relay vs other MCP servers

Quick comparison

Feature	relay	Memory MCP	Fetch MCP	Screenshot MCP
Tools	40 across 7 categories	3-5 (memory only)	1-2 (fetch only)	1 (screenshot only)
Binary	Single Go binary	Node.js	Node.js	Node.js/Python
Runtime deps	None (static binary)	Node.js + npm deps	Node.js + npm deps	Node.js + browser
Agent memory	Yes (SQLite-backed)	Yes	No	No
Web fetch	Yes	No	Yes	No
Screenshot	Yes	No	No	Yes
Search	Yes	No	No	No
File ops	Yes	No	No	No
Multi-agent	Yes (coordination tools)	No	No	No
License	MIT	Varies	Varies	Varies

Why one binary instead of multiple servers

Running multiple MCP servers means:

• Multiple processes to manage and restart
• Multiple entries in your client config
• More memory usage (each Node.js process is 50-100 MB)
• Update each server separately
• Debug across multiple processes

Relay gives you all 40 tools in one process:

• One binary to install and update
• One entry in your client config
• ~20 MB memory usage total
• relay doctor to diagnose issues
• relay upgrade to update in place

Config comparison

Before: multiple MCP servers

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "memory": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-memory"]
    },
    "fetch": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-fetch"]
    },
    "screenshot": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-screenshot"]
    },
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/path"]
    }
  }
}

After: just relay

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "relay": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "userelay"]
    }
  }
}

That's it. Memory, fetch, screenshot, file ops, search, and 35 more tools, all from one config entry.

Tool categories

Category	Tools	What it does
Memory	6	Store, search, and manage agent memory with SQLite
Web	8	Fetch URLs, take screenshots, search the web
Files	7	Read, write, and manage files
System	5	Run commands, manage processes
Search	4	Full-text search across memory and files
Agents	6	Coordinate multiple agents
Config	4	Manage relay configuration

When to use relay

• You want one MCP server instead of many
• You need agent memory that persists across sessions
• You want web fetch, screenshots, and search in one place
• You are building multi-agent systems and need coordination
• You care about resource usage (one binary vs many Node processes)

When to use something else

• You only need a single specific tool (a dedicated server may be simpler)
• You need a tool that relay does not provide yet
• You prefer Node.js and want to modify the server code