Questlaw Library vs BAILII UK Case Law
A side-by-side look at the Questlaw Library and BAILII UK Case Law MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Questlaw Library for legal work as a local process; choose BAILII UK Case Law for legal as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Questlaw Library when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Legal domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
QUESTLAW_VAULT_FILE, QUESTLAW_RECOVERY_CODE, QUESTLAW_ALLOW_ENV_KEY. - You want tools like
library_overview, list_cases, search_library.
Choose BAILII UK Case Law when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Legal domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
bailii_search, bailii_get_judgment, bailii_list_courts.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Legal | Legal |
| Quality signal | 53/100 · Good | 53/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | QUESTLAW_VAULT_FILEQUESTLAW_RECOVERY_CODEQUESTLAW_ALLOW_ENV_KEY | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 6 |
| Directory activity | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 10 | 3 |
| Full listing | View Questlaw Library | View BAILII UK Case Law |
Tools & capabilities
Questlaw Library tools 10
library_overviewWhat the library holds, its projects, courts, and tags, and the export datelist_casesEvery authority, or a filtered subset, in pagessearch_libraryOne ranked search across everythingsearch_casesSaved authorities that matchget_caseOne authority in full, with notes, quotations, and related casessearch_quotesSaved quotations that matchlist_project_casesEverything filed under one projectget_source_textCaptured text of a statute, regulation, rule, or opinionfind_citation_mentionsEvery place a draft cites an authority already in the libraryreload_snapshotRead the newest export from disk again
BAILII UK Case Law tools 3
bailii_searchSearch BAILII for UK case law by keyword or phrase. Searches the full BAILII database including UKSC, EWCA, EWHC, House of Lords, tribunals, and Irish courts. Returns a list of matching cases with titles, citations, and document paths to use with bailii_get_judgment.bailii_get_judgmentRetrieve a BAILII judgment, optionally filtered to a specific section. Use the path returned by bailii_search. By default returns summary + conclusions (or first 5000 chars if no sections detected). Use section='all' for the complete text.bailii_list_courtsList the main UK courts and tribunals available on BAILII. Returns court codes useful for constructing direct BAILII URLs or understanding search results. Returns: str: JSON object mapping court codes to court names.
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.
Questlaw Library
{
"mcpServers": {
"questlaw-library": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"questlaw-mcp@0.5.1"
],
"env": {
"QUESTLAW_VAULT_FILE": "YOUR_QUESTLAW_VAULT_FILE_HERE",
"QUESTLAW_RECOVERY_CODE": "YOUR_QUESTLAW_RECOVERY_CODE_HERE",
"QUESTLAW_ALLOW_ENV_KEY": "YOUR_QUESTLAW_ALLOW_ENV_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
BAILII UK Case Law
{
"mcpServers": {
"bailii-uk-case-law": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"bailii-mcp"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Questlaw Library is categorized under Legal and uses a local stdio subprocess. BAILII UK Case Law belongs to Legal and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Questlaw Library for legal work and BAILII UK Case Law for legal.
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.
Questlaw Library has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. BAILII UK Case Law 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 questlaw-library and bailii-uk-case-law as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Questlaw Library has a quality signal of 53/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. BAILII UK Case Law has 53/100 (Good) with 2 views, 0 installs and 6 GitHub stars.