plugged.in MCP Proxy vs Serena

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

	plugged.in MCP Proxy Unified MCP hub that aggregates all your MCP servers into one connection, with knowledge, memory, and tools. Unverified stdio (local) API key TypeScript	Serena LSP-powered coding agent toolkit: semantic symbol search, references and structural edits. Verified stdio (local) No auth Python
Category	Developer Tools	Developer Tools
Language	TypeScript	Python
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	API key	None
GitHub stars	131	12k
Last commit	1 month ago	15 days ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`npx -y @pluggedin/pluggedin-mcp-proxy@latest --pluggedin-api-key YOUR_API_KEY`	`uvx --from git+https://github.com/oraios/serena serena start-mcp-server`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick plugged.in MCP Proxy if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you need the broadest set of tools.

Pick Serena if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you want zero-setup with no API key.

Add plugged.in MCP Proxy

Install / run

npx -y @pluggedin/pluggedin-mcp-proxy@latest --pluggedin-api-key YOUR_API_KEY

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "plugged-in-mcp-proxy": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@pluggedin/pluggedin-mcp-proxy@latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PLUGGEDIN_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add Serena

Install / run

uvx --from git+https://github.com/oraios/serena serena start-mcp-server

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "serena": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "git+https://github.com/oraios/serena",
        "serena",
        "start-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Requires `uv` (the Python package runner). Install it from https://docs.astral.sh/uv/ if `uvx` is not found.

FAQ

plugged.in MCP Proxy or Serena — which is better?

Pick plugged.in MCP Proxy if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you need the broadest set of tools. Pick Serena if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you want zero-setup with no API key.

Can I use both plugged.in MCP Proxy and Serena?

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 plugged.in MCP Proxy and Serena work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

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

View plugged.in MCP Proxy →View Serena →More comparisons →