Courtlistener MCP Server - install, status & alternatives [2026]

01 · Install Courtlistener MCP Server

before you install - you'll need

Set MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL, COURTLISTENER_API_TOKEN before connecting.

Claude Code

claude mcp add cyanheads-courtlistener-mcp-server --transport http https://courtlistener.caseyjhand.com/mcp

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code - add to config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cyanheads-courtlistener-mcp-server": {
      "url": "https://courtlistener.caseyjhand.com/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

https://courtlistener.caseyjhand.com/mcp

transport: streamable-http

endpoint alive - responded to MCP initialize · probed 2026-08-25

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 · remote - your agent's requests go to courtlistener.caseyjhand.com

endpoint auth accepted our unauthenticated MCP initialize - no credentials needed to connect

license Apache-2.0 - declared in the repository

npm package @cyanheads/courtlistener-mcp-server - published under the repo owner's npm scope (@cyanheads)

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

03 · What Courtlistener MCP Server can do

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

What you can build

With this server connected, an agent can fetch full text and metadata for an opinion cluster - returns all opinion variants (majority, concurrence, dissent), retrieve the citation network for an opinion: opinions cited by it (citing) or that cite it (cited_by), resolve legal citations (e.g., "410 U.S. 113") to cluster IDs and case metadata - one entry per citation found in the input, and fetch docket metadata and entry list for a single federal case.

Capability map

Tools grouped from the project's README - what Courtlistener MCP Server lets an agent do.

Courtlistener

14 tools - e.g. Full-text search across 9M+ written court opinions with field-level filtering, date ranges, status, and sort; Fetch full text and metadata for an opinion cluster - returns all opinion variants (majority…

courtlistener_search_opinions · courtlistener_get_opinion · courtlistener_get_citations · courtlistener_lookup_citation · courtlistener_search_dockets · courtlistener_get_docket…

Citing

1 tool - e.g. opinions this one cites - reveals the authority chain the court relied on

citing

Latest releases

v0.7.0 · 2026-07-30

Jurisdiction filter mirrors CourtListener's own Court.JURISDICTIONS · choices exactly. · jurisdiction accepts nine previously-missing codes, reaching the · tribal, territory, and military benches: TRS, TRA, TRT, TRX…

v0.6.1 · 2026-07-30

position pagination, court-lookup budget, full court snapshot · courtlistener_get_judge: /positions/ is cursor-walked under a 5-page bound instead of a fixed 50-row fetch, so a long career no longer truncates silently…

v0.6.0 · 2026-07-30

breaking contract fixes across lookup_courts, lookup_citation, get_parties · courtlistener_lookup_courts: in_use:boolean removed, replaced by status:'active'|'inactive'|'any' - the old boolean could never reach the…

04 · Who maintains Courtlistener MCP Server

courtlistener-mcp-server is maintained by cyanheads. We track 125 MCP servers from cyanheads - 124 actively maintained, 1,730 combined GitHub stars, oldest repo from Dec 2024. Full record: all servers from cyanheads.

05 · Facts

repository: github.com/cyanheads/courtlistener-mcp-server
category: other - ranked #203 of 848 actively-maintained other servers as of 2026-08-25.
release cadence: 10+ releases in the last 90 days (latest 2026-07-30)
registry: io.github.cyanheads/courtlistener-mcp-server (active, first published 2026-05-26 · 24 versions)
packages: npm:@cyanheads/courtlistener-mcp-server · npm:@cyanheads/courtlistener-mcp-server

06 · Courtlistener MCP Server FAQ

Is Courtlistener MCP Server still maintained?

Yes - as of 2026-08-25, its last commit was 2026-07-30 and it shipped 10+ releases in the last 90 days. We re-verify nightly.

What can Courtlistener MCP Server do?

With this server connected, an agent can fetch full text and metadata for an opinion cluster - returns all opinion variants (majority, concurrence, dissent), retrieve the citation network for an opinion: opinions cited by it (citing) or that cite it (cited_by), resolve legal citations (e.g., "410 U.S. 113") to cluster IDs and case metadata - one entry per citation found in the input, and fetch docket metadata and entry list for a single federal case.

How do I install Courtlistener MCP Server?

Run `npx -y @cyanheads/courtlistener-mcp-server`. The README documents 3 environment variables (MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL, COURTLISTENER_API_TOKEN) to set first. Set MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL, COURTLISTENER_API_TOKEN before connecting. You can also paste the ready-made client config above.

Does Courtlistener MCP Server require authentication?

No - the endpoint accepted our unauthenticated MCP initialize when probed on 2026-08-25; you can connect without credentials.

07 · Alternatives to Courtlistener MCP Server

Alternatives to Courtlistener MCP Server

Maintained other servers if Courtlistener MCP Server isn't the fit.

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