Internet Archive MCP Server
@cyanheads/internet-archive-mcp-server Search the Wayback Machine and IA library (40M+ items), fetch archived snapshots, retrieve item metadata and full text via MCP. STDIO or Streamable HTTP. Its 5 documented tools cluster into snapshots, snapshot, items, item.
People connecting this server to Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or another MCP client. The project is written in TypeScript.
VERIFIED ACTIVE
LAST COMMIT 2026-08-21 · ★ 2 · #348 OF 848 MAINTAINED OTHER · VERIFIED 2026-08-25
Apache-2.0 · TypeScript servers · how we verify → /methodology
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-serverClaude 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
An agent gets 5 documented tools across snapshots, snapshot, items, including ia_find_snapshots, ia_get_snapshot, ia_search_items, ia_get_item.
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. Mode closest returns the nearest capture to a given timestamp. Mode history returns the full capture list via CDX with
ia_find_snapshots
Snapshot
1 tool - e.g. Fetch the archived content of a URL at a specific Wayback timestamp. Strips HTML to readable text and returns the canonical replay URL.
ia_get_snapshot
Items
1 tool - e.g. Search the IA library (40M+ items). Filter by media type, collection, creator, date range, and language. Sort by relevance, date, or downloads. Returns identifi
ia_search_items
Item
1 tool - e.g. Retrieve full metadata and the file manifest for an Archive item by identifier - title, creator, description, subjects, collections, license, and every file wit
ia_get_item
Text
1 tool - e.g. Retrieve readable OCR text (DjVuTXT or plain-text) from a text item. Length-aware truncation with continuation pointer (char_offset) for paging through large do
ia_get_text
Latest releases
v0.1.4 · 2026-08-21
Restricted-download contract completion and mcp-ts-core 0.12.3 adoption · ia_get_text restricted-item downloads now consistently throw the declared download_forbidden contract: IA answers both 401 and 403 for…
v0.1.3 · 2026-06-13
mcp-ts-core 0.10.6 adoption · Maintenance release adopting @cyanheads/mcp-ts-core ^0.10.6 and the framework primitives it brings - response enrichment, explicit server identity, and a leaner MCPB bundle. · Added…
v0.1.2 · 2026-06-07
SSRF fix, dark-item error, exact-timestamp 404 contract · Four bug fixes to the Wayback Machine and IA Metadata service. · Fixed: · ia_find_snapshots closest mode: SSRF guard now accepts (Availability API returns…
04 · Who maintains Internet Archive MCP Server
internet-archive-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.
- mcp-ts-core Agent-native TypeScript framework for building MCP servers with declarative definitions. ★ 148
- obsidian-mcp-server Read, write, search, and surgically edit Obsidian notes, tags, and frontmatter via MCP. ★ 668
- git-mcp-server Comprehensive Git MCP server enabling native git tools including clone, commit, worktree, & more. ★ 235
- pubmed-mcp-server Search PubMed/Europe PMC, fetch articles and full text (PMC/EPMC/Unpaywall), citations, MeSH terms. ★ 137
- clinicaltrialsgov-mcp-server Search ClinicalTrials.gov - find studies, retrieve results, match patients to eligible trials. ★ 90
- mcp-ts-template TypeScript template for building MCP servers with declarative tooling, observability, and auth. ★ 148
05 · Facts
- category
- other - ranked #348 of 848 actively-maintained other servers as of 2026-08-25.
- release cadence
- 4 releases in the last 90 days (latest 2026-08-21)
- registry
- io.github.cyanheads/internet-archive-mcp-server (active, first published 2026-06-05 · 4 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 2026-08-25, its last commit was 2026-08-21 and it shipped 4 releases in the last 90 days. We re-verify nightly.
What can Internet Archive MCP Server do?
An agent gets 5 documented tools across snapshots, snapshot, items, including ia_find_snapshots, ia_get_snapshot, ia_search_items, ia_get_item.
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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- Microsoft Fabric MCP Server MCP tools for interacting with Microsoft Fabric ★ 3,598 · 2026-08-21
- Ship Swift 40+ production-ready SwiftUI recipes for building full-stack iOS apps via MCP. ★ 2,968 · 2026-08-09
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