Web Researcher MCP

io.github.zoharbabin/web-researcher-mcp·v1.39.0·Search

Your AI research assistant that cites real sources and stays honest

In-path gate · all MCP tools

Using Web Researcher MCP in Claude, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Cline, or Zed?

MCP tool contracts can change remotely with no version bump. The mcpindex gate pins each contract and HOLDs the call when it drifts—before your agent acts. Zero credentials. This is not the package install for this server itself (use Install this server for that).

Install the mcpindex gate (one command)

Rewrites your MCP host config so each server launches behind the gate. Inspect first: curl -fsSL https://mcpindex.ai/install.sh | less

curl -fsSL https://mcpindex.ai/install.sh | sh

Auditable install path →Watch it hold a drift →

Trust verdict · v1 advisory · method

REVIEWstatus: PARTIALfresh until 2026-08-07 18:02 UTC

screened 2026-07-08tier: scannedgranularity: description-levelsource: registry

Semantic screen found no manipulation pattern in the description. Conformance probe not yet run.

mcpindex.integrity.descriptionpassINFO

evidence“No malicious instructions found”via static_description

Limits of this verdict

- Semantic screen only - the deterministic conformance probe has not run on this server
- Confidence is reported but not yet calibrated (v1)
- Screen reads the tool description, not the live behavior
- advisory
- registry description only no input schema
- screen model 8b

Semantic screen: an LLM judge reads the tool description for hidden instructions (status PARTIAL). A pass means the description is not lying, not that the tool is safe: a high-capability tool with an honest description still warrants caution. The deterministic conformance probe has not been run on this server yet, so the screen here is semantic-only. Posture: advisory. Confidences are reported but not yet calibrated (calibrated=false at v1). Full verdict history is not shown on this page.

Own this server? Screen its description →

Embed this badge

A live verdict badge for your README or listing. It reflects the current screen, links back here, and updates when the verdict does.

Markdown

[![mcpindex](https://mcpindex.ai/api/v1/badge/io-github-zoharbabin-web-researcher-mcp)](https://mcpindex.ai/server/io-github-zoharbabin-web-researcher-mcp)

HTML

<a href="https://mcpindex.ai/server/io-github-zoharbabin-web-researcher-mcp"><img src="https://mcpindex.ai/api/v1/badge/io-github-zoharbabin-web-researcher-mcp" alt="mcpindex verdict" height="20" /></a>

Environment variables

GOOGLE_CUSTOM_SEARCH_API_KEY

secret

Google Custom Search API key

GOOGLE_CUSTOM_SEARCH_ID

Google Programmable Search Engine ID

SEARCH_PROVIDER

Search provider: google, brave, serper, searxng, searchapi, duckduckgo, tavily, exa, or hackernews

SEARCH_ROUTING

Use multiple search engines with automatic switching if one goes down (e.g. brave,google,serper)

BRAVE_API_KEY

secret

Brave Search API key

SERPER_API_KEY

secret

Serper.dev API key

SEARCHAPI_API_KEY

secret

SearchAPI.io API key

SEARXNG_URL

SearXNG instance URL

TAVILY_API_KEY

secret

Tavily Search API key

EXA_API_KEY

secret

Exa API key (also enables the answer and structured_search tools)

EDGAR_CONTACT_EMAIL

Contact email for SEC EDGAR (enables filing_search); falls back to OPENALEX_EMAIL

COURTLISTENER_API_TOKEN

secret

CourtListener API token (legal_search works without it; a token raises the rate limit)

FRED_API_KEY

secret

FRED API key (enables econ_search for Federal Reserve economic data)

MCP quality score · maturity, not trust · methodology

freshness

completeness

installability

documentation

stability

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Install this server

Claude Desktop (Docker)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "web-researcher-mcp": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "ghcr.io/zoharbabin/web-researcher-mcp:1.39.0"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GOOGLE_CUSTOM_SEARCH_API_KEY": "<your-google_custom_search_api_key>",
        "GOOGLE_CUSTOM_SEARCH_ID": "<google_custom_search_id>",
        "SEARCH_PROVIDER": "<search_provider>",
        "SEARCH_ROUTING": "<search_routing>",
        "BRAVE_API_KEY": "<your-brave_api_key>",
        "SERPER_API_KEY": "<your-serper_api_key>",
        "SEARCHAPI_API_KEY": "<your-searchapi_api_key>",
        "SEARXNG_URL": "<searxng_url>",
        "TAVILY_API_KEY": "<your-tavily_api_key>",
        "EXA_API_KEY": "<your-exa_api_key>",
        "EDGAR_CONTACT_EMAIL": "<edgar_contact_email>",
        "COURTLISTENER_API_TOKEN": "<your-courtlistener_api_token>",
        "FRED_API_KEY": "<your-fred_api_key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Verdict API

curl -s mcpindex.ai/api/v1/trust/server/io-github-zoharbabin-web-researcher-mcp

Free-tier verdict as JSON: decision + dimensions + severity. Call it from your agent before it invokes a tool it just discovered.

Details

version: v1.39.0
category: Search
verdict expires: 2026-08-07
quality: 90 / 100
operator: zoharbabin

Provenance

Verdict history is anchored to Bitcoin via OpenTimestamps. The anchor proof is public and any skeptic can recompute it offline.

Links

Repository →