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.
| 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
Categories
Filter by design category: allcategories, website, gamedev, 3d, dataviz, uicomponent, image, logo, svg, video, imagetoimage, slides, graphicdesign, tts.
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