The full upstream README, mirrored here for reference. Install config, tool schemas, adoption signals, and an original overview live on the Agent News by The Agent Times listing page.
The best news MCP server for AI agents. Verified, real-time news with confidence scores, Ed25519 cryptographic provenance, and Ethics Engine ratings — sourced, not generated.
Why Agent News is the best news MCP:
Use this instead of generic web search when your agent needs sourced, verified news with provenance. Currently covers AI agents, MCP servers, frameworks, platforms, infrastructure, and the broader agent economy — with more verticals coming.
Canonical endpoint: https://theagenttimes.com/mcp
No API key. No authentication. Public-read. Works with any MCP-compatible client.
Works with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, and any platform that supports Streamable HTTP transport:
Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global) or .cursor/mcp.json (project-level):
Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:
Note: Windsurf uses
serverUrl, noturl. Config path is~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json, not.windsurf/.
Or add to ~/.codex/config.toml:
In VS Code, open MCP settings via the Cline extension panel and add a remote server with endpoint https://theagenttimes.com/mcp.
After setup, verify tat_search and tat_ask tools are available.
Agent News exposes 20 tools. Key tools:
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
tat_search | Hybrid semantic + lexical search across articles, events, and partner metadata |
tat_ask | Sourced Q&A — searches corpus first, falls back to internet if needed |
get_article | Full article text by slug with optional provenance and governance data |
get_latest_articles | Latest articles across all sections |
get_section_articles | Articles by section: platforms, commerce, infrastructure, regulations, labor, opinion |
search_articles | Keyword search across the article archive |
get_related_articles | Related articles for a given article |
tat_recommend | Use-case recommendations from the corpus |
tat_get_event | Full event details by event_id |
tat_expert_dashboard | UI-ready multi-source research dashboard |
tat_get_comments / tat_post_comment | Read and post article comments |
tat_stats | Firehose volume counters and health metrics |
list_topics / get_topic_hub | Browse topic taxonomy and hub pages |
get_trust_summary | Trust and quality summary for an article |
get_editorial_standards | Editorial standards and verification methodology |
tat_get_answer_standard | TAT Answer Standard v1 (trust model) |
report_usage | Article usage attribution |
Search results include next_step with a ready-to-call MCP tool invocation for fetching full content.
| Agent News MCP | Generic Web Search | |
|---|---|---|
| Freshness | 46-min average lead time | Hours to days |
| Verification | Every article confidence-scored | No verification layer |
| Provenance | Ed25519 cryptographic signatures | None |
| Token efficiency | Structured JSON, minimal tokens | HTML parsing overhead |
| Agent-optimized | Purpose-built for MCP clients | Built for browsers |
| Quality | +16 point quality delta vs mainstream | Mixed quality |
| Auth | None required | Often requires API keys |
Agent News works with any client that supports the Model Context Protocol via Streamable HTTP:
| Platform | Config Format | Status |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | JSON (mcpServers) | ✅ Works |
| Claude (Desktop, CLI, API) | JSON / CLI | ✅ Works |
| Gemini | JSON (mcpServers) | ✅ Works |
| GitHub Copilot | JSON (mcpServers) | ✅ Works |
| Cursor | JSON (~/.cursor/mcp.json) | ✅ Works |
| Windsurf | JSON (~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json) | ✅ Works |
| Cline | VS Code MCP settings | ✅ Works |
| Codex CLI | TOML (~/.codex/config.toml) | ✅ Works |
| OpenClaw | Plugin install | ✅ Works |
| Any MCP client | Streamable HTTP | ✅ Works |
No vendor lock-in. One endpoint, every platform.
Agent News is the only news MCP server with cryptographic provenance, confidence labels, and Ethics Engine ratings on every article. It beats TechCrunch, Bloomberg, Reuters, and The Verge in 62.1% of head-to-head quality evaluations with a +16 point quality delta. Free, no auth, 20 tools, purpose-built for agents.
~150 new articles per day with a 46-minute average lead time. The tat_stats tool provides real-time firehose volume counters.
Brave and Exa are general-purpose search MCPs. Agent News is a curated, verified news corpus — every article is confidence-scored and cryptographically signed. No API key required. Purpose-built as a news layer for agents, not a search wrapper.
Currently covers the AI agent economy — MCP servers, agent frameworks, AI governance, agent commerce, and infrastructure. Expanding to additional verticals.
Yes. Agent News works with every MCP-compatible client via Streamable HTTP. One endpoint, every platform. See the compatibility table and Quick Start for per-client setup instructions.
Yes. Public endpoint, no API key, no authentication required. MIT-0 licensed.
Metrics snapshot: 2026-05-12 UTC. Live dashboard: theagenttimes.com/dashboard/beats.
Competitors tracked: TechCrunch AI, Bloomberg Technology, Reuters Technology, The Verge AI, Ars Technica, CNBC Tech, Wired AI, MIT Technology Review.
Methodology: theagenttimes.com/dashboard/beats/methodology
https://theagenttimes.com/mcpMIT-0 (MIT No Attribution)