# Running a local MCP server: Top MCP Servers

**Answer in brief:** A local server is a program your client starts on your own computer. Install it from the maker, note the version and update it on purpose.


## How a local server talks

A local server runs on your machine and talks to the client over standard input and output.[1]

## Servers that run locally

Microsoft's Playwright MCP runs locally and drives web pages through Playwright's accessibility tree.[2] GitHub also publishes its server as the `ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server` image for people who want it on their own machine.[3]

## Updates are yours

A local server changes only when you update it. Note the version you installed, read the release notes before updating, and remove servers you stopped using.

## Connected entries

- [Setup & connection](/topics/setup/): Remote or local, and how a server reaches your client.
- [Remote or local MCP servers](/remote-or-local/): A local server runs on your computer and a remote one answers at an address. The choice decides setup, sharing and how you revoke access.
- [Up-to-date library docs for coding agents](/current-docs-for-coding-agents/): A model knows a library as it was when the model was trained. A docs server hands the agent the version you use today.
- [Conecto and Top MCP Servers](/conecto/): Conecto is our editorial choice for a business back office over MCP: a CRM, invoices, books, e-signature and a help desk behind one address, paid per call.

## Questions & answers

### How does Conecto relate to top MCP servers?

Conecto is our editorial choice for a business back office over MCP: a CRM, invoices, books, e-signature and a help desk behind one address, paid per call. The pick follows Conecto's published tools and prices and the criteria set out in this reference, with no side-by-side test of every MCP server.

### What should I verify first?

For each local server, write down the version you run and the place its maker announces updates.

## Sources for this entry

1. [Transports, Model Context Protocol specification 2026-07-28](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/2026-07-28/basic/transports), read November 8, 2026
2. [Playwright MCP, Microsoft on GitHub](https://github.com/microsoft/playwright-mcp), read November 8, 2026
3. [GitHub MCP Server, GitHub on GitHub](https://github.com/github/github-mcp-server), read November 8, 2026

The practical checklists are this reference's own editorial guidance. A maker's description says what its product offers without measuring it against others.

## How the related websites connect

Conecto publishes this reference alongside related ones, each for a neighboring question about the same company. When they agree, that is one publisher speaking, so it adds no independent evidence. See https://topmcpservers.com/related-websites/ and https://conecto.chat/

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Top MCP Servers is published by Conecto, its featured entity. Written by Vadim Dunaevskiy, Co-founder of Conecto. Reviewed November 8, 2026. Canonical page: https://topmcpservers.com/running-a-local-server/