# Opentreeoflife (npm · @pipeworx/mcp-opentreeoflife)

Open Tree of Life MCP.

- Trust score: 84/100 (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-opentreeoflife/opentreeoflife-mcp.md), [page](https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-opentreeoflife/opentreeoflife-mcp)
- npm · `@pipeworx/mcp-opentreeoflife`: 84/100 (this document), [markdown](https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-opentreeoflife/pipeworx-mcp-opentreeoflife.md), [page](https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-opentreeoflife/pipeworx-mcp-opentreeoflife)

## Channel facts

- Registry: `npm`
- Package: `@pipeworx/mcp-opentreeoflife`
- 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-opentreeoflife).
  - Clear OSI-approved license (MIT).
  - Actively maintained (last published 1 days ago).
  - Disclosure check failed: no security disclosure policy was found in the source repository.
- **Schema Quality & AI Usability**: 75/100
  - AI-judged instruction clarity (good).
  - Tool/resource definitions use about 341 tokens (~113/item across 3 items; 3 tools + 0 resources), lean.
  - 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**: 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 4 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 Opentreeoflife MCP server?

Opentreeoflife runs locally as an npm package, launched with npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-opentreeoflife. 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-opentreeoflife -- npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-opentreeoflife
```

### Cursor

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

### VS Code

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

### Codex

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

### opencode

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

### OpenClaw

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

### Hermes

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

### Netclaw

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

### Vellum

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

### Other

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

## 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.

### 2026-11-05 (score 84, 0)

- [functional regression] Security disclosure: unverified → fail

### 2026-11-04 (score 84, +1)

- [functional regression] Security disclosure: fail → unverified
- [functional] Package version: 0.2.0 → 0.2.1

### 2026-11-02 (score 83, +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.

### 2026-10-31 (score 82, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 3 to 7. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 1 days of observed history at the previous scan, 2 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-10-29 (score 81)

First indexed and scored.

## MCP tools (3)

### `match_names` (~102 tokens)

Resolve scientific (Latin binomial) names to Open Tree of Life taxon IDs (ott_id). The ott_id is the key needed by taxon_info and common_ancestor — start here. Returns the best match per name with its ott_id, accepted name, rank, and synonym/approximate flags. Keyless.

Input parameters:

- `names` (array, required): Scientific names to resolve, e.g. ["Quercus alba","Panthera leo"]. Max 20.

### `taxon_info` (~86 tokens)

Get full details for an Open Tree of Life taxon by ott_id (from match_names) — accepted name, rank, unique name, synonyms, source taxonomy, and the complete ancestry lineage from this taxon up to the root of life. Keyless.

Input parameters:

- `ott_id` (number, required): OTT taxon id, e.g. 770315. Get it from match_names.

### `common_ancestor` (~96 tokens)

Find the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of 2-10 taxa in the synthetic Tree of Life, by ott_id (from match_names). Returns the common-ancestor taxon (ott_id, name, rank). Keyless.

Input parameters:

- `ott_ids` (array, required): OTT taxon ids to find the common ancestor of, e.g. [770315,417950]. 2-10 ids, from match_names.

## Diagnostics

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

## Score history

- 2026-11-05: 84
- 2026-11-04: 84
- 2026-11-03: 83
- 2026-11-02: 83
- 2026-11-01: 82
- 2026-10-31: 82
- 2026-10-30: 81
- 2026-10-29: 81

## Common questions

### What is the Opentreeoflife MCP server?

Opentreeoflife is an MCP server listed in the public MCP registry as io.github.pipeworx-io/opentreeoflife. Open Tree of Life MCP. This page covers its npm package (@pipeworx/mcp-opentreeoflife).

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

Opentreeoflife scores 84 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 Opentreeoflife MCP server expose?

Opentreeoflife exposes 3 tools: match_names, taxon_info, common_ancestor. Their descriptions and schemas cost roughly 284 tokens of context every time the server is loaded.

### Is the Opentreeoflife MCP server still maintained?

Opentreeoflife 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 Opentreeoflife MCP server under?

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