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Fetch URL MCP Server

Name: Fetch URL MCP Server
Rating: 1.9

Intelligent web content fetcher MCP server that converts HTML to clean, AI-readable Markdown

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Fetch URL MCP Server

Intelligent web content fetcher MCP server that converts HTML to clean, AI-readable Markdown

Overview

@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp is an MCP server for fetching public web pages and converting them into cleaned Markdown. It exposes one read-only tool, one built-in help prompt, and one internal instructions resource. The default transport is stdio, and --http enables Streamable HTTP mode.

Key Features

fetch-url returns cleaned Markdown, metadata, redirect information, cache status, and structured output.
The tool is explicitly annotated as read-only, idempotent, and open-world, with optional task support for large fetches.
GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket page URLs are normalized to raw-content endpoints when appropriate.
get-help exposes the server instructions, and internal://instructions makes the same guidance available as a resource.
HTTP mode includes auth, host/origin validation, rate limiting, health checks, and OAuth protected-resource metadata routes.

Requirements

Node.js >=24 (from package.json)
Docker is optional if you want to run the published container image.

Quick Start

Use this standard MCP client configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fetch-url-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

Client Configuration

Install in VS Code

Add to .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "fetch-url-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

Or install via CLI:

code --add-mcp '{"name":"fetch-url-mcp","command":"npx","args":["-y","@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest"]}'

For more info, see VS Code MCP docs.

Install in VS Code Insiders

Add to .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "fetch-url-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

Or install via CLI:

code-insiders --add-mcp '{"name":"fetch-url-mcp","command":"npx","args":["-y","@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest"]}'

For more info, see VS Code Insiders MCP docs.

Install in Cursor

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fetch-url-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

For more info, see Cursor MCP docs.

Install in Visual Studio

Add to mcp.json (VS integrated):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fetch-url-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

For more info, see Visual Studio MCP docs.

Install in Goose

Add to Goose extension registry:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fetch-url-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

For more info, see Goose MCP docs.

Install in LM Studio

Add to LM Studio MCP config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fetch-url-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

For more info, see LM Studio MCP docs.

Install in Claude Desktop

Add to claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fetch-url-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

For more info, see Claude Desktop MCP docs.

Install in Claude Code

Add to Claude Code CLI:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fetch-url-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

Or install via CLI:

claude mcp add fetch-url-mcp -- npx -y @j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest

For more info, see Claude Code MCP docs.

Install in Windsurf

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fetch-url-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

For more info, see Windsurf MCP docs.

Install in Amp

Add to Amp MCP config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fetch-url-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

Or install via CLI:

amp mcp add fetch-url-mcp -- npx -y @j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest

For more info, see Amp MCP docs.

Install in Cline

Add to cline_mcp_settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fetch-url-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

For more info, see Cline MCP docs.

Install in Codex CLI

Add to ~/.codex/config.yaml or codex CLI:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fetch-url-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

For more info, see Codex CLI MCP docs.

Install in GitHub Copilot

Add to .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "fetch-url-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

For more info, see GitHub Copilot MCP docs.

Install in Warp

Add to Warp MCP config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fetch-url-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

For more info, see Warp MCP docs.

Install in Kiro

Add to .kiro/settings/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fetch-url-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

For more info, see Kiro MCP docs.

Install in Gemini CLI

Add to ~/.gemini/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fetch-url-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

For more info, see Gemini CLI MCP docs.

Install in Zed

Add to ~/.config/zed/settings.json:

{
  "context_servers": {
    "fetch-url-mcp": {
      "settings": {
        "command": "npx",
        "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest"]
      }
    }
  }
}

For more info, see Zed MCP docs.

Install in Augment

Add to VS Code settings.json:

Add to your VS Code settings.json under augment.advanced.

{
  "augment.advanced": {
    "mcpServers": [
      {
        "id": "fetch-url-mcp",
        "command": "npx",
        "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest"]
      }
    ]
  }
}

For more info, see Augment MCP docs.

Install in Roo Code

Add to Roo Code MCP settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fetch-url-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

For more info, see Roo Code MCP docs.

Install in Kilo Code

Add to Kilo Code MCP settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fetch-url-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/fetch-url-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

For more info, see Kilo Code MCP docs.

Use Cases

Fetch documentation pages, blog posts, or reference material into Markdown before sending them to an LLM.
Retrieve repository-hosted content from GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket and let the server rewrite page URLs to raw endpoints when possible.
Force a fresh fetch for time-sensitive pages with forceRefresh, or preserve navigation and boilerplate with skipNoiseRemoval.
Use MCP task mode for large pages or slower sites when the inline response would otherwise be truncated or delayed.

Architecture

[MCP Client]
  -> stdio -> `dist/index.js` -> `startStdioServer()` -> `createMcpServer()`
  -> HTTP -> `dist/index.js --http` -> `startHttpServer()` -> `/mcp`

`createMcpServer()`
  -> registers tool: `fetch-url`
  -> registers prompt: `get-help`
  -> registers resource: `internal://instructions`
  -> enables logging, resources notifications, prompts, and task handlers

HTTP request flow
  -> host/origin validation
  -> CORS handling
  -> rate limiting
  -> authentication
  -> health / OAuth metadata / download route dispatch
  -> MCP session gateway for `POST /mcp`, `GET /mcp`, `DELETE /mcp`

Tool execution flow
  -> validate input with `fetchUrlInputSchema`
  -> fetch via shared pipeline
  -> transform HTML to Markdown
  -> validate structured output with `fetchUrlOutputSchema`
  -> return text content plus `structuredContent`

Request Lifecycle

[Client] -- initialize {protocolVersion, capabilities} --> [Server]
[Server] -- {protocolVersion, capabilities, serverInfo} --> [Client]
[Client] -- notifications/initialized --> [Server]
[Client] -- tools/call {name, arguments} --> [Server]
[Server] -- {content: [{type, text}], isError?} --> [Client]

MCP Surface

Tools

`fetch-url`

Fetch public webpages and convert HTML into AI-readable Markdown. The tool is read-only, does not execute page JavaScript, can bypass cache with forceRefresh, and supports task mode for larger or slower fetches.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`url`	`string`	yes	Target URL. Max 2048 chars.
`skipNoiseRemoval`	`boolean`	no	Preserve navigation/footers (disable noise filtering).
`forceRefresh`	`boolean`	no	Bypass cache and fetch fresh content.
`maxInlineChars`	`integer`	no	Inline markdown limit (0-10485760, 0=unlimited). Lower of this or global limit applies.

Data Flow

1. Client calls `fetch-url` with `url` and optional fetch flags.
2. `fetchUrlInputSchema` validates the payload.
3. `performSharedFetch()` downloads the page and applies cache policy.
4. `markdownTransform()` converts the response body into Markdown and metadata.
5. The result is assembled into `content` plus `structuredContent`.
6. `fetchUrlOutputSchema` validates the structured payload before it is returned.

Resources

Resource	URI	MIME Type	Description
`fetch-url-mcp-instructions`	`internal://instructions`	text/markdown	Guidance for using the Fetch URL MCP server.

Prompts

Prompt	Arguments	Description
`get-help`	none	Return Fetch URL server instructions: workflows, cache usage, task mode, and error handling.

MCP Capabilities

Capability	Status	Evidence
logging	confirmed	`createServerCapabilities()` advertises logging support and `SetLevelRequestSchema` is handled by the server.
resources subscribe/listChanged	confirmed	`createServerCapabilities()` enables resource subscriptions and list change notifications.
prompts	confirmed	`get-help` is registered during server startup.
tasks	confirmed	Task capabilities are advertised and task handlers are registered during startup.
progress notifications	confirmed	Tool execution reports progress through the task/progress helpers.

Tool Annotations

Annotation	Detected	Evidence
`readOnlyHint`	yes	src/tools/fetch-url.ts:406
`destructiveHint`	yes	src/tools/fetch-url.ts:407
`openWorldHint`	yes	src/tools/fetch-url.ts:409
`idempotentHint`	yes	src/tools/fetch-url.ts:408

Structured Output

fetch-url publishes an explicit outputSchema and returns structuredContent when the output passes validation.

Configuration

Variable	Default	Applies To	Notes
`HOST`	`127.0.0.1`	HTTP mode	Bind address. Non-loopback bindings also require `ALLOW_REMOTE=true`.
`PORT`	`3000`	HTTP mode	Listening port for `--http`.
`ALLOW_REMOTE`	`false`	HTTP mode	Must be enabled to bind to a non-loopback interface.
`ACCESS_TOKENS`	unset	HTTP mode	Comma/space separated static bearer tokens.
`API_KEY`	unset	HTTP mode	Alternate static token source for header auth.
`OAUTH_ISSUER_URL`	unset	HTTP mode	Enables OAuth mode when combined with the other OAuth URLs.
`OAUTH_AUTHORIZATION_URL`	unset	HTTP mode	Optional explicit authorization endpoint.
`OAUTH_TOKEN_URL`	unset	HTTP mode	Optional explicit token endpoint.
`OAUTH_INTROSPECTION_URL`	unset	HTTP mode	Required for OAuth token introspection.
`OAUTH_REQUIRED_SCOPES`	empty	HTTP mode	Required scopes enforced after auth.
`OAUTH_CLIENT_ID`	unset	HTTP mode	Optional introspection client ID.
`OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET`	unset	HTTP mode	Optional introspection client secret.
`SERVER_TLS_KEY_FILE`	unset	HTTP mode	Enable HTTPS when set together with `SERVER_TLS_CERT_FILE`.
`SERVER_TLS_CERT_FILE`	unset	HTTP mode	TLS certificate path.
`SERVER_TLS_CA_FILE`	unset	HTTP mode	Optional custom CA bundle.
`SERVER_MAX_CONNECTIONS`	`0`	HTTP mode	Optional connection cap.
`SERVER_HEADERS_TIMEOUT_MS`	unset	HTTP mode	Optional Node server tuning.
`SERVER_REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS`	unset	HTTP mode	Optional Node server tuning.
`SERVER_KEEP_ALIVE_TIMEOUT_MS`	unset	HTTP mode	Optional keep-alive tuning.
`SERVER_KEEP_ALIVE_TIMEOUT_BUFFER_MS`	unset	HTTP mode	Optional keep-alive tuning buffer.
`SERVER_MAX_HEADERS_COUNT`	unset	HTTP mode	Optional header count limit.
`SERVER_BLOCK_PRIVATE_CONNECTIONS`	`false`	HTTP mode	Enables inbound private-network protections.
`MCP_STRICT_PROTOCOL_VERSION_HEADER`	`true`	HTTP mode	Requires `MCP-Protocol-Version` on session init.
`ALLOWED_HOSTS`	empty	HTTP mode	Additional allowed `Host` and `Origin` values.
`ALLOW_LOCAL_FETCH`	`false`	Fetching	Allows local/loopback fetch targets.
`FETCH_TIMEOUT_MS`	`15000`	Fetching	Network fetch timeout in milliseconds.
`MAX_INLINE_CONTENT_CHARS`	`0`	Tool output	`0` means no explicit inline truncation limit.
`CACHE_ENABLED`	`true`	Caching	Enables in-memory fetch result caching.
`TASKS_MAX_TOTAL`	`5000`	Tasks	Total task capacity.
`TASKS_MAX_PER_OWNER`	`1000`	Tasks	Per-owner task cap, clamped to the total cap.
`TASKS_STATUS_NOTIFICATIONS`	`false`	Tasks	Enables status notifications for tasks.
`TRANSFORM_CANCEL_ACK_TIMEOUT_MS`	`200`	Transform workers	Cancellation acknowledgement timeout.
`TRANSFORM_WORKER_MODE`	`threads`	Transform workers	Worker execution mode.
`TRANSFORM_WORKER_MAX_OLD_GENERATION_MB`	unset	Transform workers	Optional worker memory limit.
`TRANSFORM_WORKER_MAX_YOUNG_GENERATION_MB`	unset	Transform workers	Optional worker memory limit.
`TRANSFORM_WORKER_CODE_RANGE_MB`	unset	Transform workers	Optional worker memory limit.
`TRANSFORM_WORKER_STACK_MB`	unset	Transform workers	Optional worker stack size.
`FETCH_URL_MCP_EXTRA_NOISE_TOKENS`	empty	Content cleanup	Extra noise-removal tokens.
`FETCH_URL_MCP_EXTRA_NOISE_SELECTORS`	empty	Content cleanup	Extra DOM selectors for noise removal.
`FETCH_URL_MCP_LOCALE`	system default	Content cleanup	Locale override for extraction heuristics.
`MARKDOWN_HEADING_KEYWORDS`	built-in list	Markdown cleanup	Override heading keywords used by cleanup.
`USER_AGENT`	`fetch-url-mcp/<version>`	Fetching	Override outbound user agent string.
`LOG_LEVEL`	`info`	Logging	`debug`, `info`, `warn`, or `error`.
`LOG_FORMAT`	`text`	Logging	`json` switches logger output format.

HTTP Mode Endpoints

Method	Path	Auth	Purpose
`GET`	`/health`	no, unless `?verbose=1` on a remote server	Basic health response, with optional diagnostics.
`GET`	`/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource`	no	OAuth protected-resource metadata.
`GET`	`/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource/mcp`	no	OAuth protected-resource metadata for the MCP endpoint.
`POST`	`/mcp`	yes	Session initialization and JSON-RPC requests.
`GET`	`/mcp`	yes	Session-bound server-to-client stream handling.
`DELETE`	`/mcp`	yes	Session shutdown.
`GET`	`/mcp/downloads/{namespace}/{hash}`	yes	Download route used by HTTP-mode fetch results.

Security

Control	Status	Notes
Host and origin validation	implemented	HTTP requests are checked against an allowlist before dispatch.
Authentication	implemented	HTTP mode supports static bearer tokens or OAuth introspection.
Protocol version checks	implemented	Supported MCP protocol versions are validated on HTTP sessions.
Rate limiting	implemented	Requests pass through the HTTP rate limiter before route dispatch.
TLS	optional	HTTPS is enabled when both TLS key and certificate files are configured.
Stdio logging safety	implemented	Server logs are written to stderr, not stdout.

Development

Script	Command
`clean`	`node scripts/tasks.mjs clean`
`build`	`node scripts/tasks.mjs build`
`copy:assets`	`node scripts/tasks.mjs copy:assets`
`prepare`	`npm run build`
`dev`	`tsc --watch --preserveWatchOutput`
`dev:run`	`node --env-file=.env --watch dist/index.js`
`start`	`node dist/index.js`
`format`	`prettier --write .`
`type-check`	`node scripts/tasks.mjs type-check`
`type-check:src`	`node node_modules/typescript/bin/tsc -p tsconfig.json --noEmit`
`type-check:tests`	`node node_modules/typescript/bin/tsc -p tsconfig.test.json --noEmit`
`type-check:diagnostics`	`tsc --noEmit --extendedDiagnostics`
`type-check:trace`	`node -e "require('fs').rmSync('.ts-trace',{recursive:true,force:true})" && tsc --noEmit --generateTrace .ts-trace`
`lint`	`eslint .`
`lint:tests`	`eslint src/__tests__`
`lint:fix`	`eslint . --fix`
`test`	`node scripts/tasks.mjs test`
`test:fast`	`node --test --import tsx/esm src/__tests__/*/.test.ts node-tests/*/.test.ts`
`test:coverage`	`node scripts/tasks.mjs test --coverage`
`knip`	`knip`
`knip:fix`	`knip --fix`
`inspector`	`npm run build && npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/inspector node dist/index.js --stdio`
`prepublishOnly`	`npm run lint && npm run type-check && npm run build`

Build and Release

CI workflows detected: .github/workflows/docker-republish.yml, .github/workflows/release.yml
Docker build signal detected (Dockerfile present).
Publish/release script signal detected in package.json.

Troubleshooting

For stdio mode, avoid writing logs to stdout; keep logs on stderr.
For HTTP mode, verify MCP protocol headers and endpoint routing.
Re-run discovery and fact extraction after surface changes to keep documentation aligned.

Credits

Dependency	Registry
@modelcontextprotocol/sdk	npm
@mozilla/readability	npm
linkedom	npm
node-html-markdown	npm
undici	npm
zod	npm

Contributing and License

License: MIT
Contributions are welcome via pull requests.

Fetch URL MCP Server

Reviews

Documentation

Fetch URL MCP Server

Overview

Key Features

Requirements

Quick Start

Client Configuration

Use Cases

Architecture

Request Lifecycle

MCP Surface

Tools

fetch-url

Resources

Prompts

MCP Capabilities

Tool Annotations

Structured Output

Configuration

HTTP Mode Endpoints

Security

Development

Build and Release

Troubleshooting

Credits

Contributing and License

Security Checklist

`fetch-url`