Frugal MCP Server

The open routing layer for AI tools. Frugal is an MCP server that sits between your agent and its tool providers. You describe the job - a search, an extraction, a render, or just an intent - and Frugal decides how to complete it, routing each call per policy: cheapest capable provider by default, fastest or premium when you say so, pinned or denied when compliance says so, with automatic failover when a provider…

People connecting this server to Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or another MCP client. The project is written in Go.

VERIFIED ACTIVE

LAST COMMIT 2026-08-21 · ★ 2 · #275 OF 848 MAINTAINED OTHER · VERIFIED 2026-08-25

NOASSERTION · Go servers · how we verify → /methodology

01 · Install Frugal

before you install - you'll need

Set ANYTHINGLLM_STORAGE_DIR, SEARXNG_URL, SERPER_API_KEY, YDC_API_KEY, FIRECRAWL_API_KEY, BROWSERLESS_TOKEN before connecting.

Claude Code

claude mcp add brainsparker-frugal -- npx -y frugal-mcp

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code - add to config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brainsparker-frugal": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "frugal-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Same JSON for Cursor. For VS Code, rename the top-level key from `mcpServers` to `servers`.

Using another client? Same JSON, different key

Claude Desktop · mcpServers

Cursor · mcpServers

VS Code · servers

Windsurf · mcpServers

Zed · context_servers

Cline · mcpServers

Roo Code · mcpServers

Continue · mcpServers

LibreChat · mcpServers

Gemini CLI · mcpServers

Codex CLI · mcp_servers

Full setup guides: every client.

02 · Evidence

Security posture

What to check before giving this server access to your agent - from the registry, GitHub, and our own probes. We don't score safety; we show what's verifiable.

runs as local process (stdio) - runs on your machine with your user's permissions

license no standard license detected - usage rights unclear; check the repo before commercial use

npm package frugal-mcp - unscoped; check the name against the project README before installing

registry namespace io.github.brainsparker is GitHub-verified and matches the repo owner

03 · What Frugal can do

Prose above is summarized from the project's README and registry record - no invented capabilities.

Latest releases

v0.1.1 · 2026-07-23

Frugal is now the open routing layer for AI tools: describe the job, Frugal decides how to complete it - per policy, with the decision on every result. Cost stays the flagship policy; it's no longer the whole identity.…

v0.1.0 · 2026-07-23

Superseded by v0.1.1 (identical binaries; this release's MCP Registry publish failed on a metadata length limit). Kept because [email protected] on npm downloads its binary from here.

v0.0.3 · 2026-05-28

add frugal benchmark landing page · nightly hardening - request ID validation · nightly hardening - wrap proxy timeout guardrails · nightly hardening - fallback header guardrails · nightly hardening - retry-after date…

04 · Who maintains Frugal

Frugal is maintained by brainsparker. It's the only MCP server we track from this author; the repo dates to Apr 2026.

05 · Facts

repository
github.com/brainsparker/frugal
category
other - ranked #275 of 848 actively-maintained other servers as of 2026-08-25.
release cadence
3 releases in the last 90 days (latest 2026-07-23)
registry
io.github.brainsparker/frugal (active, first published 2026-05-28 · 2 versions)
packages
npm:frugal-mcp

06 · Frugal FAQ

What is Frugal?

The open routing layer for AI tools. Frugal is an MCP server that sits between your agent and its tool providers. You describe the job - a search, an extraction, a render, or just an intent - and Frugal decides how to complete it, routing each call per policy: cheapest capable provider by default, fastest or premium when you say so, pinned or denied when compliance says so, with automatic failover when a provider…

Is Frugal still maintained?

Yes - as of 2026-08-25, its last commit was 2026-08-21 and it shipped 3 releases in the last 90 days. We re-verify nightly.

How do I install Frugal?

Run `npx -y frugal-mcp`. The README documents 6 environment variables (ANYTHINGLLM_STORAGE_DIR, SEARXNG_URL, SERPER_API_KEY…) to set first. Set ANYTHINGLLM_STORAGE_DIR, SEARXNG_URL, SERPER_API_KEY, YDC_API_KEY, FIRECRAWL_API_KEY, BROWSERLESS_TOKEN before connecting. You can also paste the ready-made client config above.

Does Frugal run locally?

Yes - it's a stdio server: it runs on your machine (via npx) with your user's permissions. Your data stays local unless the server itself calls external APIs.

07 · Alternatives to Frugal

Alternatives to Frugal

Maintained other servers if Frugal isn't the fit.

  1. Heyputer MCP Server Puter MCP enables AI tools to interact with Puter: manage files, websites, workers, and more ★ 43,204 · 2026-08-24
  2. Server Commands An MCP server to run arbitrary commands ★ 38,704 · 2026-08-05
  3. Zotero MCP (54yyyu) Search, read, annotate, and add to your Zotero research library, local or web. ★ 4,780 · 2026-08-25
  4. Firebase MCP Gives AI development tools Firebase-specific capabilities and expertise. ★ 4,460 · 2026-08-25
  5. Microsoft Fabric MCP Server MCP tools for interacting with Microsoft Fabric ★ 3,598 · 2026-08-21
  6. Ship Swift 40+ production-ready SwiftUI recipes for building full-stack iOS apps via MCP. ★ 2,968 · 2026-08-09

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