In-depth architectural comparison of the Health Export MCP and Heimdall MCP MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.
At a Glance & Executive Verdict
Health Export MCP
Monitoring · Local stdio
Quality: 65/100 (Great) | Auth: No auth required
Heimdall MCP
Monitoring · Local stdio
Quality: 60/100 (Good) | Auth: No auth required
Verdict Summary: Choose Health Export MCP if you need specialized Monitoring tools running via a local process. Choose Heimdall MCP if your workspace requires Monitoring integration with local subprocess execution. Both servers can be configured concurrently in your client's mcpServers manifest.
Which MCP Server Should You Choose?
Choose Health Export MCP when:
You need dedicated capabilities in the Monitoring domain.
You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
You have access to required keys: HEALTH_DATA_DIR.
Query 190 Apple Health metrics from any MCP agent — zero-dependency, read-only, local-first.
Transparent proxy for any MCP server that intercepts all JSON-RPC messages, measures latency, and stores traces in SQLite, PostgreSQL, or MySQL. Exports OpenTelemetry (OTLP) spans to Jaeger, Tempo, or Grafana. Supports stdio, HTTP, and SSE transports. npx @cardor/heimdall-mcp
Category & Scope
Tools & Capabilities Breakdown
Health Export MCP Tools (14)
get_mcp_status
Health check: data source, how many metrics/workouts are available, which optional context files exist, and the most recent data date. Call this first to confirm the bridge is connected.
list_metrics
List every available Apple Health metric with its unit, day count, and date range. Use this to discover metric names before querying.
get_health_metrics
Get values for a metric (or all metrics) over an optional date range, with an aggregate (avg/sum/min/max/latest). The core data-retrieval tool. Every result carries a `coverage` block giving the metric's real firstDate/lastDate/days: check it before trusting a long window, and note that `aggregate` is always computed over the full range even when `points` are rolled up. Single-metric answers also list any logged point events inside the window as segmentBoundaries.
get_trends
Compare the most recent N-day window against the prior N days for a metric: change, percent change and direction (up/down/flat). Also returns `daysAvailable` and `windowSatisfied`: if windowSatisfied is false the file does not hold enough history for the window you asked for, and the comparison is over less data than requested. Logged point events inside the compared span are listed as segmentBoundaries.
Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations
Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).
Health Export MCP is categorized under Monitoring and uses a local stdio subprocess. In contrast, Heimdall MCP belongs to Monitoring using local stdio subprocess. Select Health Export MCP when you need capabilities focused on monitoring and Heimdall MCP when you require tools for monitoring.
Compare a metric between two arbitrary date periods (A vs B): each aggregate plus the change and percent change. Pass periodA/periodB explicitly, or pass anchor {eventId, days} to build both periods around a logged event (the before/after question, with the event day excluded from both sides).
get_structured_export
Return clean structured JSON for the chosen metrics/date range. Paginated: the result carries `nextCursor` when more metrics remain; pass it back as `cursor` for the next page. Prefer naming the metrics you need and a date range; calling it bare over a full history is a lot of data.
get_intraday
The current hour-by-hour window from the iOS app's HOURLY automations (health-intraday.json, app 1.4+): each metric's hourly points plus its latest value. The file is REPLACED on every hourly run, so this is a live within-day view, not history; use get_health_metrics for day-level questions. Returns available:false with setup guidance when no hourly automation has delivered yet.
query_health_data
Natural-language convenience: pass a question and get routed structured results. Prefer the specific tools above when you can, and call list_metrics first to see how much history exists, since this tool answers over whatever the file holds.
list_events
Logged context events from health-events.json: medication starts, habit changes, doctor visits, life events, shift blocks, episodes, travel, and any type a newer app adds. Optional {type, tag, start, end} filters; a range event matches a window it overlaps. Sorted ascending by date. Returns available:false when the file was never exported; absence means nothing was exported, not that nothing happened.
get_profile
The context fields the user explicitly opted in to sharing (health-profile.json): conditions, medications, goals, allergies, notes. Returns the fields plus a presentFields list. An absent field was withheld by the user or never enabled; absence must never be read as "none".
get_workouts
Query the workouts cache with {activityType (a name like Running, or a raw HealthKit id like 37), start, end} filters and pagination ({limit} default 50 max 200, {cursor} from a previous nextCursor). Records are returned exactly as stored, including the newer optional keys (avgHeartRate, maxHeartRate, running dynamics, cycling power, intervals, hasRoute) when the app exported them; older caches simply lack those keys and nothing is fabricated. Also returns summary {count, byActivityType} over everything that matched.
get_sleep_sessions
Clustered sleep sessions from health-sessions.json with {start, end, day} filters. Sessions are attributed to the WAKING day, matching the daily cache's sleep_analysis, so the two surfaces never disagree; a split night appears as multiple sessions with the same day, returned as-is. Timestamps carry the local UTC offset at the time of the sample.
+2 more tools listed on main page
Heimdall MCP Tools (14)
read_file
Read the complete contents of a file as text. DEPRECATED: Use read_text_file instead.
read_text_file
Read the complete contents of a file from the file system as text. Handles various text encodings and provides detailed error messages if the file cannot be read. Use this tool when you need to examine the contents of a single file. Use the 'head' parameter to read only the first N lines of a file, or the 'tail' parameter to read only the last N lines of a file. Operates on the file as text regardless of extension. Only works within allowed directories.
read_media_file
Read a file and return it as a base64-encoded content block with its MIME type. Image and audio files are returned as image/audio content; any other file type is returned as an embedded resource. Only works within allowed directories.
read_multiple_files
Read the contents of multiple files simultaneously. This is more efficient than reading files one by one when you need to analyze or compare multiple files. Each file's content is returned with its path as a reference. Failed reads for individual files won't stop the entire operation. Only works within allowed directories.
write_file
Create a new file or completely overwrite an existing file with new content. Use with caution as it will overwrite existing files without warning. Handles text content with proper encoding. Only works within allowed directories.
edit_file
Make line-based edits to a text file. Each edit replaces exact line sequences with new content. Returns a git-style diff showing the changes made. Only works within allowed directories.
create_directory
Create a new directory or ensure a directory exists. Can create multiple nested directories in one operation. If the directory already exists, this operation will succeed silently. Perfect for setting up directory structures for projects or ensuring required paths exist. Only works within allowed directories.
list_directory
Get a detailed listing of all files and directories in a specified path. Results clearly distinguish between files and directories with [FILE] and [DIR] prefixes. This tool is essential for understanding directory structure and finding specific files within a directory. Only works within allowed directories.
list_directory_with_sizes
Get a detailed listing of all files and directories in a specified path, including sizes. Results clearly distinguish between files and directories with [FILE] and [DIR] prefixes. This tool is useful for understanding directory structure and finding specific files within a directory. Only works within allowed directories.
directory_tree
Get a recursive tree view of files and directories as a JSON structure. Each entry includes 'name', 'type' (file/directory), and 'children' for directories. Files have no children array, while directories always have a children array (which may be empty). The output is formatted with 2-space indentation for readability. Only works within allowed directories.
move_file
Move or rename files and directories. Can move files between directories and rename them in a single operation. If the destination exists, the operation will fail. Works across different directories and can be used for simple renaming within the same directory. Both source and destination must be within allowed directories.
search_files
Recursively search for files and directories matching a pattern. The patterns should be glob-style patterns that match paths relative to the working directory. Use pattern like '*.ext' to match files in current directory, and '**/*.ext' to match files in all subdirectories. Returns full paths to all matching items. Great for finding files when you don't know their exact location. Only searches within allowed directories.