About afferens
afferens is an MCP server that provides AI agents with live physical-perception data across six modalities, including vision, sound, and environmental readings. It supports local stdio and remote Streamable HTTP connections, with tools for querying and verifying feeds.
Key features
- 01Live data across six modalities
- 02Filter perception events by modality
- 03Verify feed freshness with snapshots
- 04Check feed headers and hash
Use cases
- 01Give an agent live sensor events
- 02Query a specific perception modality
- 03Check whether a sensor feed is fresh
MCP support
The server exposes perception events and node health to MCP clients through `afferens_demo`, `afferens_perceive`, and `afferens_verify`. It supports stdio and Streamable HTTP transports.
Configuration
Local server config is the same for every client. Copy it into your client’s MCP config file.
Tools
5Saved tool list · updated 2w ago
This tool takes no parameters.
Details
From the project README@afferens/mcp-server
MCP server for Afferens - real-time physical perception for AI agents.
Use it from local MCP clients over stdio or remote/hosted clients over streamable HTTP. It gives any MCP-compatible AI assistant live sensor data: object detections, positions, sounds, environmental readings, chemical traces, and node health.
Tools
| Tool | Auth | Description |
|---|---|---|
afferens_demo | None | Live perception data across all 6 modalities. Free, no key needed. |
afferens_perceive | API key | Query live events by modality with filtering and limits. |
afferens_verify | API key | Fetch the feed twice and return a proof bundle with headers, age, and a freshness verdict. |
Modalities: VISION / SPATIAL / ACOUSTIC / ENVIRONMENTAL / MOLECULAR / INTEROCEPTION
Quick Start
Free tier: 10,000 tokens, no card required. Get your key at afferens.com.
Local MCP Clients
claude mcp add afferens -- npx -y @afferens/mcp-server
Then set your key:
claude mcp add afferens -e AFFERENS_API_KEY=YOUR_KEY -- npx -y @afferens/mcp-server
This stdio setup works for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, and Windsurf.
Remote MCP Clients
For hosted or browser-based clients, run Afferens in HTTP mode and point the client at the /mcp endpoint:
AFFERENS_TRANSPORT=http AFFERENS_PORT=8790 AFFERENS_API_KEY=YOUR_KEY node dist/index.js
Then register the endpoint:
{
"afferens": {
"url": "http://127.0.0.1:8790/mcp",
"bearer_token_env_var": "AFFERENS_API_KEY"
}
}
Claude Desktop / Cursor / Windsurf
Add to your MCP config file:
{
"mcpServers": {
"afferens": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@afferens/mcp-server"],
"env": {
"AFFERENS_API_KEY": "YOUR_KEY"
}
}
}
}
Config file locations:
- Claude Desktop (Mac):
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json - Claude Desktop (Windows):
%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json - Cursor:
.cursor/mcp.jsonin your project root - Windsurf:
~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json
Try it without a key
{
"mcpServers": {
"afferens": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@afferens/mcp-server"]
}
}
}
Call afferens_demo - no API key needed.
Usage
Once connected, your AI agent can call:
afferens_perceive({ modality: "VISION", limit: 5 })
Returns structured perception events your agent can reason over and act on.
For demo verification:
afferens_verify({ modality: "VISION", limit: 3, wait_ms: 2000 })
Returns two raw snapshots plus headers, age, and a hash check so you can show whether the feed is live, stale, or unchanged.
Links
- afferens.com - sign up, dashboard, API docs
- npm
- Smithery
License
MIT
Comments
New to MCP?
From what the protocol is to installing your first server, these answers cover most first questions.
An open protocol that defines how AI applications connect to external tools and data in a uniform way. Clients talk to the model; MCP servers provide tools, resources and prompt templates. They exchange standard messages, so one server can be reused by many clients.