# witnessd [Health: Active]

**Category:** 💻 Developer Tools  
**Repository:** https://github.com/jschunter/witnessd-mcp  
**GitHub Stars:** 0  
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**Installs:** 0  
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**Directory Page:** https://allmcps.com/mcp/witnessd

## Description
Neutral third-party witness: independently fetch, hash, timestamp, archive any URL or API response.

## Tools
Capabilities this server exposes over MCP:

- **witness_url** — Independent fetch + hash + timestamp + archive of a URL right now; returns snapshot id + signed certificate
- **get_certificate** — Certificate for any snapshot id: manifest, Ed25519 signature, Merkle proof, Base anchor transaction
- **retrieve_snapshot** — The archived response body + certificate — works for any snapshot id, any payer (this is how third parties obtain evidence)

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

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

## Documentation & README

# witnessd-mcp

**MCP server for [witnessd](https://witnessd.vip) — a neutral third-party witness for the machine-readable web.**

Give your agent the ability to create tamper-evident evidence: witnessd independently fetches any public URL or API endpoint, hashes and timestamps the response, archives it, and issues a signed certificate. Snapshot hashes are Merkle-batched hourly and anchored on Base, so certificates verify forever — by anyone, without trusting the operator.

Use it before transacting with a counterparty ("witness their published price/terms"), before acting on third-party data ("witness what the API returned"), or whenever a dispute might later hinge on *what a URL said at a moment in time*.

## Tools

| Tool | Price | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| `witness_url` | $0.02 | Independent fetch + hash + timestamp + archive of a URL right now; returns snapshot id + signed certificate |
| `get_certificate` | free | Certificate for any snapshot id: manifest, Ed25519 signature, Merkle proof, Base anchor transaction |
| `retrieve_snapshot` | $0.05 | The archived response body + certificate — works for any snapshot id, any payer (this is how third parties obtain evidence) |

## Install

```bash
npx -y witnessd-mcp
```

Claude Desktop / Cursor config:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "witnessd": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "witnessd-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "EVM_PRIVATE_KEY": "0x…"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

## Payment — two options

Set **one** of these environment variables:

- `EVM_PRIVATE_KEY` — a wallet key holding USDC on Base. The server auto-pays each call via [x402](https://x402.org) (the buyer only signs; no ETH needed for gas). Use a small dedicated wallet, never your main one.
- `WITNESSD_API_KEY` — a prepaid credit key (buy a $1 pack via `POST https://witnessd.vip/api/credits`, x402-payable).

Optional: `WITNESSD_URL` to point at a different witnessd instance (default `https://witnessd.vip`).

## Verify without trusting us

Certificates are self-verifying: `leaf_hash = sha256(canonical-json(manifest))`, Ed25519-signed, Merkle-proven into an hourly batch root anchored on Base (calldata `0x` + `wtns1` + root). Standalone checker: [witnessd.vip/verify.js](https://witnessd.vip/verify.js).

## Privacy & scope

Certificates (hashes, timestamps, proofs) are public; archived content is delivered only to paying requesters and never republished. witnessd only witnesses what any stranger can see — no logins, no private networks, bodies ≤10 MB. Machine-readable service docs: [llms.txt](https://witnessd.vip/llms.txt) · [openapi.json](https://witnessd.vip/openapi.json) · [/.well-known/x402](https://witnessd.vip/.well-known/x402).

MIT license.