
Witnessd
vip.witnessdPublished by witnessd.vipv0.1.1Updated Oct 24, 2026
Neutral third-party witness: independently fetch, hash, timestamp, archive any URL or API response.
Overview
Lets an assistant have a public URL or API response independently fetched, hashed, timestamped and archived, returning a signed certificate.
- What you can do
- Witnessd is a neutral third-party witness service. Its witness_url tool independently fetches a public URL or API endpoint, hashes and timestamps the response, archives it, and returns a snapshot id plus a signed certificate. get_certificate returns the manifest, Ed25519 signature, Merkle proof and Base anchor transaction for any snapshot id, and retrieve_snapshot returns the archived response body with its certificate. Snapshot hashes are Merkle-batched hourly and anchored on Base so certificates can be verified without trusting the operator.
- When to use it
- Useful when a dispute might later depend on what a URL or API returned at a specific moment: witnessing a counterparty's published price or terms before transacting, or recording what a third-party API returned before acting on it. Also lets third parties obtain the archived evidence for a snapshot id.
- Requirements
- Runs locally over stdio via the npm package witnessd-mcp (npx -y witnessd-mcp); desktop-only, no web executable. Needs network access to the witnessd service (default overridable with WITNESSD_URL) and one payment credential: either EVM_PRIVATE_KEY (a wallet key holding USDC on Base) or WITNESSD_API_KEY (a prepaid credit key). No account login is declared.
Installation
In SourceWeft
- Open Witnessd 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
witnessd-mcp
MCP server for witnessd — a neutral third-party witness for the machine-readable web.
Give your agent the ability to create tamper-evident evidence: witnessd independently fetches any public URL or API endpoint, hashes and timestamps the response, archives it, and issues a signed certificate. Snapshot hashes are Merkle-batched hourly and anchored on Base, so certificates verify forever — by anyone, without trusting the operator.
Use it before transacting with a counterparty ("witness their published price/terms"), before acting on third-party data ("witness what the API returned"), or whenever a dispute might later hinge on what a URL said at a moment in time.
Quick install
The skill (plugin/skills/witnessd/SKILL.md) teaches an agent when a neutral witness is worth two cents: before paying an unfamiliar seller, before acting on third-party data, or when asked to prove what a page said. It also sets spending rules: at most 5 paid calls per task without approval, a one-line report of each call, and no paid retries in a loop. The MCP server gives the agent the tools.
On older Claude Code versions, run /plugin marketplace add jschunter/witnessd-mcp and then /plugin install witnessd@witnessd.
Tools
Install
Claude Desktop / Cursor config:
Payment — two options
Set one of these environment variables:
EVM_PRIVATE_KEY— a wallet key holding USDC on Base. The server auto-pays each call via x402 (the buyer only signs; no ETH needed for gas). Use a small dedicated wallet, never your main one.WITNESSD_API_KEY— a prepaid credit key (buy a $1 pack viaPOST https://witnessd.vip/api/credits, x402-payable).
Optional: WITNESSD_URL to point at a different witnessd instance (default https://witnessd.vip).
Verify without trusting us
Certificates are self-verifying: leaf_hash = sha256(canonical-json(manifest)), Ed25519-signed, Merkle-proven into an hourly batch root anchored on Base (calldata 0x + wtns1 + root). Standalone checker: witnessd.vip/verify.js.
Privacy & scope
Certificates (hashes, timestamps, proofs) are public; archived content is delivered only to paying requesters and never republished. witnessd only witnesses what any stranger can see — no logins, no private networks, bodies ≤10 MB. Machine-readable service docs: llms.txt · openapi.json · /.well-known/x402.
MIT license.
Source: README.md at commit 69eabdc
Tools
0Version history
1- v0.1.1LatestSep 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