Ban Fr vs Postcodes
A side-by-side look at the Ban Fr and Postcodes MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Ban Fr for location services work as a local process; choose Postcodes for location services as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Ban Fr when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Location Services domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You want tools like
geocode, reverse_geocode, search_municipality.
Choose Postcodes when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Location Services domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
lookup_postcode, nearest_postcodes, validate_postcode.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Location Services | Location Services |
| Quality signal | 60/100 · Good | 53/100 · 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 | 0 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 3 | 4 |
| Full listing | View Ban Fr | View Postcodes |
Tools & capabilities
Ban Fr tools 3
geocodeForward-geocode a French address, street, locality or commune. Returns scored GeoJSON matches (score 0-1) with label, coordinates, postcode, citycode (INSEE) and context. France only.reverse_geocodeReverse-geocode a coordinate to the nearest French address/feature. Returns scored GeoJSON matches with label, postcode, citycode (INSEE), context and distance (metres). France only.search_municipalityLook up a French commune (municipality) by name to resolve its INSEE citycode, postcode, population and centre coordinates. Shortcut for geocode with type=municipality.
Postcodes tools 4
lookup_postcodeGet geographic details for a UK postcode (e.g., 'SW1A 1AA'). Returns coordinates, region, district, ward, and constituency.nearest_postcodesFind nearby UK postcodes sorted by distance from a given postcode (e.g., 'SW1A 1AA'). Returns list with coordinates.validate_postcodeValidate a UK postcode format (e.g., 'SW1A 1AA'). Returns whether it's valid and format details.random_postcodeGet a random valid UK postcode with full geographic details. Returns coordinates, region, district, ward, and constituency.
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.
Ban Fr
{
"mcpServers": {
"ban-fr": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-ban-fr"
]
}
}
}
Postcodes
{
"mcpServers": {
"postcodes": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-postcodes"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Ban Fr is categorized under Location Services and uses a local stdio subprocess. Postcodes belongs to Location Services and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Ban Fr for location services work and Postcodes for location services.
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.
Ban Fr is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. Postcodes 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 ban-fr and postcodes as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Ban Fr has a quality signal of 60/100 (Good) with 2 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. Postcodes has 53/100 (Good) with 1 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.