Socket MCP Server
Socket MCP lets AI assistants query Socket's dependency security scores and metadata through the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
Use it to score a package, audit a package.json, or identify risky dependencies in a conversation.
Connect your MCP client to the hosted server at https://mcp.socket.dev/ and authenticate through OAuth, or run the npm package yourself.
✨ Features
- 🔍 Dependency Security Scanning - Get comprehensive security scores for npm, PyPI, cargo, Maven, NuGet, RubyGems, Go Modules, and more (supported ecosystems)
- 🌐 Public Hosted Service - Use our public server at
https://mcp.socket.dev/and sign in through your MCP client's OAuth flow - 🚀 Multiple Deployment Options - Run locally via stdio, HTTP, or use our service
- 🤖 AI Assistant Integration - Connect from MCP-compatible clients; OAuth behavior varies by client
- 📊 Batch Processing - Check multiple dependencies in a single request
- 🔒 OAuth Sign-In - Public server authenticates through your MCP client's OAuth flow; no API key to copy or manage
🛠️ This project is in early development and rapidly evolving.
Install
Option 1: Use the public Socket MCP server (recommended)
The public server requires Socket sign-in through OAuth for every tool call, including package scoring. Some MCP clients need an explicit sign-in step. You do not need an API key.
Add the hosted server through Claude's custom connector settings. The Developer configuration file is for local servers.
- Open Customize > Connectors in Claude.
- Select Add custom connector and enter
https://mcp.socket.dev/as the server URL. On Team and Enterprise plans, an organization owner adds the connector through Organization settings > Connectors first. - Select Connect and complete the Socket authorization flow when prompted.
- Enable the connector for your conversation, then ask Claude "Check the security score for express version 4.18.2".
For Claude Code, add the server:
claude mcp add --transport http socket-mcp https://mcp.socket.dev/
Then run /mcp, select socket-mcp, choose Authenticate (or Re-authenticate, if shown), and approve access in your browser. An "authenticated" status before sign-in does not mean organization tools are ready.
Add the server:
codex mcp add socket-mcp --url https://mcp.socket.dev/
Codex starts sign-in during this command. You may see an invalid_scope page before Codex automatically retries with the three MCP read permissions. Complete the browser authorization on the retry.
To avoid that initial error page, you can instead add the server directly to ~/.codex/config.toml:
[mcp_servers.socket-mcp]
url = "https://mcp.socket.dev/"
scopes = ["packages:list", "alerts:list", "threat-feed:list"]
Then run:
codex mcp login socket-mcp
With dynamic client registration, each sign-in creates a new OAuth client with Socket.
# For VS Code with GitHub Copilot
code --add-mcp '{"name":"socket-mcp","type":"http","url":"https://mcp.socket.dev/"}'
Or add to .vscode/mcp.json:
{
"servers": {
"socket-mcp": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://mcp.socket.dev/"
}
}
}
Cursor Settings → MCP → Add new MCP Server. Name socket-mcp, http type, URL https://mcp.socket.dev/.
{
"mcpServers": {
"socket-mcp": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://mcp.socket.dev/"
}
}
}
Windsurf does not support http type MCP servers. Use the stdio configuration in Option 2 below, or the serverUrl form:
{
"mcpServers": {
"socket-mcp": {
"serverUrl": "https://mcp.socket.dev/mcp"
}
}
}
Factory is an AI-powered software engineering platform. Install the Socket MCP server with the Factory CLI:
droid mcp add socket https://mcp.socket.dev/ --type http
To self-host with an API key instead, see Option 2 below and register the stdio command with droid mcp add.
Alternatively, type /mcp within the Factory droid to manage MCP servers from an interactive UI. Learn more in the Factory MCP documentation.
Clients that need a local bridge
Prefer your client's native remote HTTP connection to https://mcp.socket.dev/ when available. For clients that only launch local stdio servers, install mcp-remote 0.8.3:
pnpm add --global [email protected]
Add this local server configuration to your MCP client:
{
"mcpServers": {
"socket": {
"command": "mcp-remote",
"args": ["https://mcp.socket.dev/"]
}
}
}
The bridge runs on your computer and receives OAuth redirects at http://localhost:<port>/oauth/callback. Keep it running while you authorize. Version 0.3.3 introduced the mid-session authorization fix; the forwarding and reauthorization retry paths were verified against the published 0.8.3 package. This verification does not cover a complete browser sign-in.
Reuse saved authorization while it remains valid. If a browser reports connection refused at the localhost callback, check the bridge's version and process. The callback listener belongs to the bridge; changing the hosted MCP URL does not start it.
Option 2: Self-host the Socket MCP server
See the self-hosted server instructions for installation, stdio and HTTP setup, environment variables, and OAuth configuration.
Usage
Once installed, ask your AI assistant questions like:
- "Check the security score for express version 4.18.2"
- "Analyze the security of my package.json dependencies"
- "What are the vulnerability scores for react, lodash, and axios?"
Documentation
- Service and tool reference lists every tool, input, result, authentication rule, and HTTP behavior.
- Server commands and workflows covers local launch, self-hosting, environment variables, and the optional Claude Code hook.
Tools exposed
The complete tool roster, schemas, parameters, and result examples are in the service reference.
depscore
See depscore.
organizations
See organizations.
alerts
See alerts.
threat_feed
See threat_feed.
package_files
See package_files.
package_file_contents
package_file_grep
See package_file_grep.
Authentication
See the authentication reference for local tokens, per-request HTTP credentials, and hosted OAuth.
Worked example: organization details and alerts
See the organization and alerts example.
Adjusting tool usage via client rules
See client rule examples.
Claude Code Hook (Optional)
The optional Socket package guard is documented in the commands and workflows reference.
Setup
See the hook setup instructions.
How it works
See how the hook works.
Limitations
See the hook limitations.
Inspired by Jimmy Vo's dependency hook.
Development
This repo uses pnpm, and every command runs from the repo root. Node.js 24+ is required.
git clone https://github.com/SocketDev/socket-mcp.git
cd socket-mcp
pnpm install
Run from source. No build step is needed, because Node 24 strips the TypeScript itself:
export SOCKET_API_TOKEN=your_api_token_here
pnpm run server-stdio
Or in HTTP mode:
pnpm run server-http
Both scripts read SOCKET_API_TOKEN (falling back to SOCKET_API_KEY) from your environment. Append :debug to either one (pnpm run server-http:debug) to set SOCKET_DEBUG=1 and get per-request tracing on stderr.
Audit events
Audit-event destinations and record behavior are documented in the service reference.
Health check endpoint
The HTTP health response is documented in the service reference.
Troubleshooting
Getting help
Compatibility
MCP is still evolving, and client implementations differ in how they handle parts of the protocol. We proactively track compatibility gaps and work to offer the best possible experience with Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and Zed. The table below summarizes the latest tests and known gaps.
Snapshot dated October 2, 2026; tests ran September 29–October 1. Each result applies to the listed client version and setup.
Only organizations and depscore were tested. Token refresh, server-side revocation, and all-tool coverage were not tested. Claude Desktop, VS Code, Windsurf, and Factory were not tested in this matrix.
License
MIT
