Candor vs Clarity MCP
A side-by-side look at the Candor and Clarity MCP MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Candor for biology & bioinformatics work as a local process; choose Clarity MCP for biology & bioinformatics over a hosted endpoint. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Candor when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Biology & Bioinformatics domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
Choose Clarity MCP when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Biology & Bioinformatics domain.
- You prefer a remote HTTP/SSE transport.
- You want tools like
check_ingredient, check_stack, find_alternatives.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Biology & Bioinformatics | Biology & Bioinformatics |
| Quality signal | 45/100 · Fair | 56/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Remote HTTP/SSE |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 1 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | Not listed | 9 |
| Full listing | View Candor | View Clarity MCP |
Tools & capabilities
Candor tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
Clarity MCP tools 9
check_ingredientLook up a cosmetic/food/supplement ingredient in Clarity's condition-aware database. Returns verdict, evidence tier (Gold/Silver/Bronze), and citation for a given condition lens. Pass `lenses` (array) instead of `lens` to check several conditions in ONE call (profile-shaped checking, e.g. a user who is pregnant AND has MCAS) — results then carry a per-lens breakdown under `lenses{}`. Every result includes human_url, a live Clarity page to hand the user as the source link.check_stackAudit a supplement/ingredient STACK in one call: per-item condition-lens verdicts (evidence-graded, cited where citations exist) PLUS every curated ingredient-to-ingredient interaction found WITHIN the stack (type, severity, mechanism, source). Use when a user takes multiple supplements together. Supports multi-lens via `lenses`. Absence of an interaction is NOT proof of safety — the curated set is growing. Every result includes human_url for the user.find_alternativesFind 2-3 safer swaps for a flagged product: same-category products that rate good/excellent on Clarity's general food/skincare quality score AND contain no ingredient flagged for the given condition lens. Seed by barcode (preferred — e.g. right after scan_barcode flags something) or product_name. Each alternative carries its score, ingredient-recognition coverage, and human_url. The score is a GENERAL quality score, not a condition verdict — verify a chosen alternative with scan_barcode or check_stack. Food and skincare only (supplement swaps are declined honestly for now).strain_lookupLook up a cannabis or mushroom species/strain in Clarity's database. Returns verdict, evidence tier, PMID citation, and safety flags.scan_barcodeLook up a product by barcode (Open Food Facts / Open Beauty Facts), match its ingredients against Clarity's database, return which ingredients are flagged for the given condition lens, AND flag any active FDA recall for the product (recall_flag + recalls[], sourced from FDA — verify via source_url). Anonymous calls are read-only: a local-mirror miss may query the public source but does not refresh Clarity's mirror or harvest tokens. An authenticated caller may opt into each bounded side effect with persist_mirror:true and harvest_crosswalk:true.validate_claimFact-check a free-text health/safety claim against Clarity's human-curated, evidence-graded database. Given a statement (e.g. 'fenugreek is safe while breastfeeding') and a condition lens, returns whether Clarity's curated position supports / contradicts / does-not-cover it, plus any verified citation on file. Anonymous calls never write the review queue. An authenticated caller may explicitly opt into a bounded, redacted review signal with review_consent:true. Do not include personal information. Descriptive — not medical advice.check_interactionCheck Clarity's curated ingredient-to-ingredient interaction database. Give one ingredient to list everything it interacts with (e.g. 'iron'), or two ingredients to check a specific pair (e.g. 'calcium' + 'iron'). Returns interaction_type, severity (Beneficial/Moderate/High), mechanism, clinical_note, source, and whether it affects lactation/infant/absorption. Queries both directions of the pair. Absence of a result is NOT proof of safety — the set is curated and growing. Descriptive with sources, not medical advice.score_productGet Clarity's product quality score by barcode. Returns category-specific scores (food: nutrition/additive/processing/organic; skincare: irritation/allergen/endocrine/condition; supplement: transparency/safety/label_quality/complexity — dose transparency penalizes proprietary blends, safety flags high-risk botanicals) — these are DISTINCT and never merged — plus per-lens fit with match coverage. Always includes data_quality/coverage so a score is never given without its confidence.check_recallCheck whether a consumer product or brand has an FDA/consumer recall on file — supplements, food, cosmetics (NOT medical devices). Query by `brand` (primary), optionally narrow by `product_name`. Returns recall_flag, whether any active Class I (most serious) recall exists, and each matching record with classification, reason, date, status, and a source_url to verify. Recall data has no barcode, so matches are brand/name text matches — confirm via source_url. For medical-DEVICE recalls, use the radar MCP (com.healthai/radar).
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.
Candor
{
"mcpServers": {
"candor": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"candor-ts"
]
}
}
}
Clarity MCP
{
"mcpServers": {
"thehealthai-clarity-mcp": {
"url": "https://mcp.healthai.com"
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Candor is categorized under Biology & Bioinformatics and uses a local stdio subprocess. Clarity MCP belongs to Biology & Bioinformatics and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. Pick Candor for biology & bioinformatics work and Clarity MCP 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.
Candor has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Clarity MCP 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 candor and thehealthai-clarity-mcp as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Candor has a quality signal of 45/100 (Fair) with 2 views, 0 installs and 1 GitHub stars. Clarity MCP has 56/100 (Good) with 2 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.