Uses Algolia API to search Hacker News for high-score posts and discussions related to programming topics and solutions
Searches GitHub Issues API to find community solutions and discussions about coding problems, sorted by reactions and engagement
Integrates with Google's Gemini API for AI-powered synthesis of search results from community sources into actionable solutions
Supports OpenAI's GPT models for processing and synthesizing community-sourced programming solutions into structured responses
Uses Perplexity API with built-in web search capabilities to enhance community research with additional context and solutions
Searches programming-related subreddits using Reddit's JSON API to find community discussions and solutions to development problems
Searches Stack Overflow discussions and solutions using the Stack Exchange API to find real-world fixes and workarounds from the developer community
community-research-mcp
"Where the official documentation ends and actual street-smart solutions begin."
What This Is
A tool that finds real solutions from real people who've already fought through your exact problem.
Not sanitized documentation. Not official guides. Not theoretical best practices.
The actual fixes discussed on Stack Overflow, Reddit threads, GitHub issues, and forums. The messy workarounds, the "this finally worked for me" comments, the battle-tested hacks that people actually use in production.
Think of it as: Ctrl+F for the entire programming community's collective trauma and hard-won solutions.
Why I Built This
I kept hitting unsolvable coding problems where the AI loop got old, fast:
Claude couldn't crack it
Copilot suggested nonsense
Codex hallucinated with confidence
Back to Claude with a different prompt
Had a dozen agents work on my app for 2 days → zero progress
Then I'd find the answer on Stack Overflow in 30 seconds.
Turns out: Most solutions already exist in the community. People have already solved this. They wrote about it. This tool finds those discussions automatically.
No more AI guessing game.
Installation
Windows:
That's the entire installation process.
The script will detect or install Python, handle dependencies, and configure everything automatically. Should take about 90 seconds if your internet isn't terrible.
Setup Requirements
You Need ONE API Key (Free Option Available)
Recommended: GEMINI_API_KEY
Free tier: 1,500 requests/day
No credit card required
Get it here: https://makersuite.google.com/app/apikey
Alternatives:
OPENAI_API_KEY- Best quality, costs moneyANTHROPIC_API_KEY- Claude models, costs moneyOPENROUTER_API_KEY- 100+ models, $5 free creditPERPLEXITY_API_KEY- Web search built-in, 5/day free
The installer will open a text file for you to paste your key. This is not a trick.
How To Use It
Step 1: Get Context (Always Do This First)
This tells you what the server detected about your project. Always call this first.
Step 2: Search For Solutions
The server validates queries. If you're vague, it tells you exactly how to be less vague.
Available Tools
get_server_context()
Returns what the server detected about your workspace:
community_search()
Searches community resources with validation:
Parameters:
language- Programming language (e.g., "Python", "JavaScript", "Rust")topic- Specific, detailed topic (NOT "settings" or "performance")goal- What you want to achieve (optional but recommended)current_setup- Your current tech stack (highly recommended)response_format- "markdown" (default) or "json"
Using With MCP Clients
Auto-Configuration (Recommended)
The installer automatically detects and configures these clients:
✅ Claude Desktop - Instant setup
✅ Cline (VS Code/Cursor extension) - Detected if installed
✅ Cursor - Detected if installed
Just run initialize.bat and it handles everything!
Claude Desktop
After running initialize.bat:
Restart Claude Desktop
Server is automatically available
Start with
get_server_context()
Other MCP Clients
Point your client to: mcp.json in this folder
Or use command: python community_research_mcp.py
Features
Feature | Status |
One-Click Install | ✅ |
Auto Python Detection | ✅ Uses system Python if available |
Auto Python Install | ✅ Downloads portable version if needed |
Query Validation | ✅ Rejects vague nonsense |
Context Detection | ✅ Languages, frameworks, structure |
Error Recovery | ✅ 3 retries, exponential backoff |
Caching | ✅ 1-hour TTL |
Rate Limiting | ✅ 10 requests/min |
Portable | ✅ Copy to USB, works anywhere |
Example: Good vs Bad Queries
Good Query (Gets Results)
Returns: Working code from people who built this exact thing, with:
Problem descriptions with real user quotes
Step-by-step solutions with code
Measurable benefits (performance improvements)
Evidence (GitHub stars, Stack Overflow votes)
Difficulty ratings (Easy/Medium/Hard)
Real gotchas and edge cases
Bad Query (Rejected)
Returns: Error message explaining why this is useless and how to fix it:
Troubleshooting
Q: initialize.bat says Python not found
A: It should auto-download portable Python. If it fails, check your internet connection.
Q: "Connection closed" errors
A: Server auto-retries 3 times. Check internet and API keys in .env file.
Q: Query rejected as "too vague"
A: Read the error message. It tells you exactly what to fix. Be more specific.
Q: Works with my MCP client?
A: Yes. Any MCP-compatible client. Point it to mcp.json.
Q: No results found
A: Try different search terms. The topic might be too niche, or use different keywords.
Q: Rate limit errors
A: Maximum 10 requests per minute. Wait 60 seconds and try again.
Portable Mode
The package is already portable.
Copy the folder to a USB drive. Run initialize.bat on any Windows PC. It will:
Use system Python if available
Auto-download portable Python if not
Work without installation
No admin rights. No system changes. Self-contained.
What's Included
Technical Details
Architecture
Server: MCP (Model Context Protocol) server using FastMCP
Language: Python 3.10+
Transport: stdio (for local clients)
Async: All I/O operations use asyncio/httpx
Search Sources
Stack Overflow - Stack Exchange API, filtered by language tags
GitHub - GitHub Issues API, sorted by reactions
Reddit - Reddit JSON API, programming subreddits
Hacker News - Algolia API, high-score posts only
LLM Synthesis
Supports multiple providers (auto-detects based on API keys):
Gemini 2.0 Flash (Recommended - Free tier)
GPT-4o-mini (OpenAI)
Claude 3.5 Haiku (Anthropic)
OpenRouter (Multiple models)
Perplexity (Web-search enabled)
Performance Optimizations
Parallel search: All sources queried simultaneously
Smart caching: 1-hour TTL reduces API calls by 80%
Retry logic: Exponential backoff, 3 attempts
Rate limiting: 10 requests/min prevents quota exhaustion
Development
Running Manually
Testing
License
MIT License - See LICENSE file for details
Contributing
Found a bug? Have a feature request?
Check existing issues
Create a new issue with details
PRs welcome!
Credits
Built with:
Stack Exchange API
GitHub API
Reddit JSON API
Hacker News Algolia API
Special thanks to the entire developer community for sharing solutions that make tools like this possible.
Support
Need help? Check the troubleshooting section or create an issue. Want to support development? Star the repo and share with other developers who are tired of the AI guessing game!
Disclaimer
This project is a personal initiative by myself. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by my employer or any other organization. The views expressed here are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer or any other entity.
This server cannot be installed
remote-capable server
The server can be hosted and run remotely because it primarily relies on remote services or has no dependency on the local environment.
Searches real developer solutions from Stack Overflow, Reddit, GitHub issues, and forums to find battle-tested fixes and workarounds for specific programming problems. Bypasses AI guessing by finding actual community discussions where developers have already solved your exact issue.