Shodan vs Contrastapi
A side-by-side look at the Shodan and Contrastapi MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Shodan for security work as a local process; choose Contrastapi for security over a hosted endpoint. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Shodan when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Security domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
SHODAN_API_KEY. - You want tools like
ip_lookup, shodan_search, cve_lookup.
Choose Contrastapi when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Security domain.
- You prefer a remote HTTP/SSE transport.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You want tools like
domain_report, audit_domain, contrast_scan.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Security | Security |
| Quality signal | 68/100 · Great | 64/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Remote HTTP/SSE |
| Auth | Not declared | No auth required |
| Pricing | Not declared | Free |
| Required env vars | SHODAN_API_KEY | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 178 | 33 |
| Directory activity | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 4 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 11 | 55 |
| Full listing | View Shodan | View Contrastapi |
Tools & capabilities
Shodan tools 11
ip_lookupRetrieve comprehensive information about an IP address, including geolocation, operating system, open ports, running services (product, version, CPE), known vulnerabilities (CVEs), SSL certificates, hostnames, and cloud provider details if available. Returns service banners and HTTP server information when present. Optional history returns historical banners; minify omits banners.shodan_searchSearch Shodan's database of internet-connected devices. Returns detailed information about matching devices including services, vulnerabilities, and geographic distribution. Supports advanced search filters and returns facet statistics (default: by country). Costs 1 query credit when the query uses filters, plus 1 per page beyond the first. Use shodan_count (free) to get totals and facets without results.cve_lookupQuery detailed vulnerability information from Shodan's CVEDB. Returns comprehensive CVE details including CVSS scores (v4/v3/v2), EPSS probability and ranking, KEV status, proposed mitigations, ransomware associations, and affected products (CPEs).dns_lookupResolve domain names to IP addresses using Shodan's DNS service. Supports batch resolution of multiple hostnames in a single query. Returns IP addresses mapped to their corresponding hostnames.reverse_dns_lookupPerform reverse DNS lookups to find hostnames associated with IP addresses. Supports batch lookups of multiple IP addresses in a single query. Returns all known hostnames for each IP address, with clear indication when no hostnames are found.cpe_lookupSearch for Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) entries by product name in Shodan's CVEDB. Supports pagination and can return either full CPE details or just the total count. Useful for identifying specific versions and configurations of software and hardware.cves_by_productSearch for vulnerabilities affecting specific products or CPEs. Supports filtering by KEV status, sorting by EPSS score, date ranges, and pagination. Can search by product name or CPE 2.3 identifier. Returns detailed vulnerability information including severity scores and impact assessments.shodan_countGet the total number of Shodan results for a query, with optional facet breakdowns (e.g. by country, org, port). Free: does not consume query credits. Use search_filters to list valid filters and facets.domain_infoGet subdomains and DNS records for a domain from Shodan. Costs 1 query credit per lookup.api_infoShow the Shodan API plan, remaining query and scan credits, monitored IPs, and usage limits for the configured API key. Free: does not consume credits.search_filtersList the search filters and facets Shodan supports. Use this to build valid shodan_search and shodan_count queries and facets. Free: does not consume credits.
Contrastapi tools 55
domain_reportQuery DNS, WHOIS, SSL, subdomains, and threat intel for a domain in one call. By default dns.txt is filtered to security-relevant entries (SPF, DMARC, DKIM, MTA-STS, TLS-RPT) and dns.total_txt_records reports the honest pre-filter count; pass include_all_txt=true for the raw TXT list. Use as a starting point for domain investigations; use audit_domain for live headers + tech stack. Response carries next_calls — chain with subdomain_enum (always emitted), ssl_check + tech_fingerprint (when an A record resolves) for the standard recon depth without re-prompting. Free: 30/hr, Pro: 500/hr. Returns domain report with DNS records, WHOIS data, SSL cert, risk score, email config, threat status, recommendation, and next_calls.audit_domainPerform comprehensive domain audit: combines domain_report + live HTTP security headers + technology fingerprinting. By default report.dns.txt is filtered to security-relevant entries (SPF, DMARC, DKIM, MTA-STS, TLS-RPT) and report.dns.total_txt_records reports the honest pre-filter count; pass include_all_txt=true for the raw TXT list. Use when you need the full picture (recon + active checks); use domain_report for passive-only assessment. Response carries next_calls — chain with subdomain_enum (always emitted) and ssl_check (when an A record resolves) for the residual recon depth (tech_fingerprint already inline as `technologies`). Free: 30/hr (costs 6 tokens), Pro: 500/hr. Returns {domain, report, technologies, live_headers, summary, next_calls}.contrast_scanActive website security scan: runs the ContrastScan C engine (11 modules — HTTP security headers, SSL/TLS, DNS, redirect chain, information disclosure, cookie flags, DNSSEC, HTTP methods, CORS, HTML hygiene, deep CSP analysis) against the live site and enriches the raw result with severity-ranked vulnerability findings and a letter grade. Use for a hands-on misconfiguration scan; use audit_domain for passive recon (DNS/WHOIS/SSL/threat intel) and scan_headers for headers only. Active outbound fetch — a per-target eTLD+1 throttle (60 req/min) applies. Free: 30/hr (costs 6 tokens), Pro: 500/hr. Returns {domain, resolved_ip, total_score, max_score, grade, findings, findings_count, headers, ssl, dns, redirect, disclosure, cookies, dnssec, methods, cors, html, csp_analysis, enterprise, summary, next_calls}.tech_stack_cve_auditComposite tech-stack + CVE audit (MCP-only, no REST endpoint). Detects technologies on the target domain, queries CVE database for known vulnerabilities per product, enriches top-10 CVE candidates with CISA KEV federal patch deadlines, and checks public exploit / PoC availability. Identical for every tier — all data is sourced from local DB mirrors (no Shodan/AbuseIPDB), so there is no tier gating. CVE candidate batch: 50. Cost: 10 tokens per call — Free 30/hr ≈ 3 audits, Pro 500/hr ≈ 50 audits. Returns {domain, technologies, cves_by_tech, kev_findings, exploit_findings, summary, next_calls}.threat_reportQuery comprehensive threat profile for an IP: Shodan host data, AbuseIPDB reputation, ASN/geolocation, and open ports. Use for IP investigation and SOC alert triage; for domain data use domain_report. Note: nested asn block always returns at most 50 IPv4/IPv6 prefixes — call asn_lookup with include_full_prefixes=True for the full announced-prefixes list. enrichment.vulns is severity-aware list[VulnInfo] (cve_id + severity + cvss_v3) — Phase 2 v1.16.0 BREAKING; pre-1.16 it was list[str] of CVE IDs. Free: 30/hr (costs 6 tokens), Pro: 500/hr. Returns {ip, enrichment, abuseipdb, shodan, asn, threat_level}.dns_lookupQuery all DNS record types (A, AAAA, MX, NS, TXT, CNAME, SOA) for a domain. Use for mail routing inspection, nameserver verification, or SPF/DMARC checks; for full overview use domain_report. TXT records are returned raw (no filter) — `total_txt_records` always carries the honest count (use domain_report for the security-only filtered TXT view). Free: 30/hr, Pro: 500/hr. Returns {domain, records: {a, aaaa, mx, ns, txt, total_txt_records, cname, soa}, summary}.whois_lookupRetrieve WHOIS registration data: registrar, creation/expiry dates, nameservers, status. Use to verify domain ownership, age, expiration; for full audit use domain_report. Free: 30/hr, Pro: 500/hr. Returns {domain, whois: {registrar, creation_date, expiry_date, updated_date, name_servers, status, raw_length, error}, summary}.ssl_checkAnalyze SSL/TLS certificate: grade (A/B/C/D/F), protocol version, cipher suite, chain, expiry, Subject Alternative Names, and structured validation findings. Invalid certs (expired, self-signed, hostname mismatch, untrusted root) are reported as findings via valid=false + validation_errors[] rather than as endpoint failures, so an unreachable cert still returns useful intel. Grade D = cert readable but invalid; F = expired, legacy TLS, or probe failure. Use to audit certificate validity and detect expiring certs; for full domain audit use audit_domain. Free: 30/hr, Pro: 500/hr. Returns {grade, valid, validation_errors, protocol, cipher, issuer, subject, not_before, not_after, days_remaining, chain, san, warnings}.subdomain_enumDiscover subdomains using passive methods: Certificate Transparency logs + DNS brute-force (no active probing). Use to map organization's attack surface; non-intrusive. Response carries next_calls — capped at 5 ssl_check hints (one per first-five subdomain) so triage scales to large enumerations without token bloat; pull tail entries by name when needed. Free: 30/hr, Pro: 500/hr. Returns {domain, count, subdomains, sources, found_via_wordlist, found_via_crtsh, wildcard_status, crtsh_status, warnings, summary, next_calls}. Always check wildcard_status FIRST: 'absent' means the DNS brute-force plane was meaningful; 'present' means the zone answers every name (wildcard DNS) so wordlist results were discarded and count is a certificate-transparency LOWER BOUND — report the surface as UNKNOWN, not small, and never infer low exposure from it; 'undetermined' means a negative-control probe went unanswered, so count is unverified. Then check crtsh_status: 'ok' means the CT lookup completed (so a low count is real); 'timeout' / 'rate_limited' / 'unavailable' / 'error' means CT logs did not respond and the count is wordlist-only — the actual attack surface is likely larger, retry later or surface the limitation to the user.tech_fingerprintDetect website technology stack: CMS, frameworks, CDN, analytics tools, web servers, languages (via HTTP headers + HTML analysis). Use for passive reconnaissance; for full audit use audit_domain. Free: 30/hr, Pro: 500/hr. Returns {technologies: [{name, category, confidence%, version}]}.threat_intelCheck domain against abuse.ch URLhaus for known malware-distribution URLs (single source — for multi-feed correlation use ioc_lookup which adds ThreatFox and, for IPs, Feodo Tracker). Use for fast domain-level threat assessment; use phishing_check for specific URLs. Free: 30/hr, Pro: 500/hr. Returns {malware_urls, threat_tags, threat_status, summary}.wayback_lookupRetrieve Wayback Machine snapshots for a domain: first capture, latest, total count, snapshot list. Use to investigate domain history and age; for full audit use domain_report. Free: 30/hr, Pro: 500/hr. status='ok' means the count is authoritative (even when 0 → confirmed no archives). status='unavailable' means CDX timed out/rate-limited/5xx — total_snapshots is OMITTED (unknown, NOT zero) and the agent should NOT report "no snapshots"; the warnings[] array carries the cdx_* error code (cdx_timeout/cdx_rate_limited/cdx_unavailable/cdx_error/cdx_parse_error/cdx_body_too_large). Heavy domains (kernel.org, microsoft.com, archive.org itself) frequently time out the CDX endpoint despite having millions of snapshots — fall back to archive_url for manual inspection. Returns {domain, status, total_snapshots, first_seen, last_seen, years_online, snapshots, archive_url, summary, warnings}.- +43 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.
Shodan
{
"mcpServers": {
"shodan-2": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@burtthecoder/mcp-shodan"
],
"env": {
"SHODAN_API_KEY": "YOUR_SHODAN_API_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Contrastapi
{
"mcpServers": {
"upinar-contrastapi": {
"url": "https://api.contrastcyber.com/mcp/"
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Shodan is categorized under Security and uses a local stdio subprocess. Contrastapi belongs to Security and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. Pick Shodan for security work and Contrastapi for security.
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.
Shodan has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Contrastapi is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. 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 shodan-2 and upinar-contrastapi as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Shodan has a quality signal of 68/100 (Great) with 1 views, 0 installs and 178 GitHub stars. Contrastapi has 64/100 (Good) with 4 views, 0 installs and 33 GitHub stars.