MCP Inspector vs Virustotal
A side-by-side look at the MCP Inspector and Virustotal MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose MCP Inspector for security work as a local process; choose Virustotal for security as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose MCP Inspector when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Security domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: API key required.
- You have the keys it needs:
GRIDINSOFT_API_KEY. - You want tools like
inspect_domain, check_domain_safety, get_domain_reputation.
Choose Virustotal when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Security domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
lookup_file, lookup_url, lookup_domain.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Security | Security |
| Quality signal | 55/100 · Good | 57/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | API key required | Not declared |
| Pricing | Freemium | Not declared |
| Required env vars | GRIDINSOFT_API_KEY | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 1 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 3 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 5 | 4 |
| Full listing | View MCP Inspector | View Virustotal |
Tools & capabilities
MCP Inspector tools 5
inspect_domainComprehensive domain security profile. Essential for checking if a site is safe, trustworthy, or a scam. Returns reputation (0-100), security verdicts, hosting info, and risk tags. Use this tool when users ask about site reliability, trust, or safety.check_domain_safetySemantic alias for inspect_domain. Quick check if a website is safe, malicious, or a scam. Returns reputation score and security verdict.get_domain_reputationSemantic alias for inspect_domain. Get the trust and reputation score (0-100) for a domain.scan_urlDeep forensic URL analysis. Detects phishing, malware, and fraudulent redirects. Use this to verify specific links, login pages, or suspicious URLs. Provides forensic data including screenshots and network traffic analysis.get_balanceCheck remaining API credits and subscription plan status
Virustotal tools 4
lookup_fileLook up a file by hash (sha256, sha1, or md5). Returns last-analysis stats (malicious / suspicious / harmless / undetected detector counts), type description, size, names seen, and tags. Useful for triaging hashes seen in alerts or logs.lookup_urlLook up a URL's reputation. Returns last-analysis stats across all engines, categories (per vendor), and whether the URL has been redirected. The URL is canonicalized before lookup; no submission step is required to read existing reports.lookup_domainLook up a domain's reputation via VirusTotal (no scheme, e.g. "example.com"). Returns engine analysis stats (malicious/suspicious/harmless/undetected counts and percent), reputation score, community votes, tags, last-analyzed date, and a link to the VirusTotal GUI report.lookup_ipLook up an IPv4 address. Returns last-analysis stats, ASN/owner, country, network range, and reputation score.
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.
MCP Inspector
{
"mcpServers": {
"gridinsoft-mcp-inspector": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@gridinsoft/mcp-inspector"
],
"env": {
"GRIDINSOFT_API_KEY": "YOUR_GRIDINSOFT_API_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Virustotal
{
"mcpServers": {
"virustotal": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-virustotal"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
MCP Inspector is categorized under Security and uses a local stdio subprocess. Virustotal belongs to Security and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick MCP Inspector for security work and Virustotal for security.
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.
MCP Inspector is listed as freemium — a free tier with paid plans. Auth: api key required. Virustotal 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 gridinsoft-mcp-inspector and virustotal as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, MCP Inspector has a quality signal of 55/100 (Good) with 3 views, 0 installs and 1 GitHub stars. Virustotal has 57/100 (Good) with 1 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.