
MCP Bench Router
β 6from K1ta141k
Claude Code sucks at design. Let it delegate it's tasks to better models. Claude will use the MCP to get leaderboard of best design models and query specific code changes using OpenRouter.
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 |
Categories
Filter by design category: allcategories, website, gamedev, 3d, dataviz, uicomponent, image, logo, svg, video, imagetoimage, slides, graphicdesign, tts.
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
claude mcp add mcp-bench-router -s user -e OPENROUTER_API_KEY=sk-or-... -- npx -y mcp-bench-routerBefore it works, you'll need: OPENROUTER_API_KEY
Setup
Prerequisites
- Node.js >= 18
- An OpenRouter API key (required for
query_design_modelandquery_specific_model)
Claude Code (CLI)
claude mcp add mcp-bench-router -s user -e OPENROUTER_API_KEY=sk-or-... -- npx -y mcp-bench-routerClaude 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-routerFrom source
git clone https://github.com/K1ta141k/mcp-bench-router.git
cd mcp-bench-router
npm install
npm run buildUsage 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"
No common issues documented yet. If you hit a problem, the repository's GitHub Issues page is the best place to look.