Ebi Ols vs Candor
A side-by-side look at the Ebi Ols and Candor MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Ebi Ols for biology & bioinformatics work as a local process; choose Candor for biology & bioinformatics as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Ebi Ols when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Biology & Bioinformatics domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
list_ontologies, get_ontology, search.
Choose Candor when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Biology & Bioinformatics domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Biology & Bioinformatics | Biology & Bioinformatics |
| Quality signal | 59/100 · Good | 45/100 · Fair |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| 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 | 0 | 1 |
| Directory activity | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 6 | Not listed |
| Full listing | View Ebi Ols | View Candor |
Tools & capabilities
Ebi Ols tools 6
list_ontologiesEMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service (OLS4) — page through every biomedical ontology loaded into OLS, such as GO, EFO, MONDO, ChEBI, HPO and UBERON. Returns each ontology's id, title, description, term count, version and status, with size/page controls. Answers which biomedical ontologies are searchable here and what the short id for one is.get_ontologyOntology metadata by id (e.g. "efo", "mondo", "go").searchFull-text search across all ontologies (or one).get_termTerm details. Pass either iri, short_form, or obo_id (the latter two require ontology).term_ancestorsTransitive ancestors of a term.term_childrenDirect children of a term.
Candor tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
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.
Ebi Ols
{
"mcpServers": {
"ebi-ols": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-ebi-ols"
]
}
}
}
Candor
{
"mcpServers": {
"candor": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"candor-ts"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Ebi Ols is categorized under Biology & Bioinformatics and uses a local stdio subprocess. Candor belongs to Biology & Bioinformatics and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Ebi Ols for biology & bioinformatics work and Candor 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.
Ebi Ols has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Candor 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 ebi-ols and candor as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Ebi Ols has a quality signal of 59/100 (Good) with 2 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. Candor has 45/100 (Fair) with 2 views, 0 installs and 1 GitHub stars.