# Catalogueoflife (npm · @pipeworx/mcp-catalogueoflife)

Catalogue of Life MCP — global taxonomic index.

- Trust score: 82/100 (high trust)
- Change this week: +3
- Registry status: active
- Liveness: live
- Owner verified: no
- Last scored: 2026-11-05

## Components

- remote · `gateway.pipeworx.io`: 77/100, [markdown](https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-catalogueoflife/catalogueoflife-mcp.md), [page](https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-catalogueoflife/catalogueoflife-mcp)
- npm · `@pipeworx/mcp-catalogueoflife`: 82/100 (this document), [markdown](https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-catalogueoflife/pipeworx-mcp-catalogueoflife.md), [page](https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-catalogueoflife/pipeworx-mcp-catalogueoflife)

## Channel facts

- Registry: `npm`
- Package: `@pipeworx/mcp-catalogueoflife`
- Version: `0.2.1`
- 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 2026-11-05.

- **Supply Chain Security**: 100/100
  - No malware found by supply-chain analysis.
  - No known CVEs affecting this package version or its production dependencies.
  - No install/post-install scripts declared.
  - No production dependencies, so there is no dependency health to assess.
- **Provenance & Transparency**: 97/100
  - Source repository is publicly reachable at the declared URL.
  - Cryptographically verified build provenance (signed, bound to pipeworx-io/mcp-catalogueoflife).
  - Clear OSI-approved license (MIT).
  - Actively maintained (last published 5 days ago).
  - Disclosure check failed: no security disclosure policy was found in the source repository.
- **Schema Quality & AI Usability**: 74/100
  - AI-judged instruction clarity (good).
  - Context-footprint check failed: tool/resource definitions use about 994 tokens (~124/item across 8 items; 8 tools + 0 resources), over budget; trim descriptions and params.
  - Usage-examples check failed: none of the tools include examples.
- **Stability & Change Management**: 23/100
  - Stability observed for 7 of 30 days with no destabilising changes; credit accrues until the full window elapses.
- **Tool Coverage**: 77/100
  - 100% of tools have a non-trivial description (not blank, and not just the tool's name).
  - 32% 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 8 captured tool definition(s), and no name or description among them implies an irreversible operation.
  - An AI judge read all 9 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 Catalogueoflife MCP server?

Catalogueoflife runs locally as an npm package, launched with npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-catalogueoflife. 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 pipeworx-io-catalogueoflife -- npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-catalogueoflife
```

### Cursor

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pipeworx-io-catalogueoflife": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@pipeworx/mcp-catalogueoflife"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

### VS Code

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "pipeworx-io-catalogueoflife": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@pipeworx/mcp-catalogueoflife"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

### Codex

```bash
codex mcp add pipeworx-io-catalogueoflife -- npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-catalogueoflife
```

### opencode

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

### OpenClaw

```bash
openclaw mcp add pipeworx-io-catalogueoflife --command npx --arg -y --arg @pipeworx/mcp-catalogueoflife
```

### Hermes

```yaml
mcp_servers:
  pipeworx-io-catalogueoflife:
    command: "npx"
    args: ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-catalogueoflife"]
```

### Netclaw

```json
{
  "McpServers": {
    "pipeworx-io-catalogueoflife": {
      "Transport": "stdio",
      "Command": "npx",
      "Arguments": [
        "-y",
        "@pipeworx/mcp-catalogueoflife"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

### Vellum

```bash
assistant mcp add pipeworx-io-catalogueoflife -t stdio -c npx -a -y @pipeworx/mcp-catalogueoflife
```

### Other

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pipeworx-io-catalogueoflife": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@pipeworx/mcp-catalogueoflife"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

## 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.

### 2026-11-04 (score 82, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 17 to 20. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 5 days of observed history at the previous scan, 6 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-11-02 (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.

### 2026-11-01 (score 80, +15)

- [security improvement] Malware scan: unverified → pass

### 2026-10-31 (score 65, −14)

- [security regression] Malware scan: pass → unverified
- [functional] Package version: 0.2.0 → 0.2.1

### 2026-10-29 (score 79)

First indexed and scored.

## MCP tools (8)

### `search` (~285 tokens)

"What is the scientific name of [animal/plant]" / "what family does [species] belong to" / "look up [organism] taxonomy" / "find [genus/family] in the tree of life" / "common name → Latin binomial" / "is [name] a real species" — AUTHORITATIVE taxonomic lookup for any species, genus, family, or higher taxon. Source: Catalogue of Life — the global consensus checklist of every known living organism (~2.1M accepted species names plus synonyms). Returns matching name-usages with scientific name, authorship, rank (kingdom→species), status (accepted | synonym | misapplied), and taxon ID for follow-up calls to `taxon` or `classification`. Filter by `rank` ("species" / "genus" / etc.) when narrowing.

Input parameters:

- `dataset` (string): ChecklistBank dataset key (default "3LR" = COL latest release).
- `limit` (number): 1-1000 (default 25).
- `offset` (number)
- `query` (string, required): Free-text search (e.g. "Panthera leo").
- `rank` (string): e.g. "species", "genus", "family"
- `status` (string): accepted | synonym | bare_name | missapplied | …

### `name_match` (~120 tokens)

"Is [Panthera leo] a valid scientific name" / "exact match for [Latin binomial]" / "disambiguate homonyms" — exact scientific-name match returning 0 or 1 hit plus close alternatives. Use when you have a precise Latin name and want to confirm acceptance or distinguish homonyms (same name used for different organisms — pass authorship to disambiguate).

Input parameters:

- `authorship` (string): Optional authorship to disambiguate homonyms.
- `dataset` (string)
- `scientific_name` (string, required)

### `usage` (~70 tokens)

Fetch a single Catalogue of Life name-usage record by its COL ID, returning taxon name, authorship, rank, status (accepted/synonym), and source dataset. Use after search or name_match to retrieve the full structured record.

Input parameters:

- `dataset` (string)
- `id` (string, required)

### `taxon` (~70 tokens)

Fetch a Catalogue of Life accepted taxon record by its COL taxon ID, returning the accepted concept with name, rank, and authorship. Pair with classification for lineage, children to descend the tree, or vernacular for common names.

Input parameters:

- `dataset` (string)
- `id` (string, required)

### `classification` (~121 tokens)

"What kingdom / phylum / class / order / family / genus is [species] in" / "taxonomy of [organism]" / "show me the lineage of [animal/plant]" / "where does [species] sit in the tree of life" — returns the full classification chain (kingdom → phylum → class → order → family → genus → species) for a Catalogue of Life taxon ID. Use after `search` to get the lineage of a specific species.

Input parameters:

- `dataset` (string)
- `id` (string, required)

### `vernacular` (~98 tokens)

"What's the common name for [Latin binomial]" / "what do people call [scientific name]" / "vernacular names of [species]" — list common/vernacular names (in various languages) for a Catalogue of Life taxon. Use to map "Panthera leo" → "lion" / "leon" / "lwów" etc.

Input parameters:

- `dataset` (string)
- `id` (string, required)

### `synonyms` (~76 tokens)

"What are the synonyms of [species]" / "old name for [organism]" / "alternative scientific names" — list synonyms (alternative or historical scientific names) currently mapped to a single Catalogue of Life accepted taxon. Use to map outdated taxonomy to current names.

Input parameters:

- `dataset` (string)
- `id` (string, required)

### `children` (~98 tokens)

"What species are in [genus]" / "all members of [family]" / "species under [order]" / "direct descendants of [taxon]" — list immediate child taxa under a Catalogue of Life parent taxon. Use to walk down the tree of life one rank at a time.

Input parameters:

- `dataset` (string)
- `id` (string, required)
- `limit` (number): 1-1000 (default 100).

## Diagnostics

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

## Score history

- 2026-11-05: 82
- 2026-11-04: 82
- 2026-11-03: 81
- 2026-11-02: 81
- 2026-11-01: 80
- 2026-10-31: 65
- 2026-10-30: 79
- 2026-10-29: 79

## Common questions

### What is the Catalogueoflife MCP server?

Catalogueoflife is an MCP server listed in the public MCP registry as io.github.pipeworx-io/catalogueoflife. Catalogue of Life MCP, global taxonomic index. This page covers its npm package (@pipeworx/mcp-catalogueoflife).

### Is the Catalogueoflife MCP server safe to use?

Catalogueoflife scores 82 out of 100 on VerifyMCP. We found no known CVEs affecting it as of 5 November 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 Catalogueoflife MCP server expose?

Catalogueoflife exposes 8 tools: search, name_match, usage, taxon, classification, and 3 more. Their descriptions and schemas cost roughly 938 tokens of context every time the server is loaded.

### Is the Catalogueoflife MCP server still maintained?

Catalogueoflife is still listed as active in the MCP registry. We last reached this channel on 5 November 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 Catalogueoflife MCP server under?

Catalogueoflife 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/@pipeworx/mcp-catalogueoflife
- Socket report: https://socket.dev/npm/package/@pipeworx/mcp-catalogueoflife
- Repository: https://github.com/pipeworx-io/mcp-catalogueoflife
- Website: https://pipeworx.io/packs/catalogueoflife
- Changelog RSS feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-catalogueoflife/pipeworx-mcp-catalogueoflife.xml
- Changelog JSON feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-catalogueoflife/pipeworx-mcp-catalogueoflife.json
- HTML version of this page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-catalogueoflife/pipeworx-mcp-catalogueoflife