Beacon MCP Server

Search 17,900+ open-source AI agents by capability, ranked by GitHub traction. Free, no key.

Local serverstdio

What is the Beacon MCP server?

Search 17,900+ open-source AI agents by capability, ranked by GitHub traction. Free, no key. That is what the beacon mcp server brings to an AI assistant: the same capability, reachable through the Model Context Protocol rather than a separate app or dashboard.

The short version

Beacon indexes thousands of open-source AI agents from GitHub, ranked by real traction (stars, activity), searchable by capability. This MCP server puts that index inside Claude Desktop, Cursor, Cline, Windsurf, or any MCP client — so you can ask "find me an agent that does X" and get real, linkable results.

The tools it exposes

The server publishes 3 tools. What each one is for:

  • find_agent — Search agents by capability/task ("pdf extraction", "crypto trading", …)
  • top_agents — Most-starred / highest-reputation agents in the index
  • agent_details — Full detail for one agent by id (e.g. elizaOS/eliza)

What it needs from you

Configuration is passed through the environment: BEACON_REGISTRY_URL. Treat anything key-shaped as a real credential — scope it to the minimum the server needs, and rotate it if it ever lands in a shared config.

Getting it running

beacon-mcp on npm is all you need. Most clients run it directly, so configuration is a few lines and a restart.

How it compares

This sits in the planning and project tracking group, where several servers overlap in what they claim to do but differ sharply once you actually set them up. Beacon's toolset — find_agent, top_agents, agent_details — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by enrichgateagent-png; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

We check each listing at SyncDev against the project's documentation before it goes live — if something here drifts out of date, it is a bug worth reporting.

Things to watch

  • It runs with your machine's permissions. That is convenient and also the reason to think about what you point it at before you approve a tool call.
  • Missing credentials fail quietly in some clients — if no tools show up, check the environment block first.
  • Keep per-call confirmation enabled while you learn its behaviour; it is the cheapest safeguard you have.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
find_agentSearch agents by capability/task ("pdf extraction", "crypto trading", …)
top_agentsMost-starred / highest-reputation agents in the index
agent_detailsFull detail for one agent by id (e.g. elizaOS/eliza)

How to install the Beacon MCP server

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

Configuration as documented by the project. Restart the client after saving.

Configuration

VariableDescriptionRequired
BEACON_REGISTRY_URLEndpoint or connection string the server talks to.Yes

Example prompts to try

  • Use Beacon to find agent.
  • Use Beacon to top agents.
  • Use Beacon to agent details.

Frequently asked questions

It connects Beacon to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor, exposing 3 tools (find_agent, top_agents, agent_details) that the assistant can call on your behalf. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Beacon directly.