Model Context Protocol

MCP for TechSnif

Give your AI assistant structured access to tech story clusters aggregated from TechCrunch, The Verge, Ars Technica, and dozens more outlets — with coverage links, social discussion, and publisher filtering — directly from Claude Desktop, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client. For the full picture on agent access, see our agents overview.

Quick Start

Add this to your Claude Desktop config and restart. No API keys, no accounts, no configuration.

claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "TechSnif": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@techsnif/mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

macOS ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Windows %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Other Clients

Using a different MCP client? Select yours for setup instructions:

Add this to your Claude Desktop config file. Restart Claude Desktop after saving.

macOS ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Windows %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "TechSnif": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@techsnif/mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

What You Can Do

Once connected, your AI assistant can:

Story Clusters

Browse top tech stories aggregated from dozens of outlets, ranked by prominence or newest first.

Social Discussion

Get direct links to exact tweets, Reddit threads, LinkedIn posts, and Bluesky posts for any story.

Publisher Filter

Filter stories by lead publisher — "show me all TechCrunch stories" or "Verge coverage today".

Tech Events

See upcoming tech industry events and conferences with dates, locations, and links.

Search

Find story clusters by keyword, with optional publisher filtering across the entire archive.

Tools

Four tools are available for querying story clusters, coverage links, social discussion, and events:

`get_top_stories`

Get tech story clusters from across the web. Each story aggregates coverage from multiple outlets and includes links to social discussion.

Parameter	Type	Description
`limit`	number	Results to return (default 20, max 80)
`sort`	string	`rank` (prominence, default) or `newest` (most recently seen)
`tier`	number	Filter by headline tier: 1=standard, 2=major, 3=top story
`publisher`	string	Filter by lead publisher (e.g. "TechCrunch", "The Verge")

`get_story`

Get full story cluster detail with all coverage links and direct URLs to social posts (tweets, Reddit threads, LinkedIn posts, etc.).

Parameter	Type	Description
`slug`	string	The story cluster slug (required)

`search_stories`

Search story clusters by headline keyword, with optional publisher filter.

Parameter	Type	Description
`query`	string	Search query, min 2 characters (required)
`limit`	number	Results to return (default 10, max 50)
`publisher`	string	Filter by lead publisher

`get_tech_events`

Get upcoming tech industry events with dates, locations, and URLs.

Parameter	Type	Description
`limit`	number	Results to return (default 10, max 50)

Resources

Two read-only resources are available for context:

URI	Description
`techsnif://categories`	All categories with descriptions
`techsnif://tags`	All tags with descriptions

Example Prompts

Try these once your MCP connection is active:

"Show me the top stories right now"
"What are the top TechCrunch stories today?"
"Search TechSnif for stories about OpenAI"
"Show me the tweets about the Meta lawsuit story"
"What Reddit threads are discussing [story]?"
"Which outlets covered the Apple headset announcement?"
"Any upcoming tech events?"

API Endpoints

The MCP server calls TechSnif's public JSON API. You can also use these endpoints directly:

`GET /api/stories`

Story clusters. Query params: limit, sort (rank|newest), tier, publisher

`GET /api/stories/search`

Search story clusters by headline. Query params: q (required), limit, publisher

`GET /api/stories/:slug`

Full story cluster with all coverage links and social discussion URLs.

`GET /api/events`

Upcoming tech events. Query params: limit

What is MCP?

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that lets AI assistants connect to external data sources. Instead of copy-pasting links into your chat, MCP gives your assistant direct, structured access to story clusters aggregated from across the tech press.

No API keys are required. The server runs locally on your machine and fetches from TechSnif's public API. It's free, open source, and works with any MCP-compatible client.

MCP questions people search for

This page answers the practical setup and access questions developers usually ask before installing a news MCP server.

What is the best way to give an AI agent access to TechSnif?

If your assistant supports MCP, the MCP server is the best path because it gives the assistant direct tool access to story clusters, search, social discussion links, and publisher filtering.

Which MCP clients work with TechSnif?

TechSnif works with Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Gemini CLI, Codex CLI, and any client that supports standard MCP server configuration.

Does the TechSnif MCP server require API keys?

No. The server runs locally on your machine and reads from TechSnif public endpoints, so there is no TechSnif account, API key, or paywall required.

What can an AI agent do with the TechSnif MCP server?

An agent can browse top story clusters from across the web, get direct links to social discussion (tweets, Reddit threads, LinkedIn posts), filter stories by publisher, search by keyword, and check upcoming tech events.

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