Skip to content
verify mcp Beta VerifyMCP is currently in beta. If you notice any issues, get in touch and we’ll put it right.

What's Running

NPM · WHATS-RUNNING-MCP · SCANNED SEP 23

Live OS ground truth for agents: running agent sessions, listening ports, daemons, system load.

Available components

−1 this week 82 Trust /100
Trust breakdown (7 categories)

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 96 dependencies flagged as unhealthy. View diagnostics → Partial
Provenance & Transparency45
Schema Quality & AI Usability79
  • AI-judged instruction clarity (excellent).Pass
  • Tool/resource definitions use about 255 tokens (~51/item across 5 items; 5 tools + 0 resources), lean.Pass
  • Usage-examples check failed: none of the tools include examples. See how to fix → Fail
Stability & Change Management83
  • Stability observed for 25 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 5 captured tool definition(s), and no name or description among them implies an irreversible operation.Pass
  • An AI judge read all 5 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
Install

How do I install the What's Running MCP server?

What's Running runs locally as an npm package, launched with npx -y whats-running-mcp. Ready-made configuration for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Codex and 5 more is on this page, copied from each client's own documentation.

npm · whats-running-mcp

# add to Claude Code
claude mcp add stcmain-whats-running-mcp -- npx -y whats-running-mcp
// .cursor/mcp.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "stcmain-whats-running-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "whats-running-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}
// .vscode/mcp.json
{
  "servers": {
    "stcmain-whats-running-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "whats-running-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}
# add to Codex CLI
codex mcp add stcmain-whats-running-mcp -- npx -y whats-running-mcp
// opencode.json
{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "stcmain-whats-running-mcp": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": [
        "npx",
        "-y",
        "whats-running-mcp"
      ],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}
# add to OpenClaw
openclaw mcp add stcmain-whats-running-mcp --command npx --arg -y --arg whats-running-mcp
# ~/.hermes/config.yaml
mcp_servers:
  stcmain-whats-running-mcp:
    command: "npx"
    args: ["-y", "whats-running-mcp"]
// ~/.netclaw/config/netclaw.json
{
  "McpServers": {
    "stcmain-whats-running-mcp": {
      "Transport": "stdio",
      "Command": "npx",
      "Arguments": [
        "-y",
        "whats-running-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}
# add to Vellum
assistant mcp add stcmain-whats-running-mcp -t stdio -c npx -a -y whats-running-mcp
// mcp.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "stcmain-whats-running-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "whats-running-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}
Changelog

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.

  • 22 Sept 26 +1

    No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 77 to 80. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 23 days of observed history at the previous scan, 24 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

  • 21 Sept 26 −4
    • Stability: pass → 0.77 functional
  • 20 Sept 26 +1
    • Stability: 0.97 → pass security
  • 18 Sept 26 +1

    No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 90 to 93. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 27 days of observed history at the previous scan, 28 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

  • 16 Sept 26 +1

    No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 83 to 87. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 25 days of observed history at the previous scan, 26 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

  • 15 Sept 26 −3
    • Stability: pass → 0.83 functional
  • 14 Sept 26 +1
    • Stability: 0.97 → pass security
  • 12 Sept 26 +1

    No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 90 to 93. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 27 days of observed history at the previous scan, 28 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

Diagnostics

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 23 Sept 2026 · Analysed npm/whats-running-mcp@0.1.6

Provenance No attestation

The registry publishes no build provenance for this version, so there is nothing to verify.

Result No attestation
Ecosystem npm

Background: How many MCP packages publish verified provenance →

Dependencies 96 packages
Packages resolved 96
Stale 31
Tree resolution Complete

Background: SBOMs and build attestations, explained →

MCP tools · 5 exposed · ~255 tokens

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 →

Tool Tokens
agent_sessions ~89

List AI-agent processes actually running right now (Claude Code, Codex, Aider, ...). Separates terminal-attached sessions (a human can see them) from detached/orphan ones. Reads ps/lsof directly — never transcripts or docs. Patterns configurable via WR_AGENT_PATTERNS.

NameTypeReqDescription
include_detachedbooleanAlso list background/orphan agent processes with no terminal (default true)

No output schema declared.

No examples provided.

daemons ~56

Persistent services actually loaded right now: launchctl (macOS, non-Apple) or systemd user services (Linux). Optional case-insensitive substring filter on the label.

NameTypeReqDescription
filterstringSubstring filter on service label

No output schema declared.

No examples provided.

listening_ports ~43

All TCP ports currently in LISTEN state with owning process and pid (lsof). The definitive answer to 'is service X actually up?' — nothing hidden, nothing assumed.

Input schema present but exposes no named parameters.

No output schema declared.

No examples provided.

system_stats ~20

Load average, uptime, and root-disk free space.

Input schema present but exposes no named parameters.

No output schema declared.

No examples provided.

whats_running ~47

Full live snapshot in one call: agent sessions, TCP listeners, loaded daemons, system stats. Use at session start to ground yourself in what is ACTUALLY live instead of stale memory.

Input schema present but exposes no named parameters.

No output schema declared.

No examples provided.

Common questions

What is the What's Running MCP server?

What's Running is an MCP server listed in the public MCP registry as io.github.stcmain/whats-running-mcp. Live OS ground truth for agents: running agent sessions, listening ports, daemons, system load. This page covers its npm package (whats-running-mcp).

Is the What's Running MCP server safe to use?

What's Running scores 82 out of 100 on VerifyMCP. We found no known CVEs affecting it as of 23 September 2026. It declares no install or post-install scripts. 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 What's Running MCP server expose?

What's Running exposes 5 tools: agent_sessions, listening_ports, daemons, system_stats, whats_running. Their descriptions and schemas cost roughly 255 tokens of context every time the server is loaded.

Is the What's Running MCP server still maintained?

What's Running is still listed as active in the MCP registry. We last reached this channel on 23 September 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 What's Running MCP server under?

What's Running declares the MIT licence, which is OSI-approved. That covers the source only, and says nothing about the cost of any service it calls.