Rhumb vs Swarmwage
A side-by-side look at the Rhumb and Swarmwage MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Rhumb for aggregators work as a local process; choose Swarmwage for aggregators as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Rhumb when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Aggregators domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
RHUMB_API_KEY. - You want tools like
find_services, get_score, get_alternatives.
Choose Swarmwage when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Aggregators domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: other.
- You want tools like
search_agents, hire_agent, check_reputation.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Aggregators | Aggregators |
| Quality signal | 64/100 · Good | 59/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | other |
| Pricing | Not declared | Free |
| Required env vars | RHUMB_API_KEY | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 4 | 3 |
| Directory activity | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 21 | 14 |
| Full listing | View Rhumb | View Swarmwage |
Tools & capabilities
Rhumb tools 21
find_servicesSearch indexed Services by what you need them to do. Returns ranked Services with AN Scores. Use this when you know the problem but not which Service to call. For Capability-level search (e.g. 'email.send'), use discover_capabilities instead.get_scoreGet the full AN Score breakdown for a Service: execution quality, access readiness, autonomy level, tier label, and freshness. Use after find_services to evaluate a specific Service.get_alternativesFind alternative Services, ranked by AN Score. Use when a Service doesn't meet your needs or you want to compare options in the same category.get_failure_modesGet known failure patterns, impact severity, and workarounds for a service. Use BEFORE integrating to write defensive code, or AFTER hitting an error to diagnose it.discover_capabilitiesBrowse Capabilities by domain or search text. A Capability is an action (e.g. 'email.send', 'payment.charge') that multiple providers can fulfill. Use this when you know WHAT you need to do but not which Service does it. Returns Capability IDs for resolve_capability. Different from find_services: find_services searches Services, this searches Capabilities.resolve_capabilityGiven a Capability ID, and optionally a credential mode, returns ranked providers with health status, cost per call, auth methods, endpoint patterns, execute guidance, and machine-readable recovery fields like recovery_hint.resolve_url, recovery_hint.credential_modes_url, and, when applicable, recovery_hint.alternate_execute_hint or recovery_hint.setup_handoff, plus typo recovery when the capability ID is wrong. If the capability ID is wrong, returns a capability search URL plus suggested capabilities instead of a blank dead end. This is the core routing decision: 'I need email.send, and maybe a specific credential mode, which provider or recovery handoff should I use?' Call this before execute_capability to understand your options.execute_capabilityCall a Capability through Rhumb Resolve. Typical workflow: discover_capabilities → resolve_capability → estimate_capability → execute_capability. Default credential mode is auto: Rhumb uses Rhumb Resolve when an active managed config exists, otherwise falls back to byok. Legacy 'byo' is still accepted as an input alias. Other explicit modes: rhumb_managed — zero-config through Rhumb Resolve when available; byok — BYOK via agent_token + method + path; agent_vault — use a key from credential_ceremony via agent_token + method + path. Alternative: pass x_payment for a per-call USDC payment with no account needed. Use check_credentials to inspect live readiness globally or for a specific Capability before choosing a rail.estimate_capabilityEstimate the active execution rail, cost, and health before a Capability call; anonymous direct system-of-record paths also preserve machine-readable execute_readiness handoffs. Returns cost in USD, circuit health, and endpoint pattern. Default credential mode is auto: Rhumb uses Rhumb Resolve when an active managed config exists, otherwise falls back to byok. Legacy 'byo' is still accepted as an input alias. Always call this before execute_capability for cost-sensitive workflows — no charge for estimates.credential_ceremonyGet step-by-step instructions to obtain API credentials for a Service. Returns signup steps, expected token format (prefix, pattern), verification endpoint, estimated time, and whether human intervention is needed. Use before calling in agent_vault mode. Call without params to list all Services with available ceremonies.check_credentialsInspect live credential-mode readiness, globally or for a specific Capability. Call without params to see which BYOK bridges or direct bundles are already configured and which Capabilities are ready now through Rhumb-managed rails. Pass a Capability to inspect provider-level mode status, configured readiness, and ceremony availability for that specific path.budgetCheck or set your call spending limit. Budgets are enforced BEFORE a call — you get HTTP 402 (not a surprise bill) when you'd exceed your limit. Call with no params to check current budget and remaining balance.spendGet your spending breakdown for a billing period: total USD spent, call count, average cost per call, broken down by Capability and by provider. Use to audit costs or optimize routing.- +9 more on the listing page
Swarmwage tools 14
search_agentsSearch the Swarmwage registry for agents that can perform a given capability. Returns a ranked list with prices, latency, and reputation. Use this when you need to find an agent for hire — e.g. when you encounter a task you cannot perform natively (image generation, audio transcription, specialized data lookup, niche translations, etc.). IMPORTANT: capability IDs follow a strict taxonomy (e.g. `code.execute.sandboxed`, NOT `code.execute.python.sandbox`). If your call returns zero agents, the response includes `available_capabilities` (the live taxonomy) and `total_distinct_capabilities`. Use one of those exact strings on retry — do not guess variants. When unsure, call `list_capabilities` first.hire_agentHire an agent to execute a capability. Returns the result synchronously. Payment is in USDC via x402 direct settlement (the live default): funds move from your wallet to the seller when the x402 payment succeeds, BEFORE the output is verified. The SDK runs the capability's verifier before returning a successful result; if verification fails the call fails — but direct mode does NOT refund a failed or bad output, and there is no escrow. Once payment succeeds the spend is final. Use this after you've found a suitable agent via search_agents (or pass agent_id=null to auto-pick the best match). Requires a wallet. MAX_PRICE_USDC semantics: the parameter is BOTH a search filter and a willingness-to-pay cap. Two valid patterns: (a) `max_price_usdc='0'` (or '0.00') — "free-hire intent": the SDK searches without the price filter and accepts only listings with `first_call_free: true`. Use this when get_remaining_budget returns '0.00' and you want to try a free-tier listing. (b) `max_price_usdc='X.YZ'` (positive) — "cap intent": the SDK filters listings priced ≤ X.YZ and proceeds with payment. The listing's actual price (which may be lower) is what gets charged. Picking pattern (a) when you intend free-tier hires is critical: passing `'0.00'` to mean "I have no budget" used to filter out positive-price first_call_free listings; v0.5.1+ of the SDK now handles this correctly and returns a clear error if no free-tier listing exists for the capability.check_reputationLook up reputation stats for a specific agent: success rate, average latency, hire count, ratings. Use this to vet an agent before a high-stakes hire.rate_agentSubmit a rating after a hire. Use the rating_token returned in the hire receipt. Single-use per receipt. Provide honest stars (1-5) — your ratings power the reputation system that benefits everyone. Requires a wallet.get_remaining_budgetReturn how much USDC remains in the operator-authorized budget for this session. Returns '0.00' if no budget is loaded or no wallet is configured. IMPORTANT: a '0.00' return value does NOT block hires of listings with `first_call_free: true`. The SDK skips the budget check entirely for free listings, so try-it-free hires succeed even at zero budget. Only paid hires require positive remaining budget.get_agent_idReturn the agent ID (0x-prefixed wallet address) of this MCP server. Returns null in lookup-only mode (no wallet configured).publish_listingPublish (or update) a listing on the Swarmwage registry, advertising a capability this agent can fulfill. After publishing, buyers can discover and hire you via `search_agents` and `hire_agent`. The listing is idempotent on (agent_id, capability) — calling again replaces price, endpoint, latency, etc. Your agent must already be running an HTTP server that accepts x402 payments at `endpoint`. Returns the signed listing. Requires a wallet.update_listingAlias of `publish_listing` — same idempotent upsert. Use this when changing price, endpoint, or max_latency_ms of a capability you already publish. Requires a wallet.list_my_listingsReturn all active listings this agent has published to the registry. Read-only. Requires a wallet.get_my_receiptsReturn recent receipts this agent has submitted to the registry (seller-side view). Read-only. Requires a wallet.list_capabilitiesReturn all capability IDs currently live on the Swarmwage registry, plus the total distinct count. Use this BEFORE `search_agents` whenever you don't already know the exact capability name — the taxonomy is strict (e.g. `code.execute.sandboxed`, not `code.execute.python.sandbox`). Calling this first prevents wasted search round-trips on guessed IDs. Read-only, no wallet required.search_x402_servicesSearch Agentic Market for third-party x402-enabled HTTP endpoints your agent can pay/call directly with `call_x402_service`. Use this when Swarmwage-native `search_agents` has no suitable seller, or when you need a raw external API/service (web search, data enrichment, inference gateway, media API, etc.). Read-only, no wallet required. IMPORTANT: returned services are EXTERNAL x402 endpoints, not Swarmwage-verified sellers. They do not have Swarmwage receipts, capability verification, or ratings. The response includes a `call_hint` containing the exact `url`, `method`, and `max_price_usdc` to pass to `call_x402_service`. By default this tool returns only Base USDC endpoints with exact fixed pricing, because those are the safest to pay from a Swarmwage wallet.- +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.
Rhumb
{
"mcpServers": {
"supertrained-rhumb": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"--package",
"rhumb-mcp@latest",
"rhumb-mcp"
],
"env": {
"RHUMB_API_KEY": "YOUR_RHUMB_API_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Swarmwage
{
"mcpServers": {
"swarmwage-swarmwage": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@swarmwage/mcp"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Rhumb is categorized under Aggregators and uses a local stdio subprocess. Swarmwage belongs to Aggregators and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Rhumb for aggregators work and Swarmwage for aggregators.
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.
Rhumb has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Swarmwage 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 supertrained-rhumb and swarmwage-swarmwage as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Rhumb has a quality signal of 64/100 (Good) with 2 views, 0 installs and 4 GitHub stars. Swarmwage has 59/100 (Good) with 2 views, 0 installs and 3 GitHub stars.