whichlib
NPM · WHICHLIB · SCANNED OCT 2
Dependency picker for coding agents: recommends, compares and scores GitHub repos with a verdict.
Available components
How this component scores in each security and reliability category. Every signal is checked automatically from public evidence about the published package, including repeated runs of it in an isolated sandbox, and we only credit what we can confirm. How we score → Why this is hard to score →
Supply Chain Security98
- No malware found by supply-chain analysis.Pass
- No known CVEs affecting this package version or its production dependencies.Pass
- No install/post-install scripts declared.Pass
- 31 of 92 dependencies flagged as unhealthy. View diagnostics → Partial
Provenance & Transparency97
- Source repository is publicly reachable at the declared URL. View diagnostics → Pass
- Cryptographically verified build provenance (signed, bound to josifb/whichlib). View diagnostics → Pass
- Clear OSI-approved license (MIT).Pass
- Actively maintained (last published 2 days ago).Pass
- Disclosure check failed: no security disclosure policy was found in the source repository. See how to fix → Fail
Schema Quality & AI Usability67
- AI-judged instruction clarity (excellent).Pass
- Context-footprint check failed: tool/resource definitions use about 886 tokens (~295/item across 3 items; 3 tools + 0 resources), over budget; trim descriptions and params. See how to fix → Fail
- Usage-examples check failed: none of the tools include examples. See how to fix → Fail
Stability & Change Management17
- Stability observed for 5 of 30 days with no destabilising changes; credit accrues until the full window elapses.Partial
Tool Coverage100
- 100% of tools have a non-trivial description (not blank, and not just the tool's name).Pass
- 100% of tool parameters carry a description.Pass
Tool Safety100
- No prompt-injection markers were found in the server instructions, tool names or descriptions we captured.Pass
- We read all 3 captured tool definition(s), and no name or description among them implies an irreversible operation.Pass
- An AI judge read all 3 captured unit(s) of tool text and found none that tries to manipulate the model reading it.Pass
Capabilities100
- Implements a supported MCP spec version (2025-11-25); the latest is 2026-07-28.Pass
How do I install the whichlib MCP server?
whichlib runs locally as an npm package, launched with npx -y whichlib. Ready-made configuration for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Codex and 5 more is on this page, copied from each client's own documentation.
npm · whichlib
claude mcp add josifb-whichlib -- npx -y whichlib
{
"mcpServers": {
"josifb-whichlib": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"whichlib"
]
}
}
} {
"servers": {
"josifb-whichlib": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"whichlib"
]
}
}
} codex mcp add josifb-whichlib -- npx -y whichlib
{
"$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
"mcp": {
"josifb-whichlib": {
"type": "local",
"command": [
"npx",
"-y",
"whichlib"
],
"enabled": true
}
}
} openclaw mcp add josifb-whichlib --command npx --arg -y --arg whichlib
mcp_servers:
josifb-whichlib:
command: "npx"
args: ["-y", "whichlib"] {
"McpServers": {
"josifb-whichlib": {
"Transport": "stdio",
"Command": "npx",
"Arguments": [
"-y",
"whichlib"
]
}
}
} assistant mcp add josifb-whichlib -t stdio -c npx -a -y whichlib
{
"mcpServers": {
"josifb-whichlib": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"whichlib"
]
}
}
} Every change we have recorded for this component, newest first. Security-relevant changes are always shown. ▲ marks a change for the better, ▼ a change for the worse; unmarked changes are neutral.
- 1 Oct 26 +1
No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 10 to 13. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 3 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.
- 30 Sept 26 +15
- Malware scan: unverified → pass ▲ security
- 29 Sept 26 +10
- Malware scan: unverified → pass ▲ security
- Provenance: fail → pass ▲ security
- The attested source repository moved: josifb/whichlib security
- Security disclosure: fail → unverified ▼ functional
- Package version: 0.1.1 → 0.1.2 functional
- 28 Sept 26 −14
- Malware scan: pass → unverified ▼ security
- Schema quality: pass → fail ▼ functional
- Tool coverage: 63% → 100% ▲ functional
- Stability: unverified → 0.03 ▲ functional
- Schema quality: good → excellent functional
- Package version: 0.1.0 → 0.1.1 functional
- We updated how we score, so this day's move reflects our rubric, not a change to the server See what changed → functional
- 27 Sept 26 69
First indexed and scored.
Diagnostic detail from the automated scan of this channel: what the scanner observed at each step, so you can see exactly where a check passed or failed. It is informational only and never changes the trust score.
Captured 2 Oct 2026 · Analysed npm/whichlib@0.1.2
Provenance Verified
A signed build attestation was found and verified, binding this exact artifact to the source repository it claims to come from.
| Result | Verified |
|---|---|
| Ecosystem | npm |
| Reason | Verified |
| Discovered via | Registry attestation endpoint |
| Source repo | josifb/whichlib |
| Certificate issuer | https://token.actions.githubusercontent.com |
| Certificate SAN | https://github.com/josifb/whichlib/.github/workflows/release.yml@refs/tags/v0.1.2 |
| Rekor log index | 2995650224 |
| Predicate type | SLSA build provenance https://slsa.dev/provenance/v1 |
| Subject digest | sha512:df81c1dee1a03346241c17f3e51cbf8398781d4f09bbe016d916b242d306c0d9fc7c99ef153d44637e7d9580829782c2ab190efd81503dcbd10c420eb |
Background: How many MCP packages publish verified provenance →
Dependencies 92 packages
| Packages resolved | 92 |
|---|---|
| Stale | 31 |
| Tree resolution | Complete |
Background: SBOMs and build attestations, explained →
The tools this component advertises to a client, with an estimated token cost for each. Expand a tool to see its parameters and schema. The per-tool counts are indicative and are not scored directly; the schema's total context footprint is one signal in Schema Quality & AI Usability. A tool's description is untrusted text the model reads on every call, which is what makes this list a security surface and not just an inventory: how tool poisoning works →
compare_repos Compare repositories ~252
Compare 2-10 known GitHub repositories side by side, best score first: score and tier, stars, forks, open issues, last push, license, npm/PyPI weekly downloads (only when the registry links back to the repository) and a verdict. Each result has a 0-100 score (momentum 40% (stars gained per week; without history, lifetime stars per week scaled by the npm/PyPI download trend), maintenance 25%, adoption incl. npm/PyPI weekly downloads 25%, license 10%), a tier (Strong >=75, Solid >=50, Watch >=25, Avoid <25), a one-line verdict and the full breakdown. Use this to choose between candidates you already have (for example zod vs valibot) or to check a dependency the project already uses; use recommend_repos to find candidates. One GitHub API call per repository plus npm/PyPI lookups; fails if any repository does not exist.
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| repos | array | yes | Repository names as owner/repo, e.g. ["colinhacks/zod", "fabian-hiller/valibot"]. Not URLs or npm/PyPI package names. |
No output schema declared.
No examples provided.
recommend_repos Recommend repositories ~306
Find the best open-source library for a need before adding a dependency. Give the need in plain words and get up to `limit` GitHub repositories ranked by fit = score x relevance to the need. Each result has a 0-100 score (momentum 40% (stars gained per week; without history, lifetime stars per week scaled by the npm/PyPI download trend), maintenance 25%, adoption incl. npm/PyPI weekly downloads 25%, license 10%), a tier (Strong >=75, Solid >=50, Watch >=25, Avoid <25), a one-line verdict and the full breakdown. Use this when you do not yet have candidates; use compare_repos when you already have names. Makes 3 GitHub searches plus npm/PyPI lookups for the shortlist. Without a GitHub token GitHub allows about 10 searches per minute; when the limit is hit the tool returns an error saying when it resets.
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| language | string | – | GitHub language name, e.g. "TypeScript", "Python", "Rust", "C++". JavaScript also matches TypeScript repositories and the reverse; Python also matches Jupyter Notebook. Omit to search all languages. |
| limit | integer | – | How many repositories to return, 1-10. |
| need | string | yes | The need in plain words, e.g. "python pdf parser", "react state management". Name the task, not a library. |
No output schema declared.
No examples provided.
trending_repos Trending repositories ~328
Discover new projects: the most-starred GitHub repositories created in the last day, week or month, optionally in one language, each scored and returned sorted by score (starsRank keeps the stars order). Each result has a 0-100 score (momentum 40% (stars gained per week; without history, lifetime stars per week scaled by the npm/PyPI download trend), maintenance 25%, adoption incl. npm/PyPI weekly downloads 25%, license 10%), a tier (Strong >=75, Solid >=50, Watch >=25, Avoid <25), a one-line verdict and the full breakdown. Not the right tool for picking a dependency, since new repositories have little maintenance history; use recommend_repos for that. One GitHub search, plus one npm/PyPI lookup per repository when withDownloads is true. Without a GitHub token GitHub allows about 10 searches per minute; when the limit is hit the tool returns an error saying when it resets.
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| language | string | – | GitHub language name, e.g. "TypeScript", "Python", "Rust". Matches that language only. Omit for all languages. |
| limit | integer | – | How many repositories to return, 1-100. |
| period | string | – | Creation window: "day" (last 24 hours), "week" (last 7 days) or "month" (last 30 days). |
| withDownloads | boolean | – | Also look up npm/PyPI weekly downloads for each repository. Slower: one registry lookup per repository. |
No output schema declared.
No examples provided.
What is the whichlib MCP server?
whichlib is an MCP server listed in the public MCP registry as io.github.josifb/whichlib. Dependency picker for coding agents: recommends, compares and scores GitHub repos with a verdict. This page covers its npm package (whichlib).
Is the whichlib MCP server safe to use?
whichlib scores 81 out of 100 on VerifyMCP. We found no known CVEs affecting it as of 2 October 2026. It declares no install or post-install scripts. Its build provenance is signed and verified. 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 whichlib MCP server expose?
whichlib exposes 3 tools: recommend_repos, compare_repos, trending_repos. Their descriptions and schemas cost roughly 886 tokens of context every time the server is loaded.
Is the whichlib MCP server still maintained?
whichlib is still listed as active in the MCP registry. We last reached this channel on 2 October 2026. Those dates come from our own scans of the registry and the channel itself, not from anything the publisher announced.
What licence is the whichlib MCP server under?
whichlib declares the MIT licence, which is OSI-approved. That covers the source only, and says nothing about the cost of any service it calls.