Rhumb vs A2asearch MCP
A side-by-side look at the Rhumb and A2asearch MCP 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 A2asearch MCP 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 A2asearch MCP when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Aggregators domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You want tools like
search_agents, get_agent, list_agents.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Aggregators | Aggregators |
| Quality signal | 64/100 · Good | 63/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | No auth required |
| Pricing | Not declared | Free |
| Required env vars | RHUMB_API_KEY | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 4 | 21 |
| Directory activity | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 5 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 21 | 3 |
| Full listing | View Rhumb | View A2asearch MCP |
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
A2asearch MCP tools 3
search_agentsSearch the A2ASearch directory for AI agents, MCP servers, CLI tools and agent skills. Returns name, description, type, stars, GitHub URL and capabilities for each result.get_agentGet full details for a specific agent by its slug (name as kebab-case). Returns description, README, capabilities, stars, forks, languages and more.list_agentsList agents from A2ASearch, optionally filtered by type. Use this to browse top agents by category.
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"
}
}
}
}
A2asearch MCP
{
"mcpServers": {
"tadas-github-a2asearch-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"a2asearch-mcp"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Rhumb is categorized under Aggregators and uses a local stdio subprocess. A2asearch MCP belongs to Aggregators and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Rhumb for aggregators work and A2asearch MCP 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. A2asearch MCP 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 supertrained-rhumb and tadas-github-a2asearch-mcp 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. A2asearch MCP has 63/100 (Good) with 5 views, 0 installs and 21 GitHub stars.