PatternStack MCP Server - Crowdsourced package intelligence for AI coding assistants. Like Waze, but for your dependencies.
- 🔮 Automatic Insights - Zero prompting required. Insights surface as you code.
- 🔍 Framework Detection - Scans package files to detect your tech stack
- 🛤️ Crowdsourced Data - See what real projects use together
- 🔒 Security Alerts - CVE warnings via Dependabot/GitHub Advisory Database
- ⚡ Always Current - 30-day half-life ensures fresh, relevant data
npx -y @patternstack/mcp patternstack-v4Visit patternstack.ai/dashboard/keys and generate an API key.
Claude Desktop (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):
{
"mcpServers": {
"patternstack": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@patternstack/mcp", "patternstack-v4"],
"env": {
"PATTERNSTACK_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
}
}
}
}Workspace API keys: add your user ID so PatternStack can verify workspace membership on each request:
{
"mcpServers": {
"patternstack": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@patternstack/mcp", "patternstack-v4"],
"env": {
"PATTERNSTACK_API_KEY": "ps_ws_...",
"PATTERNSTACK_CLERK_USER_ID": "user_..."
}
}
}
}Claude Code (~/.claude/settings.json):
{
"mcpServers": {
"patternstack": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@patternstack/mcp", "patternstack-v4"],
"env": {
"PATTERNSTACK_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
}
}
}
}After restarting your AI assistant, type:
init
This verifies your API key, detects your tech stack, and confirms everything is working.
The MCP client looks for API keys in this order (first found wins):
| Priority | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Environment Variable | PATTERNSTACK_API_KEY in MCP config |
| 2 | .patternstack file |
JSON file in project root: { "apiKey": "..." } |
| 3 | .env file |
PATTERNSTACK_API_KEY=... in project .env |
| 4 | Global config | ~/.patternstackrc with { "apiKey": "..." } |
Free includes full MCP access: Free accounts get full MCP access with 500 requests/day. Workspace (1,000/day) and Premium (5,000/day) tiers offer higher limits for teams.
Workspace keys require a user ID: set PATTERNSTACK_CLERK_USER_ID (or PATTERNSTACK_USER_ID) in your MCP config env so PatternStack can verify you’re still an active workspace member.
Best Practice: Use environment variable in MCP config for security. Never commit API keys to version control.
| Tool | Description | Tier |
|---|---|---|
init |
Initialize PatternStack, validate API key, auto-discover config | Workspace+ |
scan_project |
Full scan with framework detection, security, and recommendations | Workspace+ |
patternstack_analyze |
Quick local analysis without persisting | Workspace+ |
patternstack_alternatives |
Find alternatives to a package with adoption stats | Workspace+ |
patternstack_security |
Check for security vulnerabilities | Workspace+ |
patternstack_trends |
Get trending packages in an ecosystem | Workspace+ |
patternstack_insights |
Get suggestions Claude should offer you (collaborative) | Workspace+ |
search_packages |
Search packages by name or category with trend/health data | Workspace+ |
compare_packages |
Compare multiple packages with scores and recommendations | Workspace+ |
migration_guide |
Get migration guidance for deprecated/declining packages | Premium |
ai_insight |
AI-powered package explanations and recommendations | Premium |
Note: Framework parameters only accept Tier 1 application frameworks (Next.js, Django, Rails, etc.), not UI libraries (React, Vue). For React projects, use next, remix, or gatsby as the framework.
Real Projects → Package Files → Co-occurrence Counts → Temporal Weighting → Recommendations
(Empirical) (Crowdsourced) (Time-decay) (Data-driven)
No AI/ML - Pure statistics from real project data:
PackageCooccurrencetable stores actual counts from real projects- 30-day half-life decay weights recent data more heavily
- Adoption rates are real:
count / totalProjectsWithA
- JavaScript/TypeScript (npm)
- Python (PyPI)
- Go (go.mod)
- Rust (Cargo)
- Ruby (Bundler)
- PHP (Composer)
- Elixir (Hex)
- Java/Kotlin (Maven)
- C#/.NET (NuGet)
- Dart/Flutter (Pub)
- Swift (SwiftPM)
cd packages/mcp-server
npm install
npm run build
npm run devMIT