21st.dev Magic MCP vs Shadcn UI v4 MCP Server

A side-by-side comparison of two Design & Media servers — tools, transport, auth, maintenance, and copy-paste config for each.

	21st.dev Magic MCP Generate beautiful, modern UI components from natural-language descriptions inside your IDE. Unverified stdio (local) API key TypeScript	Shadcn UI v4 MCP Server Give AI assistants full access to shadcn/ui v4 components, blocks, demos, and metadata across React, Svelte, Vue, and React Native. Unverified stdio (local) API key TypeScript
Category	Design & Media	Design & Media
Language	TypeScript	TypeScript
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	API key	API key
GitHub stars	5.2k	2.8k
Last commit	4 months ago	1 month ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`npx @21st-dev/cli@latest install <client> --api-key <key>`	`npx @jpisnice/shadcn-ui-mcp-server`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick 21st.dev Magic MCP if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Pick Shadcn UI v4 MCP Server if you need the broadest set of tools.

Add 21st.dev Magic MCP

Install / run

npx @21st-dev/cli@latest install <client> --api-key <key>

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "21st-dev-magic-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@21st-dev/magic@latest",
        "API_KEY=\"your-api-key\""
      ]
    }
  }
}

Add Shadcn UI v4 MCP Server

Install / run

npx @jpisnice/shadcn-ui-mcp-server

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shadcn-ui-v4-mcp-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "@jpisnice/shadcn-ui-mcp-server",
        "--github-api-key",
        "ghp_your_token_here"
      ]
    }
  }
}

FAQ

21st.dev Magic MCP or Shadcn UI v4 MCP Server — which is better?

Pick 21st.dev Magic MCP if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option. Pick Shadcn UI v4 MCP Server if you need the broadest set of tools.

Can I use both 21st.dev Magic MCP and Shadcn UI v4 MCP Server?

Yes — MCP clients let you enable multiple servers at once. Add both configs to your client's mcpServers and use whichever tool fits the task.

Do 21st.dev Magic MCP and Shadcn UI v4 MCP Server work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

Both do. Copy the per-client config below into Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Windsurf.

View 21st.dev Magic MCP →View Shadcn UI v4 MCP Server →More comparisons →