Pickuppatrol MCP vs Universities
A side-by-side look at the Pickuppatrol MCP and Universities MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Pickuppatrol MCP for education work as a local process; choose Universities 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 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.
Choose Universities when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Education domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
search_universities.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Education | Education |
| Quality signal | 57/100 · Good | 56/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | other | Not declared |
| Pricing | Free | Not declared |
| Required env vars | PICKUPPATROL_USERNAMEPICKUPPATROL_PASSWORD | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 3 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 14 | 1 |
| Full listing | View Pickuppatrol MCP | View Universities |
Tools & capabilities
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
Universities tools 1
search_universitiesSearch universities worldwide by name and/or country using the Hipolabs API. Returns name, country, state/province, web pages, and email domains. At least one of name or country must be provided.
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.
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"
}
}
}
}
Universities
{
"mcpServers": {
"universities": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-universities"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Pickuppatrol MCP is categorized under Education and uses a local stdio subprocess. Universities belongs to Education and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Pickuppatrol MCP for education work and Universities 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.
Pickuppatrol MCP is listed as free. Auth: other. Universities 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 pickuppatrol-mcp and universities as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Pickuppatrol MCP has a quality signal of 57/100 (Good) with 2 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. Universities has 56/100 (Good) with 3 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.