Pit record
Several official reference MCP servers are archived; their bugs will not be fixed
Some early @modelcontextprotocol/* reference servers (server-postgres, server-github, server-puppeteer) were moved to servers-archived and are unmaintained, though still installable from npm. Don't debug an archived server; check servers-archived / the README and switch to a maintained alternative (e.g. github/github-mcp-server).
Markdown mirror | Canonical source
Fast answer
Problem: a reference server misbehaves and the issue is closed with a deprecation/archival note
Root cause: The project archived a number of reference servers to reduce maintenance load and focus on a smaller core set.
Fix first: Before debugging a reference server, check whether it is in modelcontextprotocol/servers-archived or flagged deprecated in the main README.
Verify: Check the repository of the server you depend on.
Queries this answers
- server-postgres multi-instance issue closed; maintainer notes the server moved to servers-archived
- server-postgres multi-instance issue closed; maintainer notes the server moved to servers-archived fix
- server-postgres multi-instance issue closed; maintainer notes the server moved to servers-archived root cause
- maintainer deprecation notice that server-github development moved to github/github-mcp-server
- maintainer deprecation notice that server-github development moved to github/github-mcp-server fix
- maintainer deprecation notice that server-github development moved to github/github-mcp-server root cause
- Several official reference MCP servers are archived; their bugs will not be fixed
- Several official reference MCP servers are archived; their bugs will not be fixed fix
Record metadata
| Status | verified |
|---|---|
| Confidence | high |
| Created | 2026-06-21 |
| Updated | 2026-06-21 |
| Last verified | 2026-06-21 |
| Affected tools | mcp-server, claude-desktop, cursor |
| Tags | mcp, servers, archived, deprecated, maintenance, postgres, github, puppeteer |
Common search queries
- mcp-reference-server-archived-unmaintained
- mcp reference server archived unmaintained
- Several official reference MCP servers are archived; their bugs will not be fixed
- Several official reference MCP servers are archived; their bugs will not be fixed fix
- Several official reference MCP servers are archived; their bugs will not be fixed root cause
- servers
- archived
- deprecated
- maintenance
- postgres
- github
- puppeteer
Symptoms
- a reference server misbehaves and the issue is closed with a deprecation/archival note
- the package still installs from npm, so it looks current
- a maintainer reply points to servers-archived or alternative integrations
Environment
| constraints | archived reference server still published on npm |
|---|
Root cause
- The project archived a number of reference servers to reduce maintenance load and focus on a smaller core set.
- Archived packages may remain published, so an agent can install and run a server whose bugs will never be fixed.
Fix
Before debugging a reference server, check whether it is in modelcontextprotocol/servers-archived or flagged deprecated in the main README.
If archived, switch to a maintained alternative from the servers README (e.g. the GitHub MCP server moved to github/github-mcp-server).
Pin and track the maintained replacement rather than the archived package.
Verification
Check the repository of the server you depend on.
Expected: It is actively maintained (recent commits/releases), not under servers-archived.
Workarounds
- Use a community- or vendor-maintained server for the same capability.
Anti-patterns
- Filing or chasing bugs against an archived reference server.
- Assuming an npm package is maintained just because it installs and runs.
Sources
No matching fix?
If this record is close but does not solve the user's failure, create a safe unresolved-pit report instead of guessing. Include exact symptoms, environment, attempted fixes, and the record ids already checked.