Frugal MCP Server

The open routing layer for AI tools. Frugal is an MCP server that sits between your agent and its tool providers. You describe the job - a search, an extraction, a render, or just an intent - and Frugal decides how to complete it, routing each call per policy: cheapest capable provider by default, fastest or premium when you say so, pinned or denied when compliance says so, with automatic failover when a provider…

People who work with agent tools, cost optimization and llm routing and want it reachable from Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or another MCP client. The project is written in Go.

VERIFIED ACTIVE

LAST COMMIT 2026-09-16 · ★ 2 · #395 OF 945 MAINTAINED OTHER · VERIFIED 2026-09-18

NOASSERTION · Go servers · how we verify → /methodology

01 · Install Frugal

before you install - you'll need

Set ANYTHINGLLM_STORAGE_DIR, SEARXNG_URL, SERPER_API_KEY, YDC_API_KEY, FIRECRAWL_API_KEY, BROWSERLESS_TOKEN before connecting.

Claude Code

claude mcp add brainsparker-frugal -- npx -y frugal-mcp

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code - add to config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brainsparker-frugal": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "frugal-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Same JSON for Cursor. For VS Code, rename the top-level key from `mcpServers` to `servers`.

Using another client? Same JSON, different key

Claude Desktop · mcpServers

Cursor · mcpServers

VS Code · servers

Windsurf · mcpServers

Zed · context_servers

Cline · mcpServers

Roo Code · mcpServers

Continue · mcpServers

LibreChat · mcpServers

Gemini CLI · mcpServers

Codex CLI · mcp_servers

Full setup guides: every client.

02 · Evidence

Security posture

What to check before giving this server access to your agent - from the registry, GitHub, and our own probes. We don't score safety; we show what's verifiable.

runs as local process (stdio) - runs on your machine with your user's permissions

license no standard license detected - usage rights unclear; check the repo before commercial use

npm package frugal-mcp - unscoped; check the name against the project README before installing

registry namespace io.github.brainsparker is GitHub-verified and matches the repo owner

03 · What Frugal can do

Prose above is summarized from the project's README and registry record - no invented capabilities.

Latest releases

v0.1.1 · 2026-07-23

Frugal is now the open routing layer for AI tools: describe the job, Frugal decides how to complete it - per policy, with the decision on every result. Cost stays the flagship policy; it's no longer the whole identity.…

v0.1.0 · 2026-07-23

Superseded by v0.1.1 (identical binaries; this release's MCP Registry publish failed on a metadata length limit). Kept because frugal-mcp@0.1.0 on npm downloads its binary from here.

v0.0.3 · 2026-05-28

add frugal benchmark landing page · nightly hardening - request ID validation · nightly hardening - wrap proxy timeout guardrails · nightly hardening - fallback header guardrails · nightly hardening - retry-after date…

04 · Who maintains Frugal

Frugal is maintained by brainsparker. It's the only MCP server we track from this author; the repo dates to Apr 2026.

05 · Facts

repository: github.com/brainsparker/frugal
category: other - ranked #395 of 945 actively-maintained other servers as of 2026-09-18.
release cadence: 2 releases in the last 90 days (latest 2026-07-23)
registry: io.github.brainsparker/frugal (active, first published 2026-05-28 · 2 versions)
packages: npm:frugal-mcp

06 · Frugal FAQ

What is Frugal?

Is Frugal still maintained?

Yes - as of 2026-09-18, its last commit was 2026-09-16 and it shipped 2 releases in the last 90 days. We re-verify nightly.

How do I install Frugal?

Run `npx -y frugal-mcp`. The README documents 6 environment variables (ANYTHINGLLM_STORAGE_DIR, SEARXNG_URL, SERPER_API_KEY…) to set first. Set ANYTHINGLLM_STORAGE_DIR, SEARXNG_URL, SERPER_API_KEY, YDC_API_KEY, FIRECRAWL_API_KEY, BROWSERLESS_TOKEN before connecting. You can also paste the ready-made client config above.

Does Frugal run locally?

Yes - it's a stdio server: it runs on your machine (via npx) with your user's permissions. Your data stays local unless the server itself calls external APIs.

07 · Alternatives to Frugal

Alternatives to Frugal

Maintained other servers if Frugal isn't the fit.

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