Webclaw vs Hpo Api
A side-by-side look at the Webclaw and Hpo Api MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Webclaw for search & data extraction work as a local process; choose Hpo Api for biology & bioinformatics as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Webclaw when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Search & Data Extraction domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You want tools like
scrape, select, screenshot.
Choose Hpo Api when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Biology & Bioinformatics domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
term, search, term_children.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search & Data Extraction | Biology & Bioinformatics |
| Quality signal | 69/100 · Great | 61/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | No auth required | Not declared |
| Pricing | Free | Not declared |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 2,386 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 13 views 2 installs 0 upvotes | 4 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 12 | 7 |
| Full listing | View Webclaw | View Hpo Api |
Tools & capabilities
Webclaw tools 12
scrapeExtract one URL as markdown, text, JSON, LLM format, or HTMLselectPick values or records from a page with CSS selectors or XPath, its data tables, elements found by text, or every element like an example, as JSONscreenshotCapture a page's viewport or the whole page as PNG or JPEG, print it to PDF, or save it as one MHTML filecrawlFollow same-origin links and extract discovered pages, most relevant first with a `querymapDiscover URLs from sitemaps, a short crawl and the Common Crawl index without extracting every pagebatchScrape multiple URLs in parallelextractConvert page content into structured datasummarizeSummarize a pagediffCompare page content snapshotsbrandExtract colors, fonts, logos, and metadatasearchSearch the web and scrape resultsresearchMulti-source research workflow
Hpo Api tools 7
term"What does HP:[N] mean" / "look up HPO phenotype [ID]" — fetch a single Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) term by ID. HPO is the standard ontology for clinical phenotypes used in rare-disease research. Returns label, definition, synonyms, cross-references. Example ID: HP:0001250 (Seizure).search"HPO term for [symptom]" / "phenotype code for [clinical sign]" / "find HPO IDs about [feature]" / "what's the HPO for seizures / autism / short stature" — text search the Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO). Returns ranked terms with HP: IDs. Use to map clinical descriptions to standard ontology terms for rare-disease workups, genomics, or clinical phenotype databases.term_children"More specific HPO phenotypes under [HP:N]" / "child terms of [phenotype]" — direct children of an HPO term in the ontology graph. Use to narrow from a general phenotype (e.g. "Abnormality of the nervous system") to specifics (seizures, ataxia, etc).term_parents"What broader phenotype is [HP:N] under" / "parent term of [HPO ID]" — direct parents of an HPO term in the ontology graph. Use to walk up to a more general phenotype class.term_descendants"All phenotypes under [HP:N]" / "full subtree of [HPO term]" — transitive descendants (children, grandchildren, …) of an HPO term. Use for exhaustive coverage (e.g. "every cardiac phenotype" via descendants of HP:0001626).gene_diseases"What diseases is gene [NCBIGene:N] associated with" / "diseases linked to gene [X]" / "TP53 disease associations" — fetch diseases associated with a gene ID (NCBIGene:N format). Use for gene-to-disease lookups in rare-disease research, variant prioritization. Example ID: NCBIGene:7157 (TP53).disease_phenotypes"What symptoms / clinical features does [disease] cause" / "HPO phenotypes for [OMIM N]" / "clinical signs of [rare disease]" — list HPO phenotype terms for a disease ID (OMIM:N, ORPHA:N, or MONDO:N format). Use to enumerate clinical features of rare diseases. Example ID: OMIM:154700 (Marfan syndrome).
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Webclaw
{
"mcpServers": {
"0xmassi-webclaw": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"create-webclaw"
]
}
}
}
Hpo Api
{
"mcpServers": {
"hpo-api": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-hpo-api"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Webclaw is categorized under Search & Data Extraction and uses a local stdio subprocess. Hpo Api belongs to Biology & Bioinformatics and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Webclaw for search & data extraction work and Hpo Api for biology & bioinformatics.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Webclaw is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. Hpo Api has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add 0xmassi-webclaw and hpo-api as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Webclaw has a quality signal of 69/100 (Great) with 13 views, 2 installs and 2,386 GitHub stars. Hpo Api has 61/100 (Good) with 4 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.