# pocketlantern

**Category:** 💻 Developer Tools  
**Repository:** https://github.com/pocketlantern/pocketlantern  
**Views:** 0  
**Installs:** 0  
**Upvotes:** 0  
**Directory Page:** https://allmcps.com/mcp/pocketlantern

## Description
Blocker-aware decision layer for AI agents — EOL dates, breaking changes, pricing shifts.

## Claude Desktop Quick Installation
Heuristic fallback — verify the package name and runner against the repository README before running it. Uses `npx` (confidence: low):

```json
"mcpServers": {
  "pocketlantern": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y","pocketlantern"]
  }
}
```

## Documentation & README

# PocketLantern

[![npm version](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/pocketlantern)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/pocketlantern)
[![npm downloads](https://img.shields.io/npm/dm/pocketlantern)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/pocketlantern)
[![CI](https://github.com/pocketlantern/pocketlantern/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/pocketlantern/pocketlantern/actions/workflows/ci.yml)
[![License: MIT](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-yellow.svg)](LICENSE)

**Your AI agent sounds confident. It missed the blockers.**

Prices shift, versions break, licenses change. PocketLantern is a blocker-aware decision layer for AI coding agents, grounded in source-linked, time-sensitive facts.

## Try these queries

Ask your AI agent after installing PocketLantern:

**"Which auth provider — Clerk, Auth0, or Cognito?"**

```
⚠️ Cognito password hashes are permanently non-exportable
⚠️ Auth0 password export requires support ticket — Free tier excluded
⚠️ Auth0 Rules/Hooks EOL 2026-11-18 — Actions not portable
✅ Clerk has the most flexible migration path
```

**"Should I upgrade to Next.js 16?"**

```
⚠️ Sync API access fully removed — all dynamic calls must be awaited
⚠️ Custom webpack config breaks next build
⚠️ next lint removed — switch to Biome or ESLint CLI
⚠️ Requires Node.js 20.9.0+, TypeScript 5.1.0+, React 19.0+
✅ Plan phased migration — codemod doesn't cover webpack or middleware
```

**"Can I use the OpenAI Realtime API?"**

```
⚠️ gpt-4o-realtime-preview removed 2026-05-07
⚠️ Beta interface (realtime=v1 header) removed same date
⚠️ GA event schema incompatible — 4 event renames
✅ Start on GA from day one — or plan dual-stack migration
```

Three questions. Three blocker types. Same AI, different facts.

![PocketLantern demo — Node.js 20→24 upgrade blockers surfaced in seconds](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pocketlantern/pocketlantern/HEAD/demo.gif)

## Quick start

**Prerequisites**: Node.js >= 22, an MCP client ([Claude Code](https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code), [Cursor](https://cursor.com), etc.)

```bash
npm install -g pocketlantern
```

### Claude Code

In your project directory:

```bash
cd your-project
pocketlantern init
```

`init` registers the MCP server in `~/.claude.json` and adds a one-line rule to your project's `CLAUDE.md`. Restart Claude Code (`Ctrl+C`, then run `claude` again), then ask your first query.

### Cursor / Windsurf / other MCP clients

Add to your MCP config (Cursor: `~/.cursor/mcp.json`):

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pocketlantern": {
      "command": "pocketlantern-mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

Then add this line to your project rules (`.cursorrules`, Kiro steering file, etc.):

```
For technology decisions, upgrades, migrations, or licensing questions: before finalizing your answer, check the PocketLantern MCP server's search_cards tool for blockers in these bundled decision cards — your training data may be stale.
```

Reload MCP servers: Cursor — `Cmd+Shift+P` -> "MCP: Restart Servers". Windsurf — restart the editor.

### More queries to try

4. **"How did Vercel pricing change with Fluid Compute?"**
   Billing split to Active CPU + Memory, shared-process concurrency breaks isolation

5. **"Prisma or Drizzle for Edge/serverless?"**
   Prisma v7 ESM + driver adapter breaking, Edge preview-only; Drizzle 0.30-1.0 also breaking

### Verify installation

```bash
pocketlantern doctor               # check installation status
pocketlantern search "auth pricing" # search cards from CLI
```

## How it works

PocketLantern is an MCP server. Your AI agent calls `search_cards` — and gets source-linked decision cards **plus source-linked blocker warnings** where available.

```
Agent asks question
  -> search_cards("clerk vs auth0 authentication")
  -> 3 cards + 5 blocker warnings (lock-in, EOL, export restrictions)
  -> Agent answers with source-linked constraints
```

Local cardset. Instant lookup. No vector database. No embeddings. Keyword search, card links, and source-linked blocker warnings where available. The value is in **source-linked decision cards**, not clever retrieval alone.

```
search_cards("auth", constraints:["serverless"]) -> cards + blockers
get_card("auth/clerk-vs-auth0-vs-cognito-2026")  -> full card with facts
get_related_cards(...)                           -> connected topics
```

## What's included

Blocker-aware decision cards across 27 categories — plus source-linked blocker warnings from the bundled graph index. Ships with the npm package, works immediately, no network, no account:

| Category   | What it covers                                           |
| ---------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| auth       | Vendor lock-in, migration pain, SSO, RBAC, passkeys      |
| frontend   | Next.js, React, Svelte, Vite, Angular upgrade blockers   |
| database   | Prisma, Drizzle, Postgres, Aurora, Neon, Supabase        |
| ai         | OpenAI API migrations, model pricing, batch vs streaming |
| serverless | Vercel, Cloudflare Workers, Lambda cost and runtime      |
| infra      | Hosting platforms, Terraform, Node.js LTS, Python EOL    |
| backend    | Supabase vs Firebase, Express, job queues, realtime sync |
| + 18 more  | deployment, devtools, testing, security, compliance, ... |

### What a card looks like

Each card is a structured YAML file with source-linked facts and official reference links:

```yaml
id: auth/clerk-vs-auth0-vs-cognito-2026
title: Clerk vs Auth0 vs Cognito Under Current Pricing and Feature Changes
problem: Select an auth vendor given recent pricing shifts, MAU economics, ...
constraints: [cost-sensitive, low-ops, enterprise, compliance, serverless]
candidates:
  - name: Clerk
    summary: "Pro starts at $20/mo, includes 50,000 MRUs per app..."
    when_to_use: "Choose for small-team + low-ops + cost-sensitive SaaS..."
    tradeoffs: "Best DX and fastest implementation..."
    cautions: "Be precise about org-member limits..."
    links:
      - https://clerk.com/pricing
      - https://clerk.com/docs/guides/organizations/configure
  - name: Auth0
    # ...
  - name: Amazon Cognito
    # ...
tags: [auth, clerk, auth0, pricing, passkeys, b2b, compliance]
related_cards: [auth/sso-for-b2b-saas, auth/rbac-vs-abac-vs-rebac]
updated: 2026-03-14
```

See [packages/schema/src/card.ts](https://github.com/pocketlantern/pocketlantern/blob/HEAD/packages/schema/src/card.ts) for the full schema definition.

## Project structure

```
pocketlantern/
  packages/schema/       <- Card schema (zod + TypeScript types)
  apps/mcp-server/       <- MCP server (search, retrieval, tool handlers)
  apps/cli/              <- CLI (validate, search, init, doctor)
  packages/knowledge/    <- Decision cards + graph index (data package)
  docs/                  <- User guides & roadmap
```

**Monorepo**: pnpm workspace. Build order: `schema -> knowledge (no build) -> mcp-server -> cli`.

## Development

```bash
pnpm build              # Build all packages
pnpm test               # Run tests (299 tests)
pnpm test:coverage      # Run with coverage report
pnpm lint               # ESLint
pnpm format:check       # Prettier check
```

Missing a topic? Request coverage in [Card Requests](https://github.com/pocketlantern/pocketlantern/discussions/categories/card-requests).

## Contributing

Contributions to the tool (schema, MCP server, CLI, search) are welcome. See [CONTRIBUTING.md](https://github.com/pocketlantern/pocketlantern/blob/HEAD/CONTRIBUTING.md) for guidelines.

## License

[MIT](https://github.com/pocketlantern/pocketlantern/blob/HEAD/LICENSE)