# firecrawl/firecrawl-mcp-server [Verified] [Health: Active]

**Category:** 🔎 Search & Data Extraction  
**Repository:** https://github.com/firecrawl/firecrawl-mcp-server  
**GitHub Stars:** 7425  
**npm Downloads (last month):** 320730  
**Views:** 5  
**Installs:** 0  
**Upvotes:** 0  
**Directory Page:** https://allmcps.com/mcp/firecrawl-firecrawl-mcp-server

## Description
Official Firecrawl server to search the web and scrape, crawl, map, and extract structured data from any site for LLMs. Handles JS-rendered pages, PDFs, and batch jobs; hosted remote MCP with OAuth or self-host.

## Tools
Capabilities this server exposes over MCP:

- **firecrawl_scrape** — 
Retrieve and extract content from one supplied URL through Firecrawl. Use this when the request identifies a page and needs its content or defined fields. It can return markdown, HTML, links, screenshots, branding data, a targeted answer, or JSON matching a supplied schema; JSON is useful when the requested result has defined fields, while markdown preserves readable page content.

This tool operates on a known page. For a set of pages use `firecrawl_crawl`, and to discover page URLs use `firecrawl_map` or `firecrawl_search`. Options include JavaScript render delay, cache age, main-content filtering, PII redaction, and lockdown cache-only retrieval. Browser actions may change the live page when interactive actions are enabled.

Firecrawl may reuse recently indexed content instead of refetching the page, and the reuse window varies by domain. Set `maxAge: 0` to force a live fetch, or a smaller `maxAge` to bound how stale reused content may be. A successful response does not by itself confirm that the state it describes is still current.

Returns the selected content formats and page metadata.

- **firecrawl_map** — 
Enumerate URLs indexed under one website through Firecrawl without fetching each page's content. Use this when the request asks for a site's URL inventory, when several relevant pages must be located, or when the desired page URL is unknown. An optional `search` term narrows the URL list, while sitemap, subdomain, query-parameter, and result-limit options control coverage.

Returns matching URLs rather than page bodies. Retrieve one page with `firecrawl_scrape`; collect content across multiple pages with `firecrawl_crawl`.

- **firecrawl_search** — 
Search web, news, or image sources and return ranked results. Operators include quoted phrases, `-term`, `site:host`, `inurl:term`, `intitle:term`, and `related:host`; the set is non-exhaustive. `includeDomains` and `excludeDomains` are mutually exclusive hostname filters; categories limit results to GitHub, research, PDF, or developer sources.

For a programming question, add `categories: ["developer"]`. It searches an index of GitHub issues, merged pull requests, repository READMEs, and curated documentation sites, and returns the hits in `data.developer` beside the web results.

`scrapeOptions` can attach extracted page content; pages fetched this way use a fixed reuse window and ignore `maxAge`, so use `firecrawl_scrape` when a live fetch is required. Returns source-type result groups and usage metadata. Authenticated responses can include an `id` for optional search feedback.

- **firecrawl_crawl** — 
Start a multi-page crawl at a website URL, poll it to a terminal state, and return the final status and collected data. Scope can be bounded with include/exclude paths, depth, page limit, subdomain/external-link controls, sitemap handling, delay, and scrape options.

Crawl results can be large; use conservative limits when full-site coverage is unnecessary. Webhooks and interactive scrape actions are unavailable in safe mode. Returns the crawl ID, status, and page data.

- **firecrawl_check_crawl_status** — 
Retrieve the current status, progress, and available results for an existing crawl ID. This only reads Firecrawl job state and does not start or modify the crawl.

- **firecrawl_extract** — 
Deprecated compatibility entry point. Use firecrawl_scrape once per known URL with formats: ["json"] and jsonOptions containing the prompt and schema. Use firecrawl_search or firecrawl_agent before Scrape when URLs are not known.

- **firecrawl_agent** — 
Start an asynchronous web research job from a prompt, optional seed URLs, and an optional JSON schema. Use this for a requested synthesis across multiple sources when the task can wait for asynchronous completion. The agent can search, navigate, read pages, and assemble a structured result.

This call returns only a job ID, not the research result. Read the job with `firecrawl_agent_status` until it reaches `completed` or `failed`; research commonly takes several minutes. If the job cannot finish within the task's available time, `firecrawl_search` and `firecrawl_scrape` can gather evidence synchronously.

- **firecrawl_agent_status** — 
Retrieve progress or final results for a `firecrawl_agent` job ID. A `processing` response is non-terminal and does not contain the final research result. Check again after 15–30 seconds until the status is `completed` or `failed`; complex jobs can take several minutes. If the job cannot finish within the task's available time, use `firecrawl_search` and `firecrawl_scrape` to complete the requested output.

Returns job status, progress information, and result data when completed.

- **firecrawl_interact** — 
Open or reuse a live browser session to navigate a page, click controls, fill fields, or run browser code. Provide either `url` or `scrapeId`, and either a natural-language `prompt` or executable `code`; code can run as Bash, Python, or Node with a bounded timeout.

This acts on the live site, so actions such as form submission can create persistent external side effects. Returns execution output, stdout/stderr, exit status, and session viewing URLs.

- **firecrawl_interact_stop** — 
Stop the live interact session associated with a `scrapeId` and release its resources. Returns a success confirmation.

- **firecrawl_parse** — 
Parse one supported document into markdown, HTML, links, summary, targeted answers, or JSON matching a schema. Supported inputs include common HTML, PDF, Word, RTF, OpenDocument, and spreadsheet files; PDF parsing can be bounded with `pdfOptions.maxPages`.

Local MCP reads `filePath` from the server filesystem. Hosted MCP uses two calls: first provide `filePath` to receive upload instructions, upload locally, then call again with the returned `uploadRef`; do not send both fields together. Remote web URLs belong in `firecrawl_scrape`.

Set `redactPII` to request redaction of personally identifiable information in the returned content. `zeroDataRetention` requires an eligible authenticated account; omit it for anonymous keyless use. Returns upload instructions for hosted phase one or parsed document content for the final call.

- **firecrawl_monitor_create** — 
Create a recurring scrape, crawl, or search monitor that compares each check with its retained predecessor. The simple form accepts `page`/`pages` or `queries` plus a plain-language `goal`; the advanced `body` form controls targets, schedule, change-tracking formats, judging, retention, webhook, and notifications.

In the simple form, a `goal` is required. If `queries` contains one or more non-empty values and is supplied with `page`/`pages`, `queries` create the search target and page targets are ignored. A monitor schedules future network checks and can send configured email or webhook notifications. Returns the created monitor.

- **firecrawl_monitor_list** — 
List monitors for the authenticated account with optional pagination controls. Returns one page of monitor records and pagination metadata.

- **firecrawl_monitor_get** — 
Retrieve one monitor by ID, including its configuration and current state. This does not run or modify the monitor.

- **firecrawl_monitor_update** — 
Patch an existing monitor by ID. The body can change its name, active/paused status, schedule, targets, goal, judging, webhook, notifications, or retention; these changes affect future scheduled checks.

Returns the updated monitor.

- **firecrawl_monitor_delete** — 
Permanently delete a monitor by ID and stop its future schedule. This operation cannot be undone and returns deletion status.

- **firecrawl_monitor_run** — 
Queue an immediate check for a monitor outside its normal schedule. This starts network work for the monitor's configured targets and returns the queued check.

- **firecrawl_monitor_checks** — 
List historical checks for a monitor, optionally filtered by status and bounded by a result limit. Returns one page of check summaries and pagination metadata.

- **firecrawl_monitor_check** — 
Retrieve one monitor check and its page-level results, optionally filtered by page status. Pages report `same`, `new`, `changed`, `removed`, or `error`; configured goal judging can add a meaningful-change decision.

Markdown tracking returns a unified text diff, JSON tracking returns field paths with previous/current values and a current snapshot, and mixed tracking returns both. Returns one page of results plus a `next` URL when more pages exist.

- **firecrawl_research_search_papers** — 
For topics represented in the indexed corpus, search paper metadata and abstracts with a natural-language query. Optional author, category, and date filters constrain results.

Returns ranked papers with canonical IDs, titles, authors, and abstracts.

- **firecrawl_research_inspect_paper** — 
Retrieve canonical metadata for one paper ID, such as an arXiv, PMC, PMID, or DOI identifier. Returns the title, abstract, authors, categories, source IDs, and dates as markdown.

- **firecrawl_research_related_papers** — 
Find citation-graph candidates from one to ten `seed_ids`; the first ID is the primary seed and later IDs are anchors. `mode` defaults to `similar` (co-citation/bibliographic coupling); `citers` returns papers citing a seed and `references` papers cited by a seed. `intent` ranks candidates.

Returns ranked candidates and the evaluated pool size.

- **firecrawl_research_read_paper** — 
Retrieve in-body passages from one paper that are relevant to a specific question. Full text is available only for indexed papers; `k` controls the number of passages.

Returns matching passages or a notice when full text is unavailable.

- **firecrawl_research_search_github** — 
Search indexed public GitHub issue, pull-request, and README content. Returns ranked matches with repository, URL, snippet, and full matched markdown when available.

- **firecrawl_developer_search** — 
For a developer question — code behaviour, a library or framework, an API contract, an error message, or a known bug — search an index built for coding agents. The index covers GitHub issues, merged pull requests, repository READMEs, and curated documentation sites. Set skills to "only" to limit the search to agent-skill files.

Returns ranked results with an ID, source type, URL, title, and the matched passages in markdown.


## Claude Desktop Quick Installation
Install path detected from listing signals. Uses `npx` (confidence: high):

```json
"mcpServers": {
  "firecrawl-mcp-server": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y","firecrawl-mcp"],
    "env": {
      "FIRECRAWL_API_KEY": ""
    }
  }
}
```

**Requires environment variables:** `FIRECRAWL_API_KEY` — the values above are empty placeholders; fill in real credentials before running (see the repository for what each one is for).

## Documentation

## What firecrawl/firecrawl-mcp-server MCP server does

The firecrawl/firecrawl-mcp-server MCP server gives MCP-compatible agents access to Firecrawl's web retrieval and automation functions. It can search general web, news, image, research, GitHub, and developer-oriented indexes; fetch a known URL; enumerate URLs within a site; and collect content from multiple pages. Scraping can return markdown, HTML, links, screenshots, branding information, targeted answers, or JSON shaped by a supplied schema.

The server also supports document parsing for PDFs, Word files, RTF, OpenDocument files, spreadsheets, and common HTML inputs. Research tools search paper metadata, inspect canonical paper records, find related papers, and retrieve relevant passages when indexed full text is available. For longer-running work, an asynchronous research agent can search, navigate, read pages, and assemble a structured response after its job is polled to completion.

## How it works

Known-page requests generally use `firecrawl_scrape`, while `firecrawl_search` discovers sources and `firecrawl_map` lists URLs without retrieving every page body. `firecrawl_crawl` starts a bounded multi-page job and `firecrawl_check_crawl_status` reads its progress and results. Crawl scope can be constrained by paths, depth, page count, sitemap behavior, subdomains, external links, and delays.

The server can reuse recently indexed content. A scrape therefore does not necessarily represent the page's current state; `maxAge: 0` requests a live fetch. Search-attached scraping follows a separate reuse behavior, so use the direct scrape tool when freshness matters. Live interaction uses a browser session to navigate, click, fill forms, or run bounded Bash, Python, or Node code. Such actions can change external systems, including through form submission.

## Setup and configuration

For local stdio execution, the documented package command is `npx -y firecrawl-mcp`. Cloud use normally requires `FIRECRAWL_API_KEY`; `FIRECRAWL_API_URL` can point to a self-hosted Firecrawl instance instead. A static OAuth access token can be supplied through `FIRECRAWL_OAUTH_TOKEN` for stdio operation. The project also documents local Streamable HTTP mode, enabled with `HTTP_STREAMABLE_SERVER=true`, at `http://localhost:3000/mcp`.

The hosted MCP endpoint is `https://mcp.firecrawl.dev/v2/mcp`. Its keyless free tier allows scrape, search, and parse with rate limits, while tools such as crawl, map, and agent require a key. OAuth clients can use the separate connection endpoint at `https://mcp.firecrawl.dev/v2/mcp-oauth`; API-key clients send a Bearer authorization header rather than putting the key in the URL.

## Tools and capabilities

The firecrawl/firecrawl-mcp-server MCP server includes tools for:

- Searching web, news, images, developer sources, GitHub content, and indexed research papers.
- Scraping known URLs and parsing uploaded or local documents into selected formats.
- Mapping site URLs and crawling bounded collections of pages.
- Running asynchronous research jobs and checking their status.
- Opening live browser sessions, performing interactions, and stopping those sessions.
- Creating, listing, updating, running, inspecting, and deleting recurring monitors.
- Comparing monitor checks with retained predecessors using markdown diffs, JSON field changes, or mixed tracking.
- Inspecting papers, finding related citation-graph candidates, and retrieving relevant paper passages.

## Limitations and notes

The deprecated `firecrawl_extract` entry point should be replaced with `firecrawl_scrape` using JSON output and schema options. Agent research is asynchronous and initially returns only a job ID; callers must poll its status, typically waiting 15–30 seconds between checks. Crawl responses can be large, so conservative page and depth limits are appropriate when full-site coverage is unnecessary.

Some hosted and authenticated features have different requirements. Zero-data-retention parsing requires an eligible authenticated account, and hosted document parsing uses a two-step upload flow. Safe mode does not support webhooks or interactive scrape actions. Monitor deletion is permanent, and live browser actions may produce persistent side effects.

_Full upstream README: https://allmcps.com/mcp/firecrawl-firecrawl-mcp-server/readme_