A side-by-side look at the Agentfetch MCP and Firecrawl MCP Server MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Agentfetch MCP for search & data extraction work as a local process; choose Firecrawl MCP Server for search & data extraction as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one block.
mcpServersJINA_API_KEY, FIRECRAWL_API_KEY, REDIS_URL, CACHE_TTL_SECONDS.fetch_url, estimate_tokens, fetch_multiple.FIRECRAWL_API_KEY.firecrawl_scrape, firecrawl_map, firecrawl_search.Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search & Data Extraction | Search & Data Extraction |
| Quality signal | 57/100 · Good | 90/100 · Excellent |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | API key required | API key required |
| Pricing | Free | Freemium |
| Required env vars | JINA_API_KEYFIRECRAWL_API_KEYREDIS_URLCACHE_TTL_SECONDS | FIRECRAWL_API_KEY |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Verified |
| GitHub stars | 3 | 7,603 |
| Directory activity | 4 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 10 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 4 | 25 |
| Full listing | View Agentfetch MCP | View Firecrawl MCP Server |
fetch_urlFetch any URL and return clean, LLM-ready Markdown with token count, metadata, and 6h caching.
WHEN TO USE:
- You have a specific URL whose content you need.
- You want to cap response size to stay inside your context window.
- You want repeat fetches to be cheap (cache hits ≈ $0.0001).
- The URL might be JS-rendered, a PDF, or behind a paywall — this tool
auto-routes to the right fetcher (Trafilatura → Jina → FireCrawl → PDF).
WHEN NOT TO USE:
- You don't know which URL to fetch — use search_and_fetch instead.
- You have many URLs to fetch — use fetch_multiple instead.
Args:
url: The URL to fetch.
max_tokens: Hard cap on response size. Default unlimited. Pass this
if you're tight on context budget — cheaper than over-fetching.
format: "markdown" (default — recommended), "text", or "json".
use_cache: True returns a cached copy if one exists (≤6h old).
Pass False only when freshness matters (live news, prices).
Returns:
{
"url": str, "success": bool, "markdown": str,
"metadata": {title, author, published_date, domain, word_count,
token_count, reading_time_seconds, content_type, language},
"cache": {hit, cached_at, expires_at},
"fetch_info": {fetcher_used, fetch_time_ms, cost_credits},
"error": str | None
}
estimate_tokensEstimate token count of a URL's content WITHOUT fetching the body.
WHEN TO USE:
- You're considering fetching a URL but unsure if it fits your remaining
context window. This call is ~10x cheaper than a full fetch.
- You want to triage a list of candidate URLs before deciding which to
actually retrieve.
IMPORTANT: Many servers omit Content-Length on dynamic / chunked
responses. When that happens, this tool returns confident=false and
estimated_tokens=null. In that case, call fetch_url with a max_tokens
cap instead of trusting the estimate.
Args:
url: The URL to estimate.
Returns:
{
"url": str, "success": bool,
"estimated_tokens": int | null,
"byte_size": int | null,
"content_type": str,
"confident": bool,
"note": str
}
fetch_multipleFetch up to 20 URLs concurrently. Each result is the same shape as fetch_url.
WHEN TO USE:
- You have a list of URLs (search results, links from a doc, sitemap)
and want them retrieved in parallel rather than one at a time.
Args:
urls: 1–20 URLs. Larger batches: split into multiple calls.
max_tokens_each: Per-result cap. Apply this to keep total response
inside your context budget — total ≈ len(urls) * max_tokens_each.
use_cache: True for cache-aware fetching (default).
Returns:
{"count": int, "results": [<fetch_url shape>, ...]}
search_and_fetchWeb search + fetch top results in one call.
WHEN TO USE:
- You have a research question, not specific URLs. E.g. "what's the
latest on X", "find docs for Y library", "recent news about Z".
- You'd otherwise have to call a search tool, parse results, then call
fetch — this collapses that into one round-trip.
Args:
query: Search query (2–500 chars).
num_results: Top N to fetch (1–10, default 3).
max_tokens_each: Per-result cap (default 2000).
Returns:
{"query": str, "count": int, "results": [<fetch_url shape>, ...]}
firecrawl_scrape
Retrieve and extract content from one supplied URL through Firecrawl. Use this when the request identifies a page and needs its content or defined fields. It can return markdown, HTML, links, screenshots, branding data, a targeted answer, or JSON matching a supplied schema; JSON is useful when the requested result has defined fields, while markdown preserves readable page content.
This tool operates on a known page. For a set of pages use `firecrawl_crawl`, and to discover page URLs use `firecrawl_map` or `firecrawl_search`. Options include JavaScript render delay, cache age, main-content filtering, PII redaction, and lockdown cache-only retrieval. Browser actions may change the live page when interactive actions are enabled.
Firecrawl may reuse recently indexed content instead of refetching the page, and the reuse window varies by domain. Set `maxAge: 0` to force a live fetch, or a smaller `maxAge` to bound how stale reused content may be. A successful response does not by itself confirm that the state it describes is still current.
Returns the selected content formats and page metadata.
firecrawl_map
Enumerate URLs indexed under one website through Firecrawl without fetching each page's content. Use this when the request asks for a site's URL inventory, when several relevant pages must be located, or when the desired page URL is unknown. An optional `search` term narrows the URL list, while sitemap, subdomain, query-parameter, and result-limit options control coverage.
Returns matching URLs rather than page bodies. Retrieve one page with `firecrawl_scrape`; collect content across multiple pages with `firecrawl_crawl`.
firecrawl_search
Search web, news, or image sources and return ranked results. Operators include quoted phrases, `-term`, `site:host`, `inurl:term`, `intitle:term`, and `related:host`; the set is non-exhaustive. `includeDomains` and `excludeDomains` are mutually exclusive hostname filters; categories limit results to GitHub, research, PDF, or developer sources.
For a programming question, add `categories: ["developer"]`. It searches an index of GitHub issues, merged pull requests, repository READMEs, and curated documentation sites, and returns the hits in `data.developer` beside the web results.
`categories: ["research"]` restricts these web results to research-affiliated websites and returns page snippets. The `firecrawl_research_*` tools are a separate surface that searches paper abstracts and full text across biomedical (PubMed, bioRxiv, medRxiv) and arXiv literature.
`scrapeOptions` can attach extracted page content; pages fetched this way use a fixed reuse window and ignore `maxAge`, so use `firecrawl_scrape` when a live fetch is required. Returns source-type result groups and usage metadata. Authenticated responses can include an `id` for optional search feedback.
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.
{
"mcpServers": {
"bch1212-agentfetch-mcp": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"agentfetch-mcp"
],
"env": {
"JINA_API_KEY": "YOUR_JINA_API_KEY_HERE",
"FIRECRAWL_API_KEY": "YOUR_FIRECRAWL_API_KEY_HERE",
"REDIS_URL": "YOUR_REDIS_URL_HERE",
"CACHE_TTL_SECONDS": "YOUR_CACHE_TTL_SECONDS_HERE"
}
}
}
}
{
"mcpServers": {
"firecrawl-firecrawl-mcp-server": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"firecrawl-mcp"
],
"env": {
"FIRECRAWL_API_KEY": "YOUR_FIRECRAWL_API_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
firecrawl_crawl
Start a multi-page crawl at a website URL, poll it to a terminal state, and return the final status and collected data. Scope can be bounded with include/exclude paths, depth, page limit, subdomain/external-link controls, sitemap handling, delay, and scrape options.
Crawl results can be large; use conservative limits when full-site coverage is unnecessary. Webhooks and interactive scrape actions are unavailable in safe mode. Returns the crawl ID, status, and page data.
firecrawl_check_crawl_status
Retrieve the current status, progress, and available results for an existing crawl ID. This only reads Firecrawl job state and does not start or modify the crawl.
firecrawl_extract
Deprecated compatibility entry point. Use firecrawl_scrape once per known URL with formats: ["json"] and jsonOptions containing the prompt and schema. Use firecrawl_search or firecrawl_agent before Scrape when URLs are not known.
firecrawl_agent
Start an asynchronous web research job from a prompt, optional seed URLs, and an optional JSON schema. Use this for a requested synthesis across multiple sources when the task can wait for asynchronous completion. The agent can search, navigate, read pages, and assemble a structured result.
This call returns only a job ID, not the research result. Read the job with `firecrawl_agent_status` until it reaches `completed` or `failed`; research commonly takes several minutes. If the job cannot finish within the task's available time, `firecrawl_search` and `firecrawl_scrape` can gather evidence synchronously.
firecrawl_agent_status
Retrieve progress or final results for a `firecrawl_agent` job ID. A `processing` response is non-terminal and does not contain the final research result. Check again after 15–30 seconds until the status is `completed` or `failed`; complex jobs can take several minutes. If the job cannot finish within the task's available time, use `firecrawl_search` and `firecrawl_scrape` to complete the requested output.
Returns job status, progress information, and result data when completed.
firecrawl_interact
Open or reuse a live browser session to navigate a page, click controls, fill fields, or run browser code. Provide either `url` or `scrapeId`, and either a natural-language `prompt` or executable `code`; code can run as Bash, Python, or Node with a bounded timeout.
This acts on the live site, so actions such as form submission can create persistent external side effects. Returns execution output, stdout/stderr, exit status, and session viewing URLs.
firecrawl_interact_stop
Stop the live interact session associated with a `scrapeId` and release its resources. Returns a success confirmation.
firecrawl_parse
Parse one supported document into markdown, HTML, links, summary, targeted answers, or JSON matching a schema. Supported inputs include common HTML, PDF, Word, RTF, OpenDocument, and spreadsheet files; PDF parsing can be bounded with `pdfOptions.maxPages`.
Local MCP reads `filePath` from the server filesystem. Hosted MCP uses two calls: first provide `filePath` to receive upload instructions, upload locally, then call again with the returned `uploadRef`; do not send both fields together. Remote web URLs belong in `firecrawl_scrape`.
Set `redactPII` to request redaction of personally identifiable information in the returned content. `zeroDataRetention` requires an eligible authenticated account; omit it for anonymous keyless use. Returns upload instructions for hosted phase one or parsed document content for the final call.
firecrawl_monitor_create
Create a recurring scrape, crawl, or search monitor that compares each check with its retained predecessor. The simple form accepts `page`/`pages` or `queries` plus a plain-language `goal`; the advanced `body` form controls targets, schedule, change-tracking formats, judging, retention, webhook, and notifications.
In the simple form, a `goal` is required. If `queries` contains one or more non-empty values and is supplied with `page`/`pages`, `queries` create the search target and page targets are ignored. A monitor schedules future network checks and can send configured email or webhook notifications. Returns the created monitor.