
Websharp
io.github.jgadorPublished by GitHub account jgadorvv0.99.0-rc2Updated Oct 24, 2026
Search the web and extract article text for LLMs.
Overview
A local MCP server that gives an assistant web search through a SearXNG instance and readable article text extraction from web pages.
- What you can do
- Search the web through a SearXNG metasearch backend, with result limits, categories and language filters, returning a text summary plus structured result metadata and suggestions. Fetch and parse one or more web page URLs into readable article text, with titles, excerpts, detected language and per-page error reporting.
- When to use it
- Useful when an assistant needs current web results or clean article text for grounding, fact checking and research, and you are willing to run a SearXNG instance alongside it.
- Requirements
- Runs as a local Docker container (Docker Compose recommended) or from source with the .NET 9 SDK. Needs a reachable SearXNG endpoint, set via the Searxng__BaseUrl environment variable when not using the bundled Docker service. The MCP endpoint listens on port 8081 by default; ASPNETCORE_URLS changes it.
Installation
In SourceWeft
- Open Websharp in the dashboard and add it to a workspace.
- Enable the server for the chats that should use its tools.
Desktop only via STDIO. STDIO servers start a local process, so they need the SourceWeft desktop host.
Other MCP clients
Follow the launch instructions in the repository.
README
WebSharp MCP HTTP Server
WebSharp is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server written in C# (.NET 9) that exposes web search and readable page extraction tools over the streamable HTTP transport. It pairs a SearXNG metasearch instance with the SmartReader content extraction library and ships with Docker assets so you can run everything locally with one command.
Highlights
- Streamable HTTP MCP endpoint served by ASP.NET Core via
ModelContextProtocol.AspNetCore. - SearXNG-backed metasearch tool that returns both a readable summary and structured JSON metadata.
- SmartReader-powered page reader tools for single URLs or batches, ideal for grounding and fact checking workflows.
- Container-first development story with Docker Compose and an inspector-ready
.mcp.jsonprofile.
Available MCP tools
web_search
Response
- Text summary showing the top results, related suggestions, and any unresponsive engines.
structuredContentcontains a JSON object with:query: echo of the evaluated query string.items: array of result objects (title,url,content,engine/engines,category,positions,parsed_url).suggestions: related queries returned by the backend (SearXNG surfaces them when available).unresponsive_engines: list of engines that timed out or failed, with optional messages.error: present when the search could not be completed.
web_page_read
Response
- When a single URL is provided, returns the article title, excerpt, a preview of the readable text (~800 characters), and footer metadata (source URL, detected language).
- When multiple URLs are provided, the summary includes overall success/failure counts, per-page details (title, URL, full text, language), and error messages for any failures. Requests run concurrently and honor the MCP cancellation token.
structuredContentis not populated; all data is returned in the text block.
Run everything with Docker Compose
- Install Docker Desktop (or another OCI-compatible runtime) and ensure it is running.
- From the repository root, start both the SearXNG dependency and the MCP server:
docker compose -f docker-compose.yaml --project-name websharp up -d(add--buildon the first run or whenever the Dockerfile changes). - Wait until the
websharp-mcpcontainer reportsNow listening on: http://0.0.0.0:8080. - The MCP server is now reachable at
http://localhost:8081(mapped from container port 8080). SearXNG is available athttp://localhost:8080/for inspection.
Build the Docker image manually
Run the server image build without Docker Compose from the repository root:
Update -t to match the image registry and tag you plan to publish.
Connect with the MCP Inspector
- Start (or keep running) the compose stack above.
- Launch the Inspector with the included client profile:
npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --config .\.mcp.json --server websharp-mcp - Copy the printed token into the Inspector UI by opening
http://localhost:6274/?MCP_PROXY_AUTH_TOKEN=<token>in your browser. - In the Inspector UI, pick the
websharp-mcpserver to explore the available tools and try calls right away.
Running from source
- Install the .NET 9 SDK.
- Ensure you have access to a SearXNG endpoint. The easiest option is to keep using the Docker Compose service and export
Searxng__BaseUrltohttp://localhost:8080before starting the app. - Launch the server:
dotnet run --project src/WebSharp.Mcp.Http/WebSharp.Mcp.Http.csproj --urls http://localhost:8081 - The MCP endpoint listens on
/. InDEBUGbuilds you can hit/__routesto inspect the configured ASP.NET endpoints.
Configuration
All configuration values can also be supplied via appsettings.json/appsettings.Development.json. The Docker Compose definition mounts the correct defaults for local experimentation.
Using a different SearXNG instance
- Point
Searxng__BaseUrlat your hosted SearXNG deployment (for examplehttps://searxng.example.com). - Make sure the endpoint you target exposes the SearXNG Search API and permits the categories/languages you request.
- Consider adjusting the bundled
searxng/settings.ymlto tune activated engines, safe search, or rate limits before publishing to the MCP registry.
Security notes
- The HTTP transport does not include authentication. Run behind a reverse proxy, tunnel, or VPN when exposing beyond localhost.
- CORS defaults to permissive settings for debugging. Tighten them before deploying to shared environments.
- The server respects MCP cancellation tokens, and page fetches enforce short HTTP timeouts to avoid hanging client sessions.
Registry metadata
- Name:
websharp-mcp - Transport:
streamable-http - Endpoint:
/ - See
.mcp.jsonfor a ready-to-use inspector profile.
License
This project is available under the MIT license (see LICENSE).
Source: README.md at commit 43ba586
Tools
0Version history
1- vv0.99.0-rc2LatestSep 16, 2026
Score
50% of the applicable checks met
How complete this listing is, computed from the registry entry, the endpoint and public sources. Not a rating of the server and not a statement that it is safe or working today: reachability is a dated check, and no installs or reviews go into the score.
- Reached in the last 30 days25 pts
Keep the endpoint answering the MCP handshake; SourceWeft probes it every 30 days.
- Auth declared10 pts
Declare the credential headers in the registry entry, or keep the endpoint answering the probe so its auth can be classified.
- Tools listed15 pts
Answer tools/list without a credential, or ship a package that starts in a sandbox without one.
- DescriptionRequired15 pts
- Logo10 pts
- Documentation15 pts
- License10 pts