powerful toolkit for coding, providing semantic retrieval and editing capabilities.
Runs on your computer
README from the maker
Open the README
Copied from the maker’s repo as written. PopNx MCP has not reviewed or endorsed it. HTML, images and scripts are removed. Links lead off this site.
prefab-mcp
An MCP server for Prefab, so an agent can see your templates and deploy one for you.
"Set up a new client folder for Northwind, autumn campaign, on my Desktop"
What it exposes
| Tool | Does |
|---|---|
list_templates | Every template, what it creates, what it asks for |
describe_template | One template in full: structure, placeholders, actions |
preview_deploy | What a deploy would create, and what values are still missing. Creates nothing |
deploy_template | Creates the folders, filling in the values given |
list_watched_folders | Folders Prefab is watching, and the rules on them |
list_globals | Library-wide placeholders, actions and value presets |
Setting it up
Works with any client that speaks MCP over stdio.
As a bundle - download prefab.mcpb from the releases page and double-click it. Clients that install MCP bundles, Claude Desktop among them, bring their own Node, so there is nothing else to install.
From the command line (Claude Code, and anything with the same idea):
claude mcp add prefab -- npx -y prefab-mcp
In a config file - Cursor, Zed, and most others:
{"mcpServers": { "prefab": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "prefab-mcp"] } } }
Then switch on Let agents and scripts control Prefab in Prefab's Settings ▸ Permissions. It is off by default; reading your templates works without it, creating and deploying does not.
That switch arrives in Prefab 1.1.6. On an earlier version the reading tools work and the rest say so.
Requires macOS, Prefab installed and opened once, and Node 18+ (except for the .mcpb route).
How it works
Prefab is sandboxed and has no network access, so it cannot host anything. This server runs beside it instead: it reads the library straight out of the app group (~/Library/Group Containers/group.VFDG327T66.prefab) and asks the app to deploy through the same prefab:// URL the Finder extension uses. Two consequences worth knowing:
- Prefab has to be running for a deploy. Reading works either way.
- The destination has to be a folder Prefab has been granted. macOS keeps a sandboxed app out of your folders until you point it at one.
preview_deployanddeploy_templateboth check first and say so, rather than leaving a permission dialog on screen that an agent cannot answer. Grant folders in Prefab, under Settings ▸ Permissions.
Nothing here writes to Prefab's library. The app owns those files, and editing them behind its back would be overwritten the next time it saves.
Development
npm test # checks placeholder resolution matches the app's Swift, case for case npm run try '[["list_templates",{}]]' # call a tool the way a client does
src/resolve.js is a deliberate duplicate of RenamePattern.swift. If you change one, change the other - npm test compiles the Swift and compares the two.