Internet Archive MCP Server - install & status [2026]

01 · Install Internet Archive MCP Server

before you install - you'll need

Set MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL before connecting.

Claude Code

claude mcp add cyanheads-internet-archive-mcp-server -- npx -y @cyanheads/internet-archive-mcp-server

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code - add to config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cyanheads-internet-archive-mcp-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@cyanheads/internet-archive-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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 Apache-2.0 - declared in the repository

npm package @cyanheads/internet-archive-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 Internet Archive 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 archived page content at a specific Wayback timestamp, search the IA library (40M+ items) by keyword and metadata filters, retrieve full metadata and file manifest for an Archive item, and retrieve readable OCR text from a text item, with paging.

Capability map

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

Snapshots

1 tool - e.g. Find Wayback Machine snapshots of a URL, by closest timestamp or full capture history

ia_find_snapshots

Snapshot

1 tool - e.g. Fetch archived page content at a specific Wayback timestamp

ia_get_snapshot

Items

1 tool - e.g. Search the IA library (40M+ items) by keyword and metadata filters

ia_search_items

Item

1 tool - e.g. Retrieve full metadata and file manifest for an Archive item

ia_get_item

Text

1 tool - e.g. Retrieve readable OCR text from a text item, with paging

ia_get_text

Latest releases

v0.3.0 · 2026-09-24

Wayback text extraction, served captures, input validation · ia_get_snapshot text extraction: character references decoded once, script/style bodies, comments, and markup removed, in linear time on any input (#8)…

v0.2.0 · 2026-09-24

Paged item manifests, multi-language items, recovery hints · ia_get_item pages its file manifest - 50 files by default, max_files (1–500) and file_offset to page, format to keep one file type; file_count still reports…

v0.1.5 · 2026-09-19

stateless sessions, CDX resume-key fix, mcp-ts-core 0.13.6 · MCP_SESSION_MODE defaults to stateless everywhere (#16) · ia_find_snapshots history-mode pagination surfaces its resume key instead of two fabricated…

04 · Who maintains Internet Archive MCP Server

internet-archive-mcp-server is maintained by cyanheads. We track 137 MCP servers from cyanheads - 131 actively maintained, 1,856 combined GitHub stars, oldest repo from Dec 2024. Full record: all servers from cyanheads.

05 · Facts

repository: github.com/cyanheads/internet-archive-mcp-server
category: other - ranked #163 of 998 actively-maintained other servers as of 2026-09-30.
release cadence: 4 releases in the last 90 days (latest 2026-09-24)
registry: io.github.cyanheads/internet-archive-mcp-server (active, first published 2026-06-05 · 7 versions)
packages: npm:@cyanheads/internet-archive-mcp-server · npm:@cyanheads/internet-archive-mcp-server

06 · Internet Archive MCP Server FAQ

Is Internet Archive MCP Server still maintained?

Yes - as of 2026-09-30, its last commit was 2026-09-24 and it shipped 4 releases in the last 90 days. We re-verify nightly.

What can Internet Archive MCP Server do?

With this server connected, an agent can fetch archived page content at a specific Wayback timestamp, search the IA library (40M+ items) by keyword and metadata filters, retrieve full metadata and file manifest for an Archive item, and retrieve readable OCR text from a text item, with paging.

How do I install Internet Archive MCP Server?

Run `npx -y @cyanheads/internet-archive-mcp-server`. The README documents 2 environment variables (MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL) to set first. Set MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL before connecting. You can also paste the ready-made client config above.

Does Internet Archive MCP Server 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 Internet Archive MCP Server

Alternatives to Internet Archive MCP Server

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

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