# io.github.cyanheads/elevation-mcp-server (remote · elevation.caseyjhand.com)

Look up elevation worldwide, profile route ascent/descent, grid areas, check terrain line of sight.

- Trust score: 74/100 (medium)
- Registry status: active
- Liveness: live
- Owner verified: no
- Last scored: 2026-10-06

## Components

- remote · `elevation.caseyjhand.com`: 74/100 (this document), [markdown](https://verifymcp.io/servers/cyanheads-elevation-mcp-server/elevation.md), [page](https://verifymcp.io/servers/cyanheads-elevation-mcp-server/elevation)
- npm · `@cyanheads/elevation-mcp-server`: 70/100, [markdown](https://verifymcp.io/servers/cyanheads-elevation-mcp-server/cyanheads-elevation-mcp-server.md), [page](https://verifymcp.io/servers/cyanheads-elevation-mcp-server/cyanheads-elevation-mcp-server)

## Channel facts

- Endpoint: `https://elevation.caseyjhand.com/mcp`
- Transports: `streamable-http`
- Auth: `none`
- Version: `0.1.2`

## Trust breakdown

How this component scores in each security and reliability category. Every signal is checked automatically against the live server, and we only credit what we can confirm. Scores are 0–100 per category. Scoring method: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring (what has changed: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring/changelog)

Scored 2026-10-06.

- **Endpoint Security**: 83/100
  - The endpoint's TLS certificate is valid, in date, and uses a strong key.
  - No authorisation is required to call this server. Every tool declares its destructiveHint and none is destructive, so open access doesn't expose one.
  - HTTPS is enforced; there's no plaintext access path.
  - The HSTS (Strict-Transport-Security) header is present.
  - DNSSEC is configured correctly; the domain's records validate against the full chain to the root.
- **Transport & Reachability**: 100/100
  - Verified streamable-http transport via a live MCP handshake.
- **Schema Quality & AI Usability**: 61/100
  - AI-judged instruction clarity (excellent).
  - Context-footprint check failed: tool/resource definitions use about 2214 tokens (~553/item across 4 items; 4 tools + 0 resources), over budget; trim descriptions and params.
  - Usage-examples check failed: none of the tools include examples.
- **Stability & Change Management**: 13/100
  - Stability observed for 4 of 30 days with no destabilising changes; credit accrues until the full window elapses.
- **Tool Coverage**: 100/100
  - 100% of tools have a non-trivial description (not blank, and not just the tool's name).
  - 100% of tool parameters carry a description.
  - Structured output schemas are declared (100% of tools); any adoption earns full credit.
- **Tool Safety**: 100/100
  - No prompt-injection markers were found in the server instructions, tool names or descriptions we captured.
  - We read all 4 captured tool definition(s), and no name or description among them implies an irreversible operation.
  - An AI judge read all 5 captured unit(s) of tool text and found none that tries to manipulate the model reading it.
- **Capabilities**: 100/100
  - Implements a current MCP spec version (2026-07-28).

## Install

### How do I install the io.github.cyanheads/elevation-mcp-server server?

io.github.cyanheads/elevation-mcp-server is a hosted endpoint at https://elevation.caseyjhand.com/mcp, so there is nothing to install locally. Ready-made configuration for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Codex and 5 more is on this page, copied from each client's own documentation.

### Claude

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http cyanheads-elevation-mcp-server 'https://elevation.caseyjhand.com/mcp'
```

### Cursor

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cyanheads-elevation-mcp-server": {
      "url": "https://elevation.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### VS Code

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "cyanheads-elevation-mcp-server": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://elevation.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### Codex

```toml
[mcp_servers.cyanheads-elevation-mcp-server]
url = "https://elevation.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
```

### opencode

```json
{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "cyanheads-elevation-mcp-server": {
      "type": "remote",
      "url": "https://elevation.caseyjhand.com/mcp",
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}
```

### OpenClaw

```bash
openclaw mcp add cyanheads-elevation-mcp-server --url 'https://elevation.caseyjhand.com/mcp' --transport streamable-http
```

### Hermes

```yaml
mcp_servers:
  cyanheads-elevation-mcp-server:
    url: "https://elevation.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
```

### Netclaw

```json
{
  "McpServers": {
    "cyanheads-elevation-mcp-server": {
      "Transport": "http",
      "Url": "https://elevation.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### Vellum

```bash
assistant mcp add cyanheads-elevation-mcp-server -t streamable-http -u 'https://elevation.caseyjhand.com/mcp'
```

### Other

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cyanheads-elevation-mcp-server": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://elevation.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

The mcpServers block is a cross-client convention. Remote transports vary, so check your client's docs.

## Changelog

Every change recorded for this component, newest first. Days that predate change tracking, or that we cannot explain, say so: "we were watching and nothing happened" and "we were not watching" are different claims.

### 2026-10-06 (score 74, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 7 to 13. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 2 days of observed history at the previous scan, 4 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-10-03 (score 73, +1)

- [functional improvement] Stability: unverified → 0.03

### 2026-10-02 (score 72)

First indexed and scored.

## MCP tools (4)

### `elevation_get_points` (~304 tokens)

Get Point Elevations

Look up ground elevation at up to 100 coordinates in one call, in meters and feet, with the dataset and resolution behind every point. Inside USGS 3DEP coverage (the US and its territories, plus much of Canada and Mexico) values come from 3DEP at 1–30 m resolution. Elsewhere they come from Open Topo Data: SRTM at about 30 m on land between 60°N and 56°S, and Mapzen terrain tiles beyond SRTM's coverage and over the ocean, where values below 0 m are sea-floor depths. A point with no data in any queried dataset returns status no_data instead of failing the call.

Input parameters:

- `points` (array, required): 1–100 points as {lat, lon} objects in decimal degrees (WGS84). latitude, longitude, and lng keys are also accepted.
- `source` (string): Elevation source: auto (default) uses USGS 3DEP where it has data and Open Topo Data (SRTM, with Mapzen terrain tiles where SRTM has no data) for the rest; usgs_3dep uses 3DEP only; opentopodata uses…

Output parameters:

- `attribution` (string): Sources to credit for the returned values, one line per dataset that answered.
- `error` (object): Present when the call failed. Absent on success.
- `notice` (string): Guidance on points without data, Mapzen sea-floor values, and results mixing 3DEP with Open Topo Data.
- `points` (array): One entry per input point, in input order.
- `points_with_data` (integer): Number of points with status ok.
- `source_mode` (string): The source the call used (auto unless the caller chose one).

### `elevation_get_profile` (~424 tokens)

Get Route Elevation Profile

Sample terrain elevation at evenly spaced points along a route (a polyline of 2–1,000 vertices) and summarize it. Returns total distance, cumulative ascent and descent, start, end, minimum, and maximum elevation, and the steepest climb and descent grades, plus the per-sample profile with each sample's dataset unless include_samples is false. Ascent and descent are summed between samples, so they depend on the sample spacing reported in the result: denser sampling captures more small climbs, down to the source's resolution. Over open water, Mapzen samples are sea-floor depths. Each USGS 3DEP sample is a separate upstream request, so up to 250 samples take roughly 10–30 seconds.

Input parameters:

- `include_samples` (boolean): Return the per-sample profile (default true). false omits samples and the sample table; the summary, spacing, coverage counts, datasets, notices, and attribution are unchanged, still computed from ev…
- `path` (array, required): Route vertices in travel order, 2–1,000 {lat, lon} objects in decimal degrees (WGS84). Consecutive duplicate vertices are ignored.
- `samples` (integer): Number of evenly spaced samples along the route, endpoints included (2–250, default 100). More samples catch more relief and take longer; spacing finer than the source resolution adds no detail. For…
- `source` (string): Elevation source: auto (default) uses USGS 3DEP where it has data and Open Topo Data (SRTM, with Mapzen terrain tiles where SRTM has no data) for the rest; usgs_3dep uses 3DEP only; opentopodata uses…

Output parameters:

- `attribution` (string): Sources to credit for the returned values, one line per dataset that answered.
- `datasets_used` (object): Number of values each dataset answered.
- `error` (object): Present when the call failed. Absent on success.
- `missing_samples` (integer): Samples no queried dataset answered.
- `notice` (string): Guidance on samples without data, routes crossing the USGS 3DEP coverage edge, Mapzen sea-floor values, and sample spacing against the source resolution.
- `resolution_m_range` (object): Range of source resolutions over values that report one; absent when none does (all Mapzen).
- `sample_interval_m` (number): Distance between consecutive samples, meters: route length / (samples − 1).
- `samples` (array): Every sample in route order, endpoints included. Absent when include_samples is false.
- `samples_with_data` (integer): Samples with an elevation.
- `source_mode` (string): The source the call used (auto unless the caller chose one).
- `summary` (object): Route statistics over the samples with data, bridging samples without data.
- `vertices` (integer): Route vertices after dropping consecutive duplicates.

### `elevation_get_grid` (~374 tokens)

Get Elevation Grid

Sample a regular grid of terrain elevations across a bounding box and report the highest and lowest sampled points, the mean elevation, and the relief, plus the full elevation matrix with each cell's dataset. Values are point samples at grid nodes (box edges included), not cell averages, so a summit between nodes is missed; to refine a candidate high or low point, call again with a smaller box around it. Over open water, Mapzen cells are sea-floor depths. Rows times columns may not exceed 250.

Input parameters:

- `cols` (integer): Grid columns, west to east, edges included (2–25, default 10). rows × cols must be at most 250.
- `east` (number, required): Eastern edge longitude, decimal degrees.
- `north` (number, required): Northern edge latitude, decimal degrees. Must be greater than south.
- `rows` (integer): Grid rows, north to south, edges included (2–25, default 10). rows × cols must be at most 250.
- `source` (string): Elevation source: auto (default) uses USGS 3DEP where it has data and Open Topo Data (SRTM, with Mapzen terrain tiles where SRTM has no data) for the rest; usgs_3dep uses 3DEP only; opentopodata uses…
- `south` (number, required): Southern edge latitude, decimal degrees.
- `west` (number, required): Western edge longitude, decimal degrees. Must be less than east; a box crossing longitude 180 must be split into two calls.

Output parameters:

- `attribution` (string): Sources to credit for the returned values, one line per dataset that answered.
- `cell_datasets` (array): Provenance matrix with the same [row][col] indexing as elevations_m.
- `cells_with_data` (integer): Nodes with an elevation.
- `col_spacing_m` (number): East-west distance between node columns at the box's center latitude, meters.
- `cols` (integer): Node columns applied.
- `datasets_used` (object): Number of values each dataset answered.
- `east` (number): Eastern edge longitude, as requested.
- `elevations_m` (array): Elevation matrix indexed [row][col], rows north to south, columns west to east.
- `error` (object): Present when the call failed. Absent on success.
- `latitudes_deg` (array): Latitude of each row, north to south; row 0 is the north edge.
- `longitudes_deg` (array): Longitude of each column, west to east; column 0 is the west edge.
- `missing_cells` (integer): Nodes no queried dataset answered.
- `north` (number): Northern edge latitude, as requested.
- `notice` (string): Guidance on nodes without data, boxes spanning the USGS 3DEP coverage edge, Mapzen sea-floor values, and node spacing against the source resolution.
- `resolution_m_range` (object): Range of source resolutions over values that report one; absent when none does (all Mapzen).
- `row_spacing_m` (number): North-south distance between node rows, meters.
- `rows` (integer): Node rows applied.
- `source_mode` (string): The source the call used (auto unless the caller chose one).
- `south` (number): Southern edge latitude, as requested.
- `summary` (object): Statistics over the nodes with data.
- `west` (number): Western edge longitude, as requested.

### `elevation_check_line_of_sight` (~674 tokens)

Check Terrain Line of Sight

Check whether terrain blocks the straight sightline between an observer and a target, each at a height above the ground, accounting for earth curvature and atmospheric refraction. Returns a verdict of clear, blocked, or indeterminate (when samples along the line have no data), the minimum clearance and the terrain point that limits it, and the first obstruction from the observer when blocked. With frequency_mhz, it also reports first Fresnel zone clearance against the 60% free-space bar. Where Mapzen reports sea-floor depth over open water, clearance is measured to the sea surface; USGS 3DEP values below 0 m (bay floor in some bays, or dry land) count as received unless water_surface_m sets a water level. Models terrain only: buildings and vegetation are not modeled beyond what the elevation source itself captures, and a ridge narrower than the reported sample spacing can be missed. To see the terrain between the points, call elevation_get_profile on the same two points.

Input parameters:

- `earth_model` (string): Earth model: flat ignores curvature; geometric applies curvature without refraction; optical applies standard visible-light refraction (coefficient 0.13, default); radio applies the standard 4/3-eart…
- `frequency_mhz` (number): Radio frequency in MHz (30–300,000; 5800 for 5.8 GHz). When set, the result adds first Fresnel zone clearance against the 60% free-space bar; pair it with earth_model radio.
- `observer` (object, required): Observer location as {lat, lon} in decimal degrees (WGS84).
- `observer_height_m` (number): Observer eye or antenna height above ground, meters (default 1.7, standing eye height).
- `samples` (integer): Evenly spaced terrain samples along the line, endpoints included (3–250, default 100). Spacing is reported; a ridge narrower than it can be missed.
- `source` (string): Elevation source: auto (default) uses USGS 3DEP where it has data and Open Topo Data (SRTM, with Mapzen terrain tiles where SRTM has no data) for the rest; usgs_3dep uses 3DEP only; opentopodata uses…
- `target` (object, required): Target location as {lat, lon} in decimal degrees (WGS84).
- `target_height_m` (number): Target height above ground, meters (default 0, the ground itself). Set it for a tower, building top, or second antenna.
- `water_surface_m` (number): Water level in meters (-500 to 9,000). When set, each sample's surface, endpoints included, is the higher of its elevation and this level, replacing the default that lifts only Mapzen sea-floor value…

Output parameters:

- `attribution` (string): Sources to credit for the returned values, one line per dataset that answered.
- `datasets_used` (object): Number of values each dataset answered.
- `distance_m` (number): Great-circle distance from observer to target, meters.
- `earth_model` (string): The earth model applied.
- `effective_earth_radius_m` (number): Earth radius divided by (1 − refraction coefficient), meters. Absent for the flat model.
- `error` (object): Present when the call failed. Absent on success.
- `first_obstruction` (object): The obstructing sample nearest the observer; present only when the verdict is blocked. Fields as on limiting_point.
- `fresnel` (object): First Fresnel zone clearance; present only when frequency_mhz is set. Zone radius = √(λ·d₁·d₂/D) m, with λ = 299.792458 / frequency_mhz, d₁ and d₂ the distances to each end, and D the line length.
- `limiting_point` (object): The sample between the endpoints with the smallest clearance (first on ties); absent when none of them has data. Units, surface, and resolution_m as on observer, with terrain in place of its ground;…
- `min_clearance_ft` (number): Smallest clearance in international feet. Absent with min_clearance_m.
- `min_clearance_m` (number): Smallest clearance over samples between the endpoints, meters (negative means terrain above the sightline). Absent when none of them has data.
- `missing_samples` (integer): Samples no queried dataset answered.
- `notice` (string): Guidance on unconfirmed sightlines, thin clearance margins, a clear line short of 60% first Fresnel zone clearance, lines crossing the USGS 3DEP coverage edge, samples over open water or below water_…
- `observer` (object): The observer's end of the sightline, in decimal degrees and meters. Ground elevation is as the dataset reports it; surface is the higher of the ground and water_surface_m when set, otherwise the grou…
- `obstructed_samples` (integer): Samples between the endpoints with clearance 0 or below.
- `refraction_coefficient` (number): Refraction coefficient applied. Absent for the flat model.
- `sample_interval_m` (number): Distance between consecutive samples, meters.
- `samples` (integer): Samples along the line, endpoints included.
- `samples_with_data` (integer): Samples with an elevation, endpoints included.
- `source_mode` (string): The source the call used (auto unless the caller chose one).
- `target` (object): The target's end of the sightline; fields as on observer.
- `verdict` (string): blocked when terrain reaches the sightline at any sample; clear when every sample between the endpoints has data and lies below it; indeterminate when samples without data leave the line unconfirmed.

## Diagnostics

Captured diagnostic sections: TLS, DNSSEC, Authorisation, Transports. The full working is on the page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/cyanheads-elevation-mcp-server/elevation#diagnostics

## Score history

- 2026-10-06: 74
- 2026-10-04: 73
- 2026-10-03: 73
- 2026-10-02: 72

## Common questions

### What is the io.github.cyanheads/elevation-mcp-server server?

io.github.cyanheads/elevation-mcp-server is listed in the public MCP registry as io.github.cyanheads/elevation-mcp-server. Look up elevation worldwide, profile route ascent/descent, grid areas, check terrain line of sight. This page covers its hosted endpoint (https://elevation.caseyjhand.com/mcp).

### Is the io.github.cyanheads/elevation-mcp-server server safe to use?

io.github.cyanheads/elevation-mcp-server scores 74 out of 100 on VerifyMCP. That is a record of what we were able to check automatically, not an endorsement. The category breakdown on this page shows every signal behind the number, including the ones we could not confirm.

### What tools does the io.github.cyanheads/elevation-mcp-server server expose?

io.github.cyanheads/elevation-mcp-server exposes 4 tools: elevation_get_points, elevation_get_profile, elevation_get_grid, elevation_check_line_of_sight. Their descriptions and schemas cost roughly 1,776 tokens of context every time the server is loaded.

### Does the io.github.cyanheads/elevation-mcp-server server require authentication?

No. We connected to io.github.cyanheads/elevation-mcp-server without credentials and it answered, so anything it exposes is reachable by anyone who knows the address.

### Is the io.github.cyanheads/elevation-mcp-server server still maintained?

io.github.cyanheads/elevation-mcp-server is still listed as active in the MCP registry. We last reached this channel on 6 October 2026. Those dates come from our own scans of the registry and the channel itself, not from anything the publisher announced.

## Links

- Remote endpoint: https://elevation.caseyjhand.com/mcp
- Repository: https://github.com/cyanheads/elevation-mcp-server
- Changelog RSS feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/cyanheads-elevation-mcp-server/elevation.xml
- Changelog JSON feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/cyanheads-elevation-mcp-server/elevation.json
- HTML version of this page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/cyanheads-elevation-mcp-server/elevation