Panda Federation Tools

One MCP server that gives Claude, Cursor, VS Code Copilot and other AI assistants 18 research and public-data tools: citation checks, literature search, grants, contracts, leads and domain audits.

⬇ Download the latest Release · Changelog

Install / Use

You need: a free Apify API token (the free plan includes $5/month) and uv (one command: curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh, or on Windows powershell -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex").

One command (works today):

uvx --from git+https://github.com/pandadad0214/panda-federation-tools@v1.2.0 panda-federation-tools

No clone needed. Replace apify_api_YOUR_TOKEN below with your token, and never commit a file that contains it.

No install at all? Use the hosted research server (4 research tools) at https://pandadad0214--panda-research-mcp.apify.actor/mcp with header Authorization: Bearer <your Apify token>. See Hosted options.

Cursor

Click the button, then paste your token into APIFY_TOKEN. Or add this to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (all projects) or .cursor/mcp.json (one project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "panda-federation-tools": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--from", "git+https://github.com/pandadad0214/panda-federation-tools@v1.2.0", "panda-federation-tools"],
      "env": { "APIFY_TOKEN": "apify_api_YOUR_TOKEN" }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Or: Settings → Developer → Edit Config, then add the same mcpServers block as Cursor to claude_desktop_config.json and restart Claude. Easiest: download panda-federation-tools-1.2.0.mcpb from the latest Release and double-click it. Claude asks for your Apify token and keeps it in your system keychain.

Claude Code

claude mcp add panda-federation-tools --env APIFY_TOKEN=apify_api_YOUR_TOKEN -- \
  uvx --from git+https://github.com/pandadad0214/panda-federation-tools@v1.2.0 panda-federation-tools

VS Code (GitHub Copilot agent mode)

Add to .vscode/mcp.json. VS Code asks for the token and stores it securely:

{
  "inputs": [
    { "type": "promptString", "id": "apify-token", "description": "Apify API token", "password": true }
  ],
  "servers": {
    "panda-federation-tools": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--from", "git+https://github.com/pandadad0214/panda-federation-tools@v1.2.0", "panda-federation-tools"],
      "env": { "APIFY_TOKEN": "${input:apify-token}" }
    }
  }
}

Windsurf, Cline, Zed, Goose and others

Command uvx, args --from git+https://github.com/pandadad0214/panda-federation-tools@v1.2.0 panda-federation-tools, env APIFY_TOKEN. For Cline also set "timeout": 60. Agent-readable steps: llms-install.md.

Other ways to install

• From the Release download (works today): uvx --from https://github.com/pandadad0214/panda-federation-tools/releases/download/v1.2.0/panda_federation_tools-1.2.0-py3-none-any.whl panda-federation-tools
• Helper script: download install.sh (macOS/Linux) or install.ps1 (Windows) from the latest Release. It installs uv if needed, checks the server starts and prints your config. One package works on every OS.
• pip: pip install "git+https://github.com/pandadad0214/panda-federation-tools@v1.2.0", then run panda-federation-tools.
• Docker: docker build -t panda-federation-tools https://github.com/pandadad0214/panda-federation-tools.git#v1.2.0 then docker run -i --rm -e APIFY_TOKEN panda-federation-tools.
• After PyPI publish (planned): uvx panda-federation-tools. This becomes the one command once the package is on PyPI.

What's included

• Official, free data sources only: Crossref, OpenAlex, PubMed, Unpaywall, Grants.gov, NIH, NSF, USAspending, NPI Registry, FMCSA, public DNS, Apple Podcasts, OpenStreetMap, Wikimedia, public job-board feeds and companies' own websites. No logins, no paywalls, no LinkedIn scraping.
• Pay per result, capped: a few tenths of a cent per result; runs that find nothing are not charged per result; every MCP call has a hard USD spending cap.
• Agent-friendly output: JSON with a one-line summary or agentSummary per row and OK / CHECK / FIX status where it applies.
• Your token stays yours: the server runs on your machine and sends your APIFY_TOKEN only to api.apify.com, in a header. It is never logged or returned.

Tools

Each MCP tool runs one public Apify Actor and returns its results. Input fields, limits and defaults come from the Actor's own input schema and are validated before anything runs, so a bad input never costs money.

Every tool also accepts three optional run controls: run_max_items (results to return, default 50), run_max_charge_usd (spending cap for the call, default $0.50) and run_timeout_secs (default 120, max 300). While a run is in progress the server sends MCP progress notifications every few seconds, so clients that support them do not time out. Most tools answer in 5–15 seconds for a few inputs; local_business_leads and big crawls can take a minute or more, so give them run_timeout_secs: 300.

Also on Apify: the hosted Academic Research MCP Server ($0.01–$0.02 per call) and Website Change Monitor (publishing soon; it joins this server once it is public).

Free for everyone: the Hidden AI Instructions Scanner (publishing soon) checks web pages for hidden prompt injection aimed at AI agents, and Hidden AI Instructions Watch is our public, evidence-only log of what it finds.

Example prompts

• "Check these 12 references for fake or retracted papers and tell me which to fix."
• "Find 20 recent peer-reviewed papers on GLP-1 and heart failure with free PDFs, then format them in APA."
• "Which of these 30 SaaS companies are hiring sales leaders right now? Then find their VP-level contacts."
• "Audit the email security of acme.com and its three competitors, and list the fixes."
• "List dentists in Phoenix, AZ with a website and phone number."

Typical workflows

• Writing a paper: literature_search → citation_formatter → reference_checker before you submit.
• Systematic review: pubmed_evidence_table (evidence table + PRISMA counts) → reference_checker.
• Funding: grants_finder → literature_search on the topic.
• Federal contracting: federal_contract_finder (recompete radar + top incumbents) → grants_finder.
• Account prioritization: company_hiring_signals → company_website_enricher → email_domain_security_checker.
• Outbound to decision makers: company_hiring_signals → company_team_finder (names, titles, email pattern).
• Local prospecting: local_business_leads → ai_search_seo_audit on their websites.
• Trucking and logistics sales: trucking_company_leads → company_website_enricher.
• Market research: topic_trends_tracker → literature_search or podcast_leads_finder on rising topics.

Pricing

• You pay Apify per result, at the prices above, from your own Apify account. Apify Bronze, Silver and Gold plans get 10–30% off.
• Empty runs cost nothing per result. Apify adds a tiny platform start fee (about $0.00005 per run).
• run_max_items (default 50) also sets the Actor's own result limit on 15 of the 18 tools, so you only pay for the results you asked for. On grants_finder, pdf_table_extractor and company_team_finder (whose limits count sources, pages or companies), set those fields directly; the charge cap still applies.
• Every MCP call is capped by run_max_charge_usd (default $0.50, set your own default with PANDA_MAX_CHARGE_USD). Apify stops the run when the cap is reached.
• The MCP server itself is free and open source (MIT).

Configuration

Security and permissions

• Runs locally over stdio. It opens no ports and calls only https://api.apify.com.
• Token handling: read from the environment, sent only as an Authorization: Bearer header (never in a URL), redacted from every error message, and never logged or returned to the model.
• Least privilege: the token needs permission to run Actors. Apify supports scoped API tokens; a token limited to running these Actors is enough.
• Read-only tools: every tool only reads public data; none writes to your systems. Tools are marked readOnlyHint: true.
• Validated inputs: every call is checked against the Actor's JSON Schema (types, ranges, enums, no unknown fields) before it runs. Secret Actor inputs (such as optional third-party API keys) are deliberately not exposed to the model.
• Bounded cost and time: per-call spending cap, item cap and timeout. The server retries once only when Apify never started a run (rate limit or failed connection), so a retry can never charge you twice.
• Context-safe output: large results are trimmed to whole items (still valid JSON) for the model, with every item kept in structuredContent.
• Supply chain: pinned dependencies with a committed uv.lock, pip-audit and CodeQL in CI, Dependabot updates, and GitHub Actions pinned to commit SHAs.
• Found a vulnerability? See SECURITY.md.

Hosted options (no install)

• Academic Research MCP Server (Streamable HTTP): https://pandadad0214--panda-research-mcp.apify.actor/mcp with header Authorization: Bearer <your Apify token>. Four research tools (check_references, format_citations, search_literature, pubmed_evidence_table). This is the server listed in the official MCP Registry as io.github.pandadad0214/panda-research-mcp (server.json).
• Apify's MCP server: https://mcp.apify.com can call any of these Actors as pandadad0214/<slug>.
• Plain HTTP API:

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/pandadad0214~reference-checker/run-sync-get-dataset-items" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"dois": ["10.1038/nature14539"]}'

Agent skills (Agensi)

Ready-made skills that wrap these tools for AI agents are listed on the Panda Federation Agensi profile. Each skill runs the Apify tools above, so the usual pay-per-result prices apply on top of the skill price.

• Medical Writing Pack: evidence tables, ref checks and KOLs ($12)
• RFP Compliance Matrix + Incumbent Intel (free)
• GEO & SEO Site Audit ($4.99)
• Email Deliverability Audit: SPF/DKIM/DMARC in bulk (free)
• Citation Check: fake, miscited and retracted references (free)

Hire a human (Fiverr)

Prefer a person to run the tools and hand you finished files? Panda Federation also sells these as Fiverr gigs (seller pandafederation). Professional use only, not for coursework.

For developers

For AI agents and LLMs

• llms.txt: short index of every tool and when to use it (llms.txt convention).
• llms-full.txt: each tool's inputs, outputs and prices in one file.
• llms-install.md: step-by-step setup for AI coding agents such as Cline.
• Every result has a one-line summary field (summary on the citation, literature, PubMed, PDF, NPI and expert tools; agentSummary on the others), and every run saves a SUMMARY record with a takeaway and the suggested next tool.
• Start small (one or two inputs), read the summary line, then widen.

Build, test and contribute

git clone https://github.com/pandadad0214/panda-federation-tools && cd panda-federation-tools
uv sync                 # installs pinned dependencies from uv.lock
uv run pytest           # offline tests, no token or network needed
uv run ruff check . && uv run mypy
python scripts/build_catalog.py   # refresh tool schemas and prices from the Apify Store

Layout: src/panda_federation_tools/ (server, Apify client, bundled catalog.json), tests/, scripts/build_catalog.py, Dockerfile. See CONTRIBUTING.md and CHANGELOG.md.

Issues and requests

Open an issue here or on any tool's Apify Issues tab. We answer within a day.

Built by Panda Federation with AI assistance. MIT licensed.