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io.github.nickjlamb/redacta-mcp

Official registry Health

Keep patient identifiers out of AI agent context — a local privacy boundary for healthcare agents.

Source code Documentation

Install

Add this to your client's MCP configuration (Claude Desktop: claude_desktop_config.json; Cursor: .cursor/mcp.json; VS Code and others use the same "mcpServers" shape).

NPM package redacta-mcp
Claude Code 
claude mcp add redacta-mcp -- npx -y redacta-mcp@2.1.1
JSON configuration (Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code) 
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "redacta-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "redacta-mcp@2.1.1"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Documentation

From the project's README on GitHub, refreshed weekly. Links open on GitHub.

Contents
  1. Redacta
  2. One engine, many surfaces
  3. How it works
  4. Self-hosting on Kubernetes
  5. Install
  6. Contents
  7. A note on limits
  8. License

Redacta

Pseudonymise medical and clinical documents before they're processed by AI or shared. Redacta replaces patient identifiers with labelled tokens — [PATIENT_NAME_1], [NHS_NUMBER_1], [DATE_OF_BIRTH_1], … — while leaving the clinical meaning intact, and returns a redaction report alongside the cleaned text.

It started as an Agent Skill and is now one engine shipped across eight surfaces — an iOS app, agent skill, MCP server, a self-hosted HTTP service with a Kubernetes deployment, two libraries, a CLI, and a FigJam whiteboard plugin.

Running this in production? Redacta offers a small number of fixed-price design-partner integrations for teams shipping AI agents on clinical or patient data — deployment in your environment, one real workflow integrated, and a data-flow document written for your DPO. Details →

One engine, many surfaces

SurfaceFolderGet it
iOS app — iPhone (app, Share Extension, widget)ios-app/Build with Xcode — see ios-app/README.md
Agent skill (Claude Code / apps / API)SKILL.md, scripts/openclaw skills install redacta (ClawHub)
MCP server (Claude Desktop, Cursor, …)mcp-server/npx -y redacta-mcp (npm · MCP Registry · Anthropic MCP Directory)
TypeScript librarynpm-package/npm i @pharmatools/redacta (npm)
Python librarypython-package/pip install redacta (PyPI)
Command-line toolcli-package/npx redacta-cli (npm)
Self-hosted HTTP service + Kubernetesgateway-service/docker build — see gateway-service/README.md
FigJam pluginfigjam-plugin/Figma Community

The detection logic lives in one place — the TypeScript engine (@pharmatools/redacta, in npm-package/), which the MCP server and the FigJam plugin consume, and which the iOS app runs on-device via JavaScriptCore. The Python package mirrors it for pip users; the agent skill adds LLM reasoning for free-text names on top of the deterministic patterns.

How it works

Two layers:

  • Patterns (deterministic). A bundled script (scripts/redact_structured.py, Python standard library only, no network) matches fixed-format identifiers: NHS numbers (Modulus-11 validated), UK National Insurance numbers, dates of birth, UK postcodes, phone numbers, emails, and hospital/MRN numbers. US SSN and ZIP codes are also handled.
  • Reasoning (judgement). The skill then has the agent handle what patterns can't: patient names (told apart from the clinicians treating them), relatives and carers, postal addresses, and identifying ages.
  • Self-check. A final pass re-reads the output for any identifier that slipped through before the report is written.

It also works in reverse. Re-identification (scripts/reinstate.py) takes the token map from an earlier redaction and restores the original values — so you can redact a document, run it through another AI tool, and put the real details back locally. Redact → process → re-identify is a complete round trip, and identifiers only ever exist on your machine.

Safe Harbor mode. Ask for HIPAA Safe Harbor (or "US de-identification") and Redacta applies a stricter pass: all dates (not just the date of birth), all specific ages, and the remaining HIPAA identifiers — fax, certificate/licence, device serial, VIN, and health-plan beneficiary numbers.

Self-hosting on Kubernetes

Organisations that can't let identifiable text leave their environment can run Redacta inside their own infrastructure: a small HTTP service (gateway-service/) deployable into an existing Kubernetes cluster with plain YAML — two stateless replicas behind a Service for redact/reinstate, an optional single-replica session boundary for the protect → release loop, health probes, resource limits, restrictive security defaults, and no-PHI logging. Text is pseudonymised before it reaches any external AI service, and the processing boundary stays under your control. Walkthrough (local kind cluster included): gateway-service/k8s/README.md · concepts: docs/KUBERNETES.md. Deploying somewhere a DPO will ask questions? There's a one-page security & data-protection summary at pharmatools.ai/redacta-security.

Install

Claude Code

git clone https://github.com/nickjlamb/redacta ~/.claude/skills/redacta

Then invoke it with /redacta, or let it trigger automatically when you ask to redact or de-identify clinical text.

Claude apps / API

Zip the repository folder and upload it as a skill.

Contents

PathWhat it is
SKILL.mdThe skill — instructions plus metadata
reference.mdPattern specs, the Modulus-11 algorithm, NI prefix rules, the date-of-birth vs clinical-date rule, token vocabulary, limitations
scripts/redact_structured.pyThe deterministic pattern layer
scripts/reinstate.pyThe re-identification layer (restore originals from a token map)
scripts/test_redact_structured.pyTests for the pattern layer
scripts/test_reinstate.pyTests for the re-identification layer
evaluations.jsonExample evaluation scenarios

Run the tests:

python3 scripts/test_redact_structured.py
python3 scripts/test_reinstate.py

A note on limits

Redacta is a strong first line of defence, not a guarantee. It won't catch every possible identifier and isn't a substitute for formal data-protection processes. Always review the redaction report before sharing text.

License

MIT-0 (MIT No Attribution). Built by PharmaTools.AI.

Frequently asked questions

What is io.github.nickjlamb/redacta-mcp?

Keep patient identifiers out of AI agent context — a local privacy boundary for healthcare agents.

How do I install io.github.nickjlamb/redacta-mcp?

It runs on your machine. In Claude Code: claude mcp add redacta-mcp -- npx -y redacta-mcp@2.1.1. For other clients, paste the JSON configuration from this page into their MCP settings.

Does io.github.nickjlamb/redacta-mcp need an API key?

Its registry entry lists no required key or secret. Some features may still need an account with the service it connects to.

Is io.github.nickjlamb/redacta-mcp open source?

Yes. Its code is on GitHub under the MIT-0 license.

Who maintains io.github.nickjlamb/redacta-mcp?

It is published by nickjlamb. AI.tn lists it but does not maintain or endorse it.

From the official MCP Registry. Listing is not an endorsement: review a server's code and permissions before giving it access to your data.