# whichlib (npm · whichlib)

Dependency picker for coding agents: recommends, compares and scores GitHub repos with a verdict.

- Trust score: 81/100 (high trust)
- Registry status: active
- Liveness: live
- Owner verified: no
- Last scored: 2026-10-02

## Components

- npm · `whichlib`: 81/100 (this document), [markdown](https://verifymcp.io/servers/josifb-whichlib/whichlib.md), [page](https://verifymcp.io/servers/josifb-whichlib/whichlib)

## Channel facts

- Registry: `npm`
- Package: `whichlib`
- Version: `0.1.2`
- Transport: `stdio`

## Trust breakdown

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. Scores are 0–100 per category. Scoring method: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring (what has changed: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring/changelog)

Scored 2026-10-02.

- **Supply Chain Security**: 98/100
  - No malware found by supply-chain analysis.
  - No known CVEs affecting this package version or its production dependencies.
  - No install/post-install scripts declared.
  - 31 of 92 dependencies flagged as unhealthy.
- **Provenance & Transparency**: 97/100
  - Source repository is publicly reachable at the declared URL.
  - Cryptographically verified build provenance (signed, bound to josifb/whichlib).
  - Clear OSI-approved license (MIT).
  - Actively maintained (last published 2 days ago).
  - Disclosure check failed: no security disclosure policy was found in the source repository.
- **Schema Quality & AI Usability**: 67/100
  - AI-judged instruction clarity (excellent).
  - 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.
  - Usage-examples check failed: none of the tools include examples.
- **Stability & Change Management**: 17/100
  - Stability observed for 5 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.
- **Tool Safety**: 100/100
  - No prompt-injection markers were found in the server instructions, tool names or descriptions we captured.
  - We read all 3 captured tool definition(s), and no name or description among them implies an irreversible operation.
  - An AI judge read all 3 captured unit(s) of tool text and found none that tries to manipulate the model reading it.
- **Capabilities**: 100/100
  - Implements a supported MCP spec version (2025-11-25); the latest is 2026-07-28.

## Install

### 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.

### Claude

```bash
claude mcp add josifb-whichlib -- npx -y whichlib
```

### Cursor

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "josifb-whichlib": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "whichlib"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

### VS Code

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "josifb-whichlib": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "whichlib"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

### Codex

```bash
codex mcp add josifb-whichlib -- npx -y whichlib
```

### opencode

```json
{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "josifb-whichlib": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": [
        "npx",
        "-y",
        "whichlib"
      ],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}
```

### OpenClaw

```bash
openclaw mcp add josifb-whichlib --command npx --arg -y --arg whichlib
```

### Hermes

```yaml
mcp_servers:
  josifb-whichlib:
    command: "npx"
    args: ["-y", "whichlib"]
```

### Netclaw

```json
{
  "McpServers": {
    "josifb-whichlib": {
      "Transport": "stdio",
      "Command": "npx",
      "Arguments": [
        "-y",
        "whichlib"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

### Vellum

```bash
assistant mcp add josifb-whichlib -t stdio -c npx -a -y whichlib
```

### Other

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "josifb-whichlib": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "whichlib"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

## 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.

### 2026-10-01 (score 81, +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.

### 2026-09-30 (score 80, +15)

- [security improvement] Malware scan: unverified → pass

### 2026-09-29 (score 65, +10)

- [security improvement] Malware scan: unverified → pass
- [security improvement] Provenance: fail → pass
- [security] The attested source repository moved: josifb/whichlib
- [functional regression] Security disclosure: fail → unverified
- [functional] Package version: 0.1.1 → 0.1.2

### 2026-09-28 (score 55, −14)

- [security regression] Malware scan: pass → unverified
- [functional regression] Schema quality: pass → fail
- [functional improvement] Tool coverage: 63% → 100%
- [functional improvement] 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

### 2026-09-27 (score 69)

First indexed and scored.

## MCP tools (3)

### `recommend_repos` (~306 tokens)

Recommend repositories

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.

Input parameters:

- `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, required): The need in plain words, e.g. "python pdf parser", "react state management". Name the task, not a library.

### `compare_repos` (~252 tokens)

Compare repositories

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.

Input parameters:

- `repos` (array, required): Repository names as owner/repo, e.g. ["colinhacks/zod", "fabian-hiller/valibot"]. Not URLs or npm/PyPI package names.

### `trending_repos` (~328 tokens)

Trending repositories

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.

Input parameters:

- `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.

## Diagnostics

Captured diagnostic sections: Provenance, Dependencies. The full working is on the page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/josifb-whichlib/whichlib#diagnostics

## Score history

- 2026-10-02: 81
- 2026-10-01: 81
- 2026-09-30: 80
- 2026-09-29: 65
- 2026-09-28: 55
- 2026-09-27: 69

## Common questions

### 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.

## Links

- npm package: https://www.npmjs.com/package/whichlib
- Socket report: https://socket.dev/npm/package/whichlib
- Repository: https://github.com/josifb/whichlib
- Changelog RSS feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/josifb-whichlib/whichlib.xml
- Changelog JSON feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/josifb-whichlib/whichlib.json
- HTML version of this page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/josifb-whichlib/whichlib