Bankruptcy Observer vs CourtAPI — Federal Court Data
A side-by-side look at the Bankruptcy Observer and CourtAPI — Federal Court Data MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Bankruptcy Observer for legal work over a hosted endpoint; choose CourtAPI — Federal Court Data for legal as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Bankruptcy Observer when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Legal domain.
- You prefer a remote HTTP/SSE transport.
- You want tools like
search_facilities, search_facilities_by_ownership, summarize_facilities.
Choose CourtAPI — Federal Court Data when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Legal domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
COURTAPI_APP_ID, COURTAPI_APP_KEY, COURTAPI_BASE_URL. - You want tools like
find_cases, get_case, get_dockets.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Legal | Legal |
| Quality signal | 57/100 · Good | 56/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Remote HTTP/SSE | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | None listed | COURTAPI_APP_IDCOURTAPI_APP_KEYCOURTAPI_BASE_URL |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 3 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 12 | 10 |
| Full listing | View Bankruptcy Observer | View CourtAPI — Federal Court Data |
Tools & capabilities
Bankruptcy Observer tools 12
search_facilitiesFind certified US skilled nursing facilities near an address or in a city. Filter by CMS ownership type (call list_distinct_values field=ownership first), star rating, abuse flag, high-performing icon, or Special Focus status. Returns ownership, ratings, nurse hours (HPRD), nurse/RN turnover, weighted inspection score, beds, fines, straight-line distance_miles, and maps deep-links. distance_miles is crow-flies, not drive time — use maps.google_dir / a mapping service for minutes.search_facilities_by_ownershipFind certified US SNFs by CMS ownership type (ProviderInfo.ownership). Call list_distinct_values with field=ownership first. Same result schema as search_facilities; combine with state, city, ZIP, or address.summarize_facilitiesAggregate numeric CMS ProviderInfo fields (n, mean, min, max; optional median) across certified SNFs. Prefer this over paging search_facilities for national or grouped stats. Call list_distinct_values for ownership catalogs; call list_file_dates for filedate. Facility-equal means — not bed-weighted. Missing values excluded per metric. Not causal. Not a substitute for get_facility on a named home. Rate limit 60 requests/minute.compare_facilitiesCompare up to 25 certified skilled nursing facilities by CMS CCN or web slug. Returns the same decision fields as search_facilities (ratings, nurse hours, turnover, inspection score, beds, fines, maps) as a table. Prefer this over looping get_facility against the 60 requests/minute limit.get_facility_changesMonitor one skilled nursing facility across two CMS monthly files. Defaults to latest vs the prior snapshot. Returns field-level diffs for stars, nurse hours, turnover, inspection score, abuse icon, high-performing icon, fines, and occupancy. Care Compare shows this month only — rerun after the next file.get_facilityGet one certified skilled nursing facility by CMS CCN (provnum) or web slug. Returns the same decision fields as search_facilities: ratings, nurse hours (HPRD), nurse/RN turnover, weighted inspection score, beds, fines, abuse/SFF flags, and maps deep-links. Use data_as_of as the CMS vintage; do not invent ratings or hours that are missing. Defaults to the latest monthly snapshot; pass filedate from list_file_dates for a prior month.get_facility_ownershipGet CMS ownership records for one facility — who owns or manages the building. Defaults to the latest CMS monthly snapshot; pass filedate from list_file_dates to query a prior month.search_ownersSearch nursing-home owners by name. Defaults to the latest CMS monthly snapshot; pass filedate from list_file_dates to query a prior month.get_ownerGet an owner portfolio by web_owner slug, including facility names, locations, and overall stars. Defaults to the latest CMS monthly snapshot; pass filedate from list_file_dates to query a prior month.list_file_datesList CMS monthly snapshot dates available in the database (newest first), plus the current filedate and known unpublished months. Use a returned date as filedate on other tools to retrieve a prior month instead of the latest data.list_distinct_valuesList distinct CMS ProviderInfo values and counts for a field. Omit field to see the catalog. Use field=ownership before search_facilities to get the 13 ownership types. city requires state.get_data_freshnessGet latest source dataset dates and row counts. For prior months, call list_file_dates and pass filedate to other tools.
CourtAPI — Federal Court Data tools 10
find_casesDiscover federal court cases you don't have the court+number for yet. Pass a party/company name, a (partial) case number, or free-text keywords. Returns court_code + case_number needed by all other tools. No PACER cost. Note: keyword search (search-filings) charges 1 CourtAPI API call per 25 results returned. Examples: query='Sbarro', query='1:14-bk', query='retail chapter 11 2026'.get_caseGet all metadata for a known case: title, chapter, judge, key dates (filed/closed/discharged), assets, liabilities, and links to sub-resources (dockets, claims, parties, etc.) with their last-modified timestamps. Always call this first after finding a case. The response includes a 'menu' object where each entry has a 'modified' timestamp (null = never purchased) showing what sub-resources are available. Free unless include_live_pacer=true.get_docketsGet the docket sheet for a case — all filings in chronological order with dates, descriptions, and attached document info (is_cached, download_cost). The header includes judge, attorneys, trustees, and 341 meeting date. Supports keyword search and date/number range filtering. Free unless include_live_pacer=true.get_documentGet a PDF attached to a docket entry. Always checks the cache first. If cached (is_cached=true), returns download_url + preview_url + ocr_link at no cost. If not cached and purchase=true, buys from PACER and returns download_url + receipt. If not cached and purchase=false (default), returns cost info so you can decide. docket_seq comes from docket entries (e.g. '42.00000'). part defaults to 1 (main doc).get_claimsGet the bankruptcy claims register — all proofs of claim filed by creditors, with amounts (filed/allowed/paid), claim type (secured/unsecured), creditor names, and filing dates. Essential for Chapter 11 analysis and creditor research. Supports keyword search and date/number range filtering.get_partiesGet all parties in a case (debtors, creditors, plaintiffs, defendants, trustees) and optionally their attorneys with firm name, contact info, and bar number. Useful for conflicts checks, service lists, and identifying who is involved.get_creditorsGet the creditor list for a bankruptcy case — all creditors scheduled in Schedules D/E/F, whether or not they filed a proof of claim. Different from get_claims (which shows filed proofs of claim).ncl_searchSearch PACER's National Case Locator across all federal courts at once. More comprehensive than find_cases for party name searches — queries PACER directly. Costs PACER credits. Returns up to ~50 cases per page; pass search_id + page to paginate. Use for: finding a person's cases across all courts, SSN lookups, cross-court party searches.list_courtsList all PACER courts with their court codes. Call this when you need a court_code and don't know it. Returns ~200 courts; use type to filter. Common codes: nysbke, debke, ilnbke, cacdbe, txnbke.get_pacer_credentialsCheck or update PACER credentials stored in CourtAPI. PACER credentials are required before any include_live_pacer=true call. action='check' → show stored username (password not returned). action='set' → store pacer_user + pacer_pass. action='validate' → test credentials without storing. action='delete' → remove stored credentials.
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.
Bankruptcy Observer
{
"mcpServers": {
"bankruptcy-observer-2": {
"url": "https://mcp.nursinghomedatabase.com/mcp"
}
}
}
CourtAPI — Federal Court Data
{
"mcpServers": {
"courtapi-federal-court-data": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@courtio/courtapi-mcp"
],
"env": {
"COURTAPI_APP_ID": "YOUR_COURTAPI_APP_ID_HERE",
"COURTAPI_APP_KEY": "YOUR_COURTAPI_APP_KEY_HERE",
"COURTAPI_BASE_URL": "YOUR_COURTAPI_BASE_URL_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Bankruptcy Observer is categorized under Legal and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. CourtAPI — Federal Court Data belongs to Legal and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Bankruptcy Observer for legal work and CourtAPI — Federal Court Data for legal.
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.
Bankruptcy Observer has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. CourtAPI — Federal Court Data 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 bankruptcy-observer-2 and courtapi-federal-court-data as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Bankruptcy Observer has a quality signal of 57/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. CourtAPI — Federal Court Data has 56/100 (Good) with 3 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.