Sequential Thinking MCP server

The Sequential Thinking MCP server provides a powerful tool for dynamic and reflective problem-solving through a structured thinking process. It helps break down complex problems into manageable steps while allowing revision and refinement as understanding develops.

Features

• Break down complex problems into manageable steps
• Revise and refine thoughts as understanding deepens
• Branch into alternative paths of reasoning
• Adjust the total number of thoughts dynamically
• Generate and verify solution hypotheses

Tool Description

sequential_thinking

This tool facilitates a detailed, step-by-step thinking process for problem-solving and analysis with the following inputs:

• thought (string): The current thinking step
• nextThoughtNeeded (boolean): Whether another thought step is needed
• thoughtNumber (integer): Current thought number
• totalThoughts (integer): Estimated total thoughts needed
• isRevision (boolean, optional): Whether this revises previous thinking
• revisesThought (integer, optional): Which thought is being reconsidered
• branchFromThought (integer, optional): Branching point thought number
• branchId (string, optional): Branch identifier
• needsMoreThoughts (boolean, optional): If more thoughts are needed

Installation

Installing with Claude Desktop

Add this configuration to your claude_desktop_config.json:

Using NPX

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

Using Docker

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sequentialthinking": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "mcp/sequentialthinking"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Installing with VS Code

Manual Installation

Add one of the following JSON configurations to your VS Code User Settings (JSON):

NPX Installation:

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

Docker Installation:

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "sequential-thinking": {
        "command": "docker",
        "args": [
          "run",
          "--rm",
          "-i",
          "mcp/sequentialthinking"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

To access VS Code User Settings (JSON), press Ctrl + Shift + P and type Preferences: Open Settings (JSON).

Alternatively, you can add this configuration to a file called .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace to share it with others. In this case, the mcp key is not needed in the file.

Usage

The Sequential Thinking tool is ideal for:

• Breaking down complex problems into manageable steps
• Planning and design processes that require revision
• Analysis that might need course correction
• Problems where the full scope isn't clear initially
• Tasks requiring context maintenance over multiple steps
• Situations where irrelevant information needs filtering

Configuration Options

To disable logging of thought information, set the environment variable:

DISABLE_THOUGHT_LOGGING=true

This tool allows you to:

• Start with an initial thought and expand it systematically
• Revise previous thoughts when new information emerges
• Branch into alternative reasoning paths when needed
• Dynamically adjust the total number of thoughts required
• Track the progression of your thinking process

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

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

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

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

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

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

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect