I just pick up a new mtb, and it is awesome! Somehow, it doesn't come with a kick stand. Do you need a kick stand on your bike? If I install a kick stand, will it scratch the frame?

Kick stand is not needed. Trees, walls, posts are all plentiful. And if there's nothing like that, well, you're in an open field, lay the bike down with the drive-side up.

I've found a kickstand handy. A rear-mount one like this works well, and has plastic tubing provided so it doesn't scratch your frame. https://www.amazon.com/Greenfield-Sta.../dp/B000AOA434
Bicycle cops' bikes often have them fitted. I had one on a road bike which didn't have room for a standard kickstand in front of the rear wheel, it worked a charm.

A kickstand generally isn't found as original equipment on most bicycles sold in bike shops. But you can always get one as an aftermarket accessory. Traditionally they are mounted just behind the bottom bracket or attached by various means at the chain/seat stay junction just in front of the rear axlel. A word of caution regarding the frame's paint job. Any installation that involves bare metal being clamped or held in pressure through leverage the way temporary kickstand do has the potential to scratch your frame's paint. Depending on the model of kickstand, you can almost always put some sort of protecrive buffer over the contact points to prevent scratching. Scraps of rubber from an old inner tube works well. You can also wrap the frame with electrical tape at the spot of contact prior to assembly as a means of protection. If you are having it installed at a bike shop, voice your concerns to the mechanic and ask them to take measures to protect the paint job.

My workhorse bike (an old '80s MTB) has an add-on kickstand because I find it makes it easier to load/unload cargo onto the rack. Even after wrapping an old tube around the chainstays where the kickstand mounts, there's still some paint damage from the clamp. It's a work bike, so I don't worry about it. My other three fun bikes have no kickstand and I never miss it.

If you are buying it to JRA. on the street adding Racks and bags fpr trekking and utility use, getting a Bike with a KS mointing point
will make the installation secure ..


Off road it's gonna be something to rattle loose , Particularly if no KS mount was considered in the frame design ,
then you just lay th bike down, in the woods , along those trails,

or if in town, lock it Securely Up to something..

I think the last bike I had with a kickstand on it was back in 1958.

Now in Houston It's Underwater too, and you Probably Need a Boat.

I rode with a kickstand for a long time. Every major crack I went over on the road made the kickstand bounce and rebound. Started to annoy me over the years. Just dismount to the left and lay the bike on the ground. Only minimal wear on the bar ends and left pedal which can be replaced.

find a tree.

I have a kickstand on my commuter/utility bike for ease of parking and loading but no kickstand on my MTB and CX bikes to save weight and reduce bouncing, snagging etc., there is always a tree, rock, stand or the ground.

I lean my bicycle against my workbench.... if I don't just hang it back on the hook screwed in the garages ceiling. While out riding I sometimes stop at a park restroom or at a starbucks close to home. Then I just put the bike in the bike rack provided and lock it up.

You know when you're driving and you see someone who left their coffee mug on top of their car? And you sort of pity them, but mostly just laugh?

That's how other mountain bikers with think of you if you add a heavy, clanky, unnecessary kickstand to a new MTB. Don't be that guy.