What is MCP Bench Router?

Routes design tasks to designarena.ai's top-ranked model via OpenRouter across 14 categories.

How do I install MCP Bench Router?

Install MCP Bench Router via npm from https://registry.npmjs.org, then add the server config to your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, or VS Code).

Is MCP Bench Router open source?

Yes, MCP Bench Router is open source under the MIT license. Source code is available at https://github.com/K1ta141k/mcp-bench-router.

What category does MCP Bench Router belong to?

MCP Bench Router is listed under AI & ML MCP servers on MCPFind.

MCP Bench Router — MCP Server for AI & ML

mcp-bench-router

MCP server that delegates design tasks to whichever model currently tops designarena.ai's crowdsourced leaderboard, via OpenRouter.

Why?

AI coding assistants produce mediocre frontend/design output. designarena.ai maintains a live leaderboard of the best design models, updated every 2 hours. This MCP server lets Claude (or any MCP client) automatically route design tasks to the current best model.

Tools

Tool	Description
`get_best_design_model`	Get the current #1 design model, optionally by category
`get_leaderboard`	Browse full rankings with category filter and pagination
`query_design_model`	Send a prompt to the best available model via OpenRouter
`query_specific_model`	Send a prompt to a specific model via OpenRouter

Setup

Prerequisites

Node.js >= 18
An OpenRouter API key (required for query_design_model and query_specific_model)

Claude Code (CLI)

claude mcp add mcp-bench-router -s user -e OPENROUTER_API_KEY=sk-or-... -- npx -y mcp-bench-router

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-bench-router": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-bench-router"],
      "env": {
        "OPENROUTER_API_KEY": "sk-or-..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Add to .cursor/mcp.json in your project root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-bench-router": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-bench-router"],
      "env": {
        "OPENROUTER_API_KEY": "sk-or-..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Other MCP clients

OPENROUTER_API_KEY=sk-or-... npx -y mcp-bench-router

From source

git clone https://github.com/K1ta141k/mcp-bench-router.git
cd mcp-bench-router
npm install
npm run build

Usage Examples

Check who's #1:

"Use get_best_design_model to see the current top design model"

Browse rankings:

"Show me the top 20 design models for websites"

Generate a design:

"Use query_design_model to create a landing page for a SaaS product"

Use a specific model:

"Use query_specific_model with claude-sonnet-4-5 to design a dashboard"

How It Works

Fetches live rankings from designarena.ai's API (cached 2hr)
Maps arena model names to OpenRouter IDs (static + dynamic + fuzzy matching)
Skips codename/unreleased models and picks the best available one
Routes the prompt through OpenRouter's API

License

MIT

Set up in your AI client

AI clientOperating system

Merge this template into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Keep existing servers. Add any arguments, credentials, and permissions required by the maintainer; this template has not been install-tested.

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "io-github-k1ta141k-mcp-bench-router": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-bench-router"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop completely for changes to take effect. Confirm the server appears connected in the client’s tool list, then try a read-only example from its documentation.

Claude Desktop setup reference

Compatible MCP Clients

MCP Bench Router works with any MCP-compatible client. Copy the config snippet from the Configuration section above and add it to the file shown for your client, then restart the application.

Claude Desktop~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.jsonRestart Claude Desktop completely for changes to take effect.

Cursor~/.cursor/mcp.jsonRestart Cursor for changes to take effect.

VS Code.vscode/mcp.jsonReload VS Code window for changes to take effect.

Windsurf~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.jsonRestart Windsurf for changes to take effect.

Claude Code.mcp.jsonSave at the project root, then start Claude Code in that project and review the MCP server approval prompt. Keep real credentials out of shared files.

MCP Bench Router