Socket MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Socket integration — lets AI assistants query dependency vulnerability scores and security metadata.

Why this repo exists

Socket MCP exposes Socket.dev's package-scoring API through the Model Context Protocol, so any MCP-aware AI assistant (Claude, VS Code Copilot, Cursor, Windsurf) can score a package, audit a package.json, or flag risky dependencies as part of a conversation. It ships as both a hosted public server (https://mcp.socket.dev/, no setup) and a self-hostable npm package, so you can choose between zero-friction and full data isolation.

Related MCP server: MCP NVD Server

✨ 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/ with no setup required

• 🚀 Multiple Deployment Options - Run locally via stdio, HTTP, or use our service

• 🤖 AI Assistant Integration - Works seamlessly with Claude, VS Code Copilot, Cursor, and other MCP clients

• 📊 Batch Processing - Check multiple dependencies in a single request

• 🔒 No Authentication Required - Public server requires no API keys or registration

🛠️ This project is in early development and rapidly evolving.

Install

Option 1: Use the public Socket MCP server (recommended)

The easiest way to get started. No API key or authentication required! Click a button below to install in your favorite AI assistant.

1. In Claude Desktop, go to Settings > Developer > Edit Config.

2. Add the Socket MCP server configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "socket-mcp": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.socket.dev/"
    }
  }
}

3. Save the configuration and restart Claude Desktop.

4. Now you can ask Claude "Check the security score for express version 4.18.2".

For Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport http socket-mcp https://mcp.socket.dev/

# 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/"
    }
  }
}

{
  "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.

Option 2: Self-host the Socket MCP server

To run your own instance, create an API key first (only the packages:list permission scope is needed; see creating-and-managing-api-tokens).

Claude Code:

claude mcp add socket-mcp -e SOCKET_API_TOKEN="your-api-token-here" -- npx -y @socketsecurity/mcp@latest # socket-hook: allow npx

Most other MCP clients:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "socket-mcp": {
      "command": "npx", // socket-hook: allow npx
      "args": ["@socketsecurity/mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "SOCKET_API_TOKEN": "your-api-token-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Run the server in HTTP mode using npx:

MCP_HTTP_MODE=true SOCKET_API_TOKEN=your-api-token npx @socketsecurity/mcp@latest --http # socket-hook: allow npx

Environment variables for HTTP mode:

SOCKET_API_URL and SOCKET_DEBUG also apply in stdio mode.

To enable OAuth-backed auth for incoming MCP requests:

MCP_HTTP_MODE=true \
SOCKET_OAUTH_ISSUER=https://issuer.example.com \
SOCKET_OAUTH_INTROSPECTION_CLIENT_ID=your-client-id \
SOCKET_OAUTH_INTROSPECTION_CLIENT_SECRET=your-client-secret \
npx @socketsecurity/mcp@latest --http # socket-hook: allow npx

Add TRUST_PROXY=true only when the server is deployed behind a trusted reverse proxy or load balancer that normalizes the forwarded host and protocol headers.

Configure your MCP client to connect to the HTTP server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "socket-mcp": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:3000"
    }
  }
}

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?"

Tools exposed

depscore

Query the Socket API for dependency scoring information. Returns supply chain, quality, maintenance, vulnerability, and license scores per package.

Supported ecosystems

Based on Socket's language support. The ecosystem parameter maps to PURL types:

Example request:

{
  "packages": [
    { "ecosystem": "npm", "depname": "express", "version": "4.18.2" },
    { "ecosystem": "pypi", "depname": "fastapi", "version": "0.100.0" }
  ]
}

Sample response:

pkg:npm/express@4.18.2: supply_chain: 1.0, quality: 0.9, maintenance: 1.0, vulnerability: 1.0, license: 1.0
  Report: https://socket.dev/npm/package/express
pkg:pypi/fastapi@0.100.0: supply_chain: 1.0, quality: 0.95, maintenance: 0.98, vulnerability: 1.0, license: 1.0
  Report: https://socket.dev/pypi/package/fastapi

Adjusting tool usage via client rules

You can customize how the MCP server interacts with your AI assistant by editing your client's rules file:

Example rule:

Always check dependency scores with the depscore tool when you add a new dependency. If the score is low, consider using an alternative library or writing the code yourself.

Claude Code Hook (Optional)

The repo ships an optional Claude Code hook that blocks high-risk packages before installation. When Claude Code runs an install command, the hook queries the public Socket MCP server at https://mcp.socket.dev/ and denies the install when the package's supply chain score is below 20 (known malware, typosquats, high-risk supply chain signals). No API key, no CLI, no registration — copy the file and wire it up.

Supported ecosystems and package managers:

Setup

Prerequisites: Node.js 22+.

1. Copy the whole socket-gate directory into your hooks folder. The bundled socket-gate.cjs is self-contained, so it runs without any dependencies beside it. From a checkout, run pnpm run build first to produce it; from a published install, copy from node_modules/@socketsecurity/mcp/:

mkdir -p ~/.claude/hooks
cp -R hooks/socket-gate ~/.claude/hooks/

2. Add to ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "hooks": {
    "PreToolUse": [
      {
        "matcher": "Bash",
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "node ~/.claude/hooks/socket-gate/socket-gate.cjs"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

See hooks/socket-gate/README.md for the full reference.

How it works

The hook denies installation when supplyChain < 20, allows it otherwise — e.g. express/lodash/react (75–97) allow, browserlist (typosquat of browserslist, 15) and confirmed malware (0) block. Network, timeout, or parse errors all fail open, so a Socket outage will not block legitimate work.

Limitations

A best-effort guardrail, not a complete defense. Known gaps:

• Manifest edits + lockfile installs. If Claude edits a manifest directly (package.json, requirements.txt, Cargo.toml, Gemfile, go.mod, *.csproj) then runs a bare install (npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, cargo build, bundle install, go mod tidy, dotnet restore), there is no package name on the command line to check.

• Package-manager invocations only. Direct downloads (curl | sh, wget), post-install scripts of already-accepted packages, and transitive dependencies are not re-checked.

• Indirect Claude paths. Sub-agents, MCP tools that shell out, and non-Bash tool calls are not covered unless the matcher is broadened.

Inspired by Jimmy Vo's dependency hook.

Development

git clone https://github.com/SocketDev/socket-mcp.git
cd socket-mcp
npm install
npm run build

Run from source (stdio mode):

export SOCKET_API_TOKEN=your_api_token_here
node --experimental-strip-types index.ts

Or in HTTP mode:

MCP_HTTP_MODE=true SOCKET_API_TOKEN=your_api_token_here node --experimental-strip-types index.ts --http

Health check endpoint

When running in HTTP mode, GET /health returns:

{
  "status": "healthy",
  "service": "socket-mcp",
  "version": "0.0.3",
  "timestamp": "2025-06-17T20:45:22.059Z"
}

Suitable for Kubernetes liveness/readiness probes, Docker health checks, load balancers.

Troubleshooting

Q: The public server isn't responding — Check the URL https://mcp.socket.dev/, verify your MCP client configuration, restart your MCP client.

Q: Local server fails to start — Ensure Node.js v16+ is installed, check SOCKET_API_TOKEN is set, verify the API token has packages:list permission.

Q: Getting authentication errors with local server — Double-check your API key is valid, ensure packages:list scope, regenerate if needed.

Q: AI assistant can't find the depscore tool — Restart your MCP client after configuration changes, verify config is saved, check the server is running.

Getting help

• 📖 Socket Documentation

• 🐛 Report Issues

• 💬 Community Support

License

MIT