About You.com Web Access & AI
You.com Web Access & AI is a bin-only STDIO bridge to the hosted You.com MCP server, and it registers no tools locally. It forwards MCP traffic from local clients to the remote endpoint, suiting users who want web search and content extraction quickly, with a keyless free profile available.
Key features
- 01STDIO bridge to a hosted remote MCP server
- 02Keyless free profile configuration
- 03Mode switching through YDC_PROFILE and YDC_API_KEY
- 04Tool scope limited with the tools parameter
- 05Default search, content, balance and discovery tools
- 06Direct connection option for remote-capable clients
Use cases
- 01Adding web search to Claude Desktop or Cursor
- 02Trying search and discovery tools without creating an account
- 03Enabling finance or research tools on demand
MCP support
This project bridges MCP clients to the You.com hosted MCP server over STDIO, making the remote server's tools available to local clients.
Configuration
Remote servers need no local install. Pick your client, then copy the config or install in one click.
https://api.you.com/mcpclaude mcp add --transport http youdotcom-oss https://api.you.com/mcp{"mcpServers":{"youdotcom-oss":{"type":"http","url":"https://api.you.com/mcp"}}}Open in Cursor{"servers":{"youdotcom-oss":{"type":"http","url":"https://api.you.com/mcp"}}}Open in VS Code{"mcpServers":{"youdotcom-oss":{"type":"http","url":"https://api.you.com/mcp"}}}{"mcpServers":{"youdotcom-oss":{"serverUrl":"https://api.you.com/mcp"}}}Run commands in a terminal; paste JSON into the client’s MCP config and restart. Servers that need sign-in will prompt on first connect.
https://api.you.com/mcpAuth requiredTools
Details
From the project README@youdotcom-oss/mcp
Bin-only STDIO bridge for the hosted You.com MCP server at https://api.you.com/mcp.
This package does not register tools locally and does not contain REST tool logic. Its only job is to proxy STDIO MCP traffic to the hosted remote server.
Quick start
// Add this to your MCP client config (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.)
// Free tier — no API key, no signup.
{
"mcpServers": {
"you": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["@youdotcom-oss/mcp"],
"env": { "YDC_PROFILE": "free" }
}
}
}
If your client supports remote MCP, point it at https://api.you.com/mcp?profile=free directly — no local process needed.
Claude Desktop
Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):
{
"mcpServers": {
"you": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["@youdotcom-oss/mcp"],
"env": { "YDC_PROFILE": "free" }
}
}
}
Authenticated (all default tools):
{
"mcpServers": {
"you": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["@youdotcom-oss/mcp"],
"env": { "YDC_API_KEY": "<your-key>" }
}
}
}
Claude Code
# Free tier
claude mcp add you -e YDC_PROFILE=free -- npx @youdotcom-oss/mcp
# Authenticated
claude mcp add you -e YDC_API_KEY=<your-key> -- npx @youdotcom-oss/mcp
Cursor
Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (or .cursor/mcp.json in a project):
{
"mcpServers": {
"you": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["@youdotcom-oss/mcp"],
"env": { "YDC_PROFILE": "free" }
}
}
}
Windsurf
Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"you": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["@youdotcom-oss/mcp"],
"env": { "YDC_PROFILE": "free" }
}
}
}
VS Code
Add to your user or workspace mcp.json:
{
"servers": {
"you": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["@youdotcom-oss/mcp"],
"env": { "YDC_PROFILE": "free" }
}
}
}
Any MCP client (remote)
If your client speaks streamable HTTP, skip the local bridge:
https://api.you.com/mcp?profile=free
Authenticated:
https://api.you.com/mcp
Authorization: Bearer <your-key>
Install
bun add @youdotcom-oss/mcp
Or run it directly:
npx @youdotcom-oss/mcp
Environment
YDC_API_KEYOptional. Sent asAuthorization: Bearer <key>.YDC_PROFILEOptional. When set tofree, routes the bridge tohttps://api.you.com/mcp?profile=free.YDC_ALLOWED_TOOLSOptional. Comma-separated hosted tool ids to expose throughhttps://api.you.com/mcp?tools=....
YDC_PROFILE takes precedence over YDC_ALLOWED_TOOLS.
Tool exposure
The default hosted MCP URL exposes four tools:
you-searchyou-contentsyou-balanceyou-discover
Two additional tools are available on request:
you-financeyou-research
Request additional tools explicitly with tools. tools scopes the visible tool set.
Today, profile=free is a keyless mode. It overrides tools and exposes you-search and you-discover.
Examples:
- Default tool set:
https://api.you.com/mcp - Finance only:
https://api.you.com/mcp?tools=you-finance - Search plus finance:
https://api.you.com/mcp?tools=you-search,you-finance - Research only:
https://api.you.com/mcp?tools=you-research - Free profile (keyless):
https://api.you.com/mcp?profile=free
Links
- API keys: you.com/platform/api-keys
- Platform docs: documentation.you.com
- MCP registry listing:
io.github.youdotcom-oss/mcp - Issues: github.com/youdotcom-oss/mcp/issues
- Support: [email protected]
Contributing
Development setup and code conventions live in AGENTS.md; contribution flow and PR conventions live in CONTRIBUTING.md. Issues and PRs welcome.
License
MIT — see LICENSE.
Comments
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