SandBase CLI vs Cortex

In-depth architectural comparison of the SandBase CLI and Cortex 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.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

S

Choose SandBase CLI when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Aggregators domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: OAuth 2.0 (Free / Open Source).
• Primary tools included: sandbase_discover, sandbase_inspect, sandbase_run.

Explore SandBase CLI Details

Choose Cortex when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Aggregators domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: API Key required (BYOK (Pay Provider Direct)).
• You have access to required keys: CORTEX_API_KEY, CORTEX_SERVER_AUTH_TOKEN.
• Primary tools included: Watches project files (md, ts, js, py, json, yaml) for changes, Extracts entities and infers relationships using LLMs, Detects contradictions and duplicates automatically.

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	S SandBase CLI Aggregators	Cortex gzoonet Aggregators
Summary	Open-source CLI and MCP server for discovering and calling 2,000+ AI models and APIs through one consistent developer interface.	Local-first knowledge graph for developers. Watches project files, extracts entities and relationships via LLMs, builds a queryable knowledge graph with web dashboard and CLI. Provides 4 MCP tools: getstatus, listprojects, findentity, querycortex.
Category & Scope	Aggregators

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

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).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sandbase-cli": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "https://github.com/sandbaseai/cli/releases/download/v0.1.17/sandbaseai-cli-0.1.17.tgz",
        "connect"
      ]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gzoonet-cortex": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@gzoo/cortex"
      ],
      "env": {
        "CORTEX_API_KEY": "YOUR_CORTEX_API_KEY_HERE",
        "CORTEX_SERVER_AUTH_TOKEN": "YOUR_CORTEX_SERVER_AUTH_TOKEN_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

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