What is the key difference between Openaq and Airquality?

Openaq belongs to the Developer Tools category with local stdio execution, while Airquality belongs to the Developer Tools category with local stdio execution.

How do I install Openaq or Airquality in Claude Desktop or Cursor?

Copy the mcpServers JSON configuration snippet provided on this page into your claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json file and restart your AI client.

Are Openaq and Airquality free or paid?

Openaq operates under a Free / Open Source model (No auth required). Airquality operates under a Free / Open Source model (No auth required).

Which MCP server has more tools and community activity?

Openaq lists 4 tools with 0 views and 0 GitHub stars. Airquality lists 2 tools with 0 views and 0 GitHub stars.

Can I use both Openaq and Airquality together in the same MCP host?

Yes! MCP hosts like Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, and VS Code support configuring multiple servers under the mcpServers object simultaneously.

Side-by-Side Model Context Protocol Comparison

Openaq vs Airquality

In-depth architectural comparison of the Openaq and Airquality 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

Openaq

Developer Tools · Local stdio

Quality: 44/100 (Fair) | Auth: No auth required

Airquality

Developer Tools · Local stdio

Quality: 47/100 (Fair) | Auth: No auth required

Verdict Summary: Choose Openaq if you need specialized Developer Tools tools running via a local process. Choose Airquality if your workspace requires Developer Tools integration with local subprocess execution. Both servers can be configured concurrently in your client's mcpServers manifest.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose Openaq when:

You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
Primary tools included: air_quality_near, find_stations, get_latest.

Explore Openaq Details

Choose Airquality when:

You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
Primary tools included: get_air_quality, get_forecast.

Explore Airquality Details

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	O Openaq Developer Tools	A Airquality Developer Tools
Summary	OpenAQ MCP — wraps OpenAQ v2 API (free, no auth required)	Air Quality MCP — wraps air-quality-api.open-meteo.com (free, no auth)
Category & Scope	Developer Tools	Developer Tools
Quality signal

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Openaq Tools (4)

air_quality_near

Get the latest air-quality readings (PM2.5, PM10, O3, NO2, SO2, CO, etc.) at the monitoring station NEAREST to a latitude/longitude. PREFER for "air quality near me", "what is the air quality at <coordinates>", "is the air bad in <place> right now". Returns the nearest station with its most recent…

find_stations

Find OpenAQ air-quality monitoring stations by location: a city or place name, coordinates+radius (nearest first), a country (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code), or a bounding box. Returns station id, name, country, coordinates, and the pollutants each measures (with sensor ids), plus resolved_place echoing…

get_latest

Get the latest reading for every pollutant at a specific OpenAQ station (by location id from find_stations). Returns each parameter (PM2.5, O3, NO2, etc.) with its value, units, and measurement time.

get_measurements

Get the most recent time series (hourly or daily aggregates) for a single OpenAQ sensor (sensor id from find_stations), newest first. Use for pollutant trends over time at one station/parameter. Returns the sensor's LAST `limit` readings — note that many OpenAQ sensors are archived and stopped repo…

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).

Openaq Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openaq": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "openaq"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Airquality Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "airquality": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "airquality"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Frequently Asked Questions

Openaq is categorized under Developer Tools and uses a local stdio subprocess. In contrast, Airquality belongs to Developer Tools using local stdio subprocess. Select Openaq when you need capabilities focused on developer tools and Airquality when you require tools for developer tools.

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