Openemis Pro vs Pickuppatrol MCP
A side-by-side look at the Openemis Pro and Pickuppatrol MCP MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Openemis Pro for education work over a hosted endpoint; choose Pickuppatrol MCP for education as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Openemis Pro when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Education domain.
- You prefer a remote HTTP/SSE transport.
- You want tools like
openemis_health, openemis_list_domains, openemis_discover.
Choose Pickuppatrol MCP when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Education domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: other.
- You have the keys it needs:
PICKUPPATROL_USERNAME, PICKUPPATROL_PASSWORD. - You want tools like
pup_get_session, pup_list_students, pup_get_student.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Education | Education |
| Quality signal | 48/100 · Fair | 57/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Remote HTTP/SSE | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | other |
| Pricing | Not declared | Free |
| Required env vars | None listed | PICKUPPATROL_USERNAMEPICKUPPATROL_PASSWORD |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 2 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 9 | 14 |
| Full listing | View Openemis Pro | View Pickuppatrol MCP |
Tools & capabilities
Openemis Pro tools 9
openemis_healthPings the configured instance and reports reachability. Performs a real login round-trip — if this passes, CRUD will work.openemis_list_domainsLists the curated OpenEMIS domains — Attendance, Assessment, Staff, Student, Institution, Schedule, Examination, Report — each with a one-line summary. The agent uses this to figure out *where* a question lives.openemis_discoverInput: a topic string. Output: up to 30 endpoints relevant to that topic, drawn from the domain knowledge pack and the per-instance manifest. Keeps conversations small regardless of how large the underlying API is.openemis_list_playbooksLists all 40 curated workflow playbooks with id, title, domain, and audience. The agent uses this to find the right step-by-step guide for a user-level task.openemis_get_playbookInput: a playbook id. Output: the full playbook — resources, ordered steps, guidance notes, and example queries.openemis_getUnified read tool. `{ resource, id?, params? }` — if `id` is present, fetches the singleton; otherwise lists with any combination of `_fields`, `_conditions`, `orderby`, `order`, `page`, `limit`, plus any ad-hoc filter key.openemis_createCreate a new record. `{ resource, body }` — non-workflow resources only. Workflow-controlled resources (e.g. institution-staff-leave) are blocked and will redirect to the appropriate playbook.openemis_updateUpdate an existing record by id. `{ resource, id, body }` — non-workflow resources only.openemis_deleteDelete a record by id. `{ resource, id }` — non-workflow resources only.
Pickuppatrol MCP tools 14
pup_get_sessionThe signed-in account and the students linked to itpup_list_studentsEvery student with their weekly defaults and review flagpup_get_studentOne student in fullpup_get_default_plansA student's weekly default plan, day by daypup_list_plansDay-by-day plans across a date rangepup_get_planOne student, one date — including whether it is lockedpup_list_transportationsA school's dismissal options and the rules each imposespup_get_schoolSchool profile, notify times, cutoff times, settingspup_list_non_school_daysDates no plan can be set for, and dates already changedpup_list_car_numbersCar numbers the school issued to this accountpup_healthcheckCredentials sign in and the API answers; on failure, `error.kind` says which hop broke (`edge_blocked`, `credential_rejected`, …)pup_set_planDismissal for one or more specific dates, or clears them back to the default- +2 more on 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.
Openemis Pro
{
"mcpServers": {
"openemis-pro": {
"url": "https://api.openemis.org/core"
}
}
}
Pickuppatrol MCP
{
"mcpServers": {
"pickuppatrol-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@chrischall/pickuppatrol-mcp"
],
"env": {
"PICKUPPATROL_USERNAME": "YOUR_PICKUPPATROL_USERNAME_HERE",
"PICKUPPATROL_PASSWORD": "YOUR_PICKUPPATROL_PASSWORD_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Openemis Pro is categorized under Education and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. Pickuppatrol MCP belongs to Education and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Openemis Pro for education work and Pickuppatrol MCP for education.
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.
Openemis Pro has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Pickuppatrol MCP is listed as free. Auth: other. 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 openemis-pro and pickuppatrol-mcp as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Openemis Pro has a quality signal of 48/100 (Fair) with 1 views, 0 installs and 2 GitHub stars. Pickuppatrol MCP has 57/100 (Good) with 2 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.