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Lookout

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Lookout — web answers with source-level proof. Search and fetch citeable excerpts, no API key.

Source code Website 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 @sylphx/lookout
Claude Code 
claude mcp add lookout -- npx -y @sylphx/lookout@0.3.3
JSON configuration (Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code) 
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "lookout": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "@sylphx/lookout@0.3.3"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Documentation

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

Contents
  1. Lookout
  2. The problem
  3. The difference
  4. Search, then open the page
  5. Install
  6. Tools
  7. What it will not pretend
  8. Companion MCP tools
  9. Documentation
  10. Development
  11. License

Merged into anymd (2026-09-25). anymd reads PDFs, Office files, EPUB, web pages, images and video into clean Markdown for AI agents: npx -y @sylphx/anymd. This repository is archived.

Lookout

Web answers with source-level proof.

Search and fetch citeable excerpts. No API key. Hits name the adapter. Fetches keep a span, warnings, and gaps. Multi-step research is a separate tool.

npm @sylphx/lookout · bin lookout · MCP io.github.SylphxAI/lookout

The problem

A search snippet is a title and a URL. The agent then paraphrases a page it never opened. When the body is missing, a confident summary is worse than a gap.

The difference

A snippet saysLookout returns
“Release notes” and a URLtitle, description, excerpt span, and any table rows it could read
nothing when the fetch failsa warning or an error: blocked address, HTTP status, truncation, empty extract

Fetch reads the HTTP response. It does not run JavaScript, and it does not write a model summary.

Search, then open the page

npx -y @sylphx/lookout search "Model Context Protocol"
npx -y @sylphx/lookout fetch https://example.com
npx -y @sylphx/lookout extract https://example.com

search queries DuckDuckGo HTML, Wikipedia OpenSearch, the npm registry, and Hacker News Algolia, then ranks the hits. It does not fetch those pages and it does not run web_research.

Install

npx -y @sylphx/lookout

That starts a stdio MCP server. No API key.

Your clientSetup
Any agent / CLInpx -y @sylphx/lookout
Claude Codeclaude mcp add lookout -- npx -y @sylphx/lookout
Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code / Codex"command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@sylphx/lookout"]
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "lookout": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@sylphx/lookout"] }
  }
}

Tools

ToolWhen to call it
web_searchRanked hits from the four public adapters. No API key.
web_fetchOne URL. SSRF checks, redirect cap, size cap, body-prefix span.
web_extractTitle, metadata, tables, and spans from HTML or a URL.
web_cacheQuery or manage the on-disk cache. Not a web search.
web_crawlBounded same-origin crawl. Not the search default.
web_researchNamed multi-step tool: search, then fetch and extract the top pages (default 3, max 6).
web_diffAdded and removed words between two texts or two URLs.

There is no profile switch. The tool you name is the work that runs. Cache is on for search and fetch unless you pass useCache: false. A cache hit replays an earlier response from disk. The first search still needs the network.

Reference: tools · defaults

What it will not pretend

  • Private, loopback, and link-local addresses are rejected.
  • A failed adapter, a non-200 response, a truncated body, or an empty extract is reported. It is not turned into a clean answer.
  • web_fetch does not honor robots.txt unless you set respectRobots: true. web_crawl honors it unless you turn that off.
  • Lookout does not render a browser and does not synthesize an answer.

Companion MCP tools

ProductJob
CitraPDF answers with page-level proof
IrisImage facts and pixel evidence
CueVideo timelines and timestamp evidence
SpineRepository architecture and impact
LocusExact code-chunk retrieval

Each product is independent. Install only the tools your agent needs.

Documentation
Websitesylphxai.github.io/lookout
QuickstartInstall and first call
CompareFirecrawl, Tavily, and what Lookout actually does

Development

bun install
bun test
bun run doctor
bun run docs:build

License

MIT

Frequently asked questions

What is Lookout?

Lookout — web answers with source-level proof. Search and fetch citeable excerpts, no API key.

How do I install Lookout?

It runs on your machine. In Claude Code: claude mcp add lookout -- npx -y @sylphx/lookout@0.3.3. For other clients, paste the JSON configuration from this page into their MCP settings.

Does Lookout 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 Lookout open source?

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

Who maintains Lookout?

It is published by SylphxAI. 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.