The MCP Census MCP server

• census_audit_configFree

  Audit a whole MCP client config in one call (.mcp.json, claude_desktop_config.json, .cursor/mcp.json, .vscode/mcp.json, Codex config.toml text). Resolves every entry without guessing (url → remote_url, npx → npm package, uvx → PyPI package) and returns one PASS / REVIEW / BLOCK / UNKNOWN verdict per entry under a built-in policy, plus CENSUS-AUDIT/1 text, valid_until_epoch and exit_code (1 on any BLOCK). UNKNOWN is never upgraded to PASS. Cost 1 credit per config per UTC day; keyless callers get one config of ≤25 entries per IP per day. Not a malware scan; PASS is not a sandbox. Strip env/headers before sending.

• census_changesFree

  The Census change feed (CENSUS-CHANGES/1): observed transitions across every server — server_new, remote_down, remote_up, tools_changed, health_change, verified_change, security, endpoint_moved, registry_status, spec_era_change. Cursor-paginated: pass next_cursor back as since. Filter by events, server_names or namespace_domain. Only real transitions, never 'still fine'. Unmetered in v1; poll hourly. Not a malware scan.

• census_coverageFree

  Public transparency report (same payload as GET /v1/coverage). Unmetered. Live D1 census/identity/remote/protocol/adoption/pipeline counts plus method notes — never invents completeness percentages or a brand_audit punch list.

• census_creditsFree

  Show remaining Census credits for this API key (wallet after the UTC-month grant). Unmetered. Without a key, returns anonymous unique-per-day remaining — not a wallet.

• census_lookalikesFree

  Contested identity for one exact server_name: official_for, name_collision_count, and up to 10 other census server_name values sharing the same namespace brand or tail. Never invents lookalikes. Cost 1.

• census_lookupFree

  Get the live health verdict for one MCP server by its exact registry name (e.g. 'io.github.owner/name'). Returns stars, last-push recency, gone/archived/deprecated flags, name-collision count, and a fact-based health verdict (healthy | issues | unknown).

• census_policy_listFree

  List the exact immutable Preflight v1 built-in policy objects, canonical ruleset, and policy digests. Unmetered.

• census_preflightFree

  Evaluate one exact MCP server under a documented built-in install policy. Returns PASS, REVIEW, or BLOCK with evidence reasons, freshness, digests, and explicit limits. This is a first gate, not a security audit. refresh=if_stale requires x-api-key.

• census_recentFree

  Newest MCP servers by real first_seen_at (same payload as GET /v1/recent). Unmetered. Only rows with a known first-seen date — never invents or guesses discovery times. Optional limit 1–50 (default 20).

• census_searchFree

  Search MCP servers by keyword or partial name (e.g. 'github', 'postgres'). Returns ranked matches with health/trust. Also returns: resolved_query (auto typo fix), disambiguate (when unsure), known_brand (we recognize a strong product but it has no official MCP — e.g. CodeRabbit), research (watchlist/confirmed_absent), query_intent (brand_lookup|category|package|install_gate|junk — does not change ranking), intent_cta (preflight when they asked an install-gate question). Prefer official_match=true rows. Never invent servers.

• census_stampFree

  Census stamp for one exact MCP server under a built-in policy. Same input as census_preflight. Returns the preflight body plus compact CENSUS-STAMP/1 text and stamp_json. Cost matches preflight. Never connect without a stamp. PASS is not a malware scan or permission review.

• census_statsFree

  Ecosystem headline numbers from the live census (same payload as GET /v1/stats). Unmetered. Returns total servers, healthy/issues counts, popular (gh_stars>=1000), remote-capable count, github-linked count, and captured_at. No invented metrics.

• census_watch_listFree

  List active per-server watches for this API key. Requires x-api-key.

• census_watch_subscribeFree

  Subscribe this agent (or a human email) to alerts for ONE specific MCP server. Fires only on real observed changes: remote_down, remote_up, health_change, verified_change, security. Requires x-api-key. Prefer webhook_url (https) so your agent can receive POST callbacks; email optional. Returns a watch id + HMAC secret (X-Census-Signature: sha256=…). Free tier: 5 watches; pro: 50.

• census_watch_unsubscribeFree

  Deactivate a watch by id. Requires x-api-key that owns the watch.

• –Code scanremote-only server, no package to scann/a
• Live reliabilityremote reachable in 193ms20/20
• Tool poisoning15 tool descriptions checked15/15
• Auth qualityopen endpoint, read-only tools10/15
• Maintenanceno repository listed3/15
• Maintainer identityverified namespace with website, no repo4/10

The MCP Census: common questions

Is The MCP Census MCP server safe?

With care: it is graded C, so read the findings first (69/100). Read the The MCP Census safety report

How do I install The MCP Census?

It runs remotely at api.mcpcensus.com. Add it to Claude Code, Claude Desktop or Cursor with the snippets above, or call it through the mcp.market gateway without installing anything.

Does The MCP Census need an API key?

Not as far as the registry entry and our scan can tell: no credentials are declared or required.

Is The MCP Census maintained?

The latest release is v1.4.0.

Is The MCP Census up?

100% of our last 6 checks got an answer. We check remote servers about four times a day.