It is a critical and exciting time for research on adsorption using metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) as we witness the commercial release of the MOF-based products TruPick and ION-X, two MOF-based products with application in the food packaging and electronic gas delivery platform sectors, respectively. Such milestones call for reflection on the outputs of MOF research in the field of adsorption so far and the challenges and opportunities lying ahead. To this end, this review provides a snapshot of current trends in this research space (i.e. new adsorption application, manufacturing, role of modeling), highlights the most promising structures for given applications (i.e. in gas adsorption, gas storage, molecular separation, water purification and harvesting), points to technical barriers, and exposes a vision for future research in this area.