Openclaw MCP vs IAF Agent Bridge
A side-by-side look at the Openclaw MCP and IAF Agent Bridge MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Openclaw MCP for coding agents work as a local process; choose IAF Agent Bridge for coding agents as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Openclaw MCP when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Coding Agents domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: API key required.
- You have the keys it needs:
OPENCLAW_URL, OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN, OPENCLAW_AGENT_ID, OPENCLAW_MODEL, OPENCLAW_TIMEOUT_MS, AUTH_ENABLED, MCP_CLIENT_ID, MCP_CLIENT_SECRET. - You want tools like
openclaw_chat, openclaw_status, openclaw_chat_async.
Choose IAF Agent Bridge when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Coding Agents domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
delegate, cancel, doctor.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Coding Agents | Coding Agents |
| Quality signal | 68/100 · Great | 60/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | API key required | Not declared |
| Pricing | Free | Not declared |
| Required env vars | OPENCLAW_URLOPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKENOPENCLAW_AGENT_IDOPENCLAW_MODELOPENCLAW_TIMEOUT_MSAUTH_ENABLEDMCP_CLIENT_IDMCP_CLIENT_SECRET | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 188 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 8 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 7 | 3 |
| Full listing | View Openclaw MCP | View IAF Agent Bridge |
Tools & capabilities
Openclaw MCP tools 7
openclaw_chatSend a message to OpenClaw and get a responseopenclaw_statusGet OpenClaw gateway status and health informationopenclaw_chat_asyncSend a message to OpenClaw asynchronously. Returns a task_id immediately that can be polled for results. Use this for potentially long-running conversations.openclaw_task_statusCheck the status of an async task. Returns status, and result if completed.openclaw_task_listList all tasks. Optionally filter by status, session, or instance.openclaw_task_cancelCancel a pending task. Only works for tasks that haven't started yet.openclaw_instancesList all configured OpenClaw instances. Shows instance names, URLs, and which is the default. Use instance names in other tools to target a specific OpenClaw gateway.
IAF Agent Bridge tools 3
delegateSend a prompt to Cursor Agent and wait until that Cursor turn is terminal, including tool work and any sub-agent follow-up Cursor performs before it stops. Returns Cursor's reply and the sessionId to reuse. A second call for a session that is still running is rejected. You decide CONTINUE, COMPLETE, or BLOCKED. Do not shell out to the agent binary.cancelCancel an in-flight Cursor turn by sessionId. Status is cancelled, killed, not-running (the turn ended and the session can still be resumed), or not-found.doctorReport Node, bridge version, Cursor CLI discovery, authentication state without secrets, and an optional ACP handshake.
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.
Openclaw MCP
{
"mcpServers": {
"freema-openclaw-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"openclaw-mcp"
],
"env": {
"OPENCLAW_URL": "YOUR_OPENCLAW_URL_HERE",
"OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN": "YOUR_OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN_HERE",
"OPENCLAW_AGENT_ID": "YOUR_OPENCLAW_AGENT_ID_HERE",
"OPENCLAW_MODEL": "YOUR_OPENCLAW_MODEL_HERE",
"OPENCLAW_TIMEOUT_MS": "YOUR_OPENCLAW_TIMEOUT_MS_HERE",
"AUTH_ENABLED": "YOUR_AUTH_ENABLED_HERE",
"MCP_CLIENT_ID": "YOUR_MCP_CLIENT_ID_HERE",
"MCP_CLIENT_SECRET": "YOUR_MCP_CLIENT_SECRET_HERE"
}
}
}
}
IAF Agent Bridge
{
"mcpServers": {
"iaf-agent-bridge": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"iaf-agent-bridge"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Openclaw MCP is categorized under Coding Agents and uses a local stdio subprocess. IAF Agent Bridge belongs to Coding Agents and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Openclaw MCP for coding agents work and IAF Agent Bridge for coding agents.
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.
Openclaw MCP is listed as free. Auth: api key required. IAF Agent Bridge 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 freema-openclaw-mcp and iaf-agent-bridge as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Openclaw MCP has a quality signal of 68/100 (Great) with 8 views, 0 installs and 188 GitHub stars. IAF Agent Bridge has 60/100 (Good) with 1 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.