UnblockingAPI MCP

npx add-mcp 'https://mcp.unblockingapi.com/mcp'

@unblockingapi/mcp

Official Model Context Protocol server and Claude Code plugin for UnblockingAPI. Gives AI apps (Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Lovable, Replit, …) a real browser behind rotating residential proxies: fetch bot-protected and JavaScript-heavy pages, and parse any site a published template covers into structured JSON.

Hosted at https://mcp.unblockingapi.com/mcp — add it as a connector and sign in, no install. Or run it locally with npx -y @unblockingapi/mcp.

Tools

Tool	What it does	Cost
unblock_fetch	Fetch public web pages that block simple requests, and get clean Markdown or HTML back. Picks plain HTTP or a real browser per site by itself; pass template to get structured JSON instead. Optionally narrowed with a CSS select.	1 credit per success; re-reading the same fetch is free
find_templates	Find a template that parses a site into JSON — by the URL you are about to fetch, by keyword, or by category — with its output shape.	free
get_build_guide	Guides for building apps on the REST API with plain HTTP: API reference, getting complete pages, templates, and recipes (rank tracker, listings aggregator, price monitor).	free

Failed requests are free. The server's instructions, tool descriptions and the notes in each response steer the agent: let the API choose plain fetch or browser, check for a template before parsing a known site, scroll or wait when content is missing, and read the build guide before writing code that calls the API.

Templates

A template turns a page into named fields instead of markup. The catalogue is open-ended — search engines, marketplaces, property portals, company registries — and anyone can publish one from the editor. There is no special handling for any particular site: every template, official or community, is reached the same way.

find_templates(url: "https://www.google.com/search?q=…")   → kjellberg/google-search
unblock_fetch(url: "…", template: "kjellberg/google-search") → { query, results, related_searches }

find_templates asks the API, which matches the URL against every published template's host, path and required query parameters the same way the template library does (* is one path segment, ** any deeper path, hosts exact unless the pattern says *. or .*), so a match is found however large the catalogue grows. More results than fit come back with a page to ask for next.

If a parser fails because the site changed, you get raw HTML back with parse_error: true rather than an error.

API endpoints behind the tools

Tool	Calls	Key
unblock_fetch	POST https://api.unblockingapi.com/unblock (JSON body; template selects a template)	X-Api-Key
find_templates	GET https://api.unblockingapi.com/templates.json?url=…&q=…&category=…&limit=…&page=… (the public catalogue, searched server-side; answers cached for 5 minutes), plus GET https://app.unblockingapi.com/public/v1/templates/<handle>/<slug> for the output shape when three or fewer match	none
get_build_guide	nothing: the guides ship in the package (guides/)	none

Templates are not endpoints of their own: there is no /api/google-search or /api/<template>, only /unblock with template set.

Removed tools

Older versions, and listings copied from them, mention tools that no longer exist:

Old tool	Removed in	Use instead
google_search	0.4.0	find_templates(url: "https://www.google.com/search?q=…"), then unblock_fetch(url, template: "kjellberg/google-search")
list_templates	0.4.0	find_templates (now also takes url)
idealista_property	0.3.0	find_templates(url) for the Idealista page, then unblock_fetch with the template it returns
ahrefs_website_authority	before 0.2.0 (never on npm)	find_templates(url: "https://ahrefs.com/website-authority-checker/?input=example.com")

Setup

You need an UnblockingAPI account — sign up at https://unblockingapi.com (500 free credits, no card). Then pick one:

1. Hosted server — paste one URL into your app and sign in. Nothing to install, no key to copy. Recommended for most apps.
2. Claude Code plugin — the hosted tools plus a hook that makes unblock_fetch Claude Code's web fetch.
3. Run it locally — the same server over stdio with npx, for those who prefer to run it themselves.

Hosted server

https://mcp.unblockingapi.com/mcp

Streamable HTTP. Apps that support MCP sign-in (OAuth) only need the URL: they open an UnblockingAPI page where you sign in and click Allow. The app never sees your key, and you can disconnect it any time under Settings → Connected apps at app.unblockingapi.com. Apps without sign-in send your key as Authorization: Bearer <key> (or X-Api-Key: <key>).

App	How	Guide
Claude.ai, Claude Desktop	Customize → Connectors → + Add → Add custom connector, paste the URL, Connect	unblockingapi.com/tools/claude
Cursor	One-click link, or "url" in ~/.cursor/mcp.json, then Login under Settings → MCP	docs/cursor-setup.md · site
VS Code (Copilot)	code --add-mcp '{"name":"unblockingapi","type":"http","url":"https://mcp.unblockingapi.com/mcp"}', sign in on first use	site
Windsurf	"serverUrl" in the MCP config (Cascade → MCPs → Open MCP config file)	site
Lovable	Connectors → + → MCP server, OAuth	site
Replit	Integrations → MCP Servers → + Add MCP server, Test & save	site
Bolt	Connectors → Manage connectors → Custom MCP server, transport HTTP, MCP OAuth	site
Zed	"url" (+ "headers") under context_servers	site
Cline	Remote Servers tab, "type": "streamableHttp" + key header	site
Gemini CLI / Antigravity	gemini mcp add --transport http … / "serverUrl" + key header	site
Claude API	mcp_servers entry, your key as authorization_token	site
n8n	MCP Client Tool, HTTP Streamable, Bearer Auth	site

With a key instead of signing in:

# Claude Code
claude mcp add --transport http unblockingapi https://mcp.unblockingapi.com/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer your_api_key_here"

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "unblockingapi": {
      "url": "https://mcp.unblockingapi.com/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer your_api_key_here" }
    }
  }
}

(Some apps name the URL key serverUrl or httpUrl; VS Code uses servers with "type": "http".) Agent frameworks: see Vercel AI SDK and LangChain.

Claude Code plugin

The plugin bundles the MCP server, stores your key, and makes Claude use unblock_fetch instead of its built-in web fetch. In Claude Code:

/plugin marketplace add unblockingapi/mcp
/plugin install unblockingapi@unblockingapi-plugins
/plugin configure unblockingapi@unblockingapi-plugins

The third line matters. Installing does not prompt for your key and succeeds without one, so skipping it leaves every fetch failing. New to this? Run /unblockingapi:setup instead and Claude walks you through it, then checks that it works. Full walkthrough: docs/claude-setup.md.

Run it locally

The same server over stdio. Needs Node.js 18+ and your key in UNBLOCKINGAPI_KEY.

# Claude Code
claude mcp add unblockingapi -e UNBLOCKINGAPI_KEY=your_api_key_here -- npx -y @unblockingapi/mcp

# VS Code
code --add-mcp '{"name":"unblockingapi","command":"npx","args":["-y","@unblockingapi/mcp"],"env":{"UNBLOCKINGAPI_KEY":"your_api_key_here"}}'

Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json; restart after editing), Cursor (~/.cursor/mcp.json) and most other apps take this block:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "unblockingapi": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@unblockingapi/mcp"],
      "env": { "UNBLOCKINGAPI_KEY": "your_api_key_here" }
    }
  }
}

Agentic clients that edit their own config will also set it up if you ask: "Install the @unblockingapi/mcp MCP server. My API key is sk_xxx. It runs over stdio via npx -y @unblockingapi/mcp and needs the env var UNBLOCKINGAPI_KEY."

Environment variables (local server)

Var	Required	Default	Purpose
UNBLOCKINGAPI_KEY	yes	—	Your API key. (The Claude Code plugin supplies it from its config prompt.)
UNBLOCKINGAPI_BASE_URL	no	https://api.unblockingapi.com	Override the API base URL.
UNBLOCKINGAPI_TIMEOUT_MS	no	180000	Per-request timeout. A plain fetch that falls back to a browser can take ~170 s.

Usage

Once connected, ask your agent things like:

• "Read https://example.com/pricing and summarise the plans." → unblock_fetch(url) — the API renders it in a browser if the site needs one
• "Get the Google results for 'wikipedia' as JSON." → find_templates(url) → unblock_fetch(url, template: "kjellberg/google-search")
• "Is there a template for this site?" → find_templates(url)
• "What can this parse into JSON?" → find_templates(category: "real-estate")

unblock_fetch parameters

Param	Type	Notes
url	string, required	http(s) only; media/binary files are rejected.
render	boolean	Omit to let the API decide (plain first, browser when blocked or a JS shell; learned per site). true always renders, false never.
location	string	2-letter country code for the proxy (us, gb, de, …). An unsupported one is refused with the list.
wait_for	string	Implies a browser. stable (default), domcontentloaded, networkidle, or a CSS selector to wait for.
wait_state	enum	With a selector wait_for: visible (default), nonempty, hidden, stable.
scroll_steps	0–10	Implies a browser. Scroll this many times before the readiness check (lazy content).
wait_min_ms	0–10000	Implies a browser. Minimum delay after navigation.
settle_ms	0–25000	Implies a browser. Ceiling on the settle wait (default 5000) — capture happens as soon as the DOM is quiet for 500 ms.
wait_rules	array	Implies a browser. [{if: "#consent", then: "#results"}] — first visible if wins and its then replaces wait_for.
detect_ms	0–25000	Implies a browser. How long to probe wait_rules (default 800).
max_age	0–300	Accept a cached copy this many seconds old. Hits return in ms and carry cached: true.
template	string	Parse with a published template (handle/name, or handle/name@3 to pin a version) and return JSON. Forces that template's fetch settings. Find one with find_templates.
format	markdown | html	How the page comes back (default markdown: a fraction of the size). Template results are always JSON.
select	string	CSS selector: return only the matching elements, in format.
fresh	boolean	Fetch again even if this exact fetch was made in the last 10 minutes. By default that copy is reused — so re-reading it with another select or format costs nothing.
max_chars	integer	Cap on returned body (default 120000), after format/select. Longer bodies are cut with a note.

Responses start with a JSON metadata block (job_id, status, http_response_code, response_time_ms, render, render_reason, readiness, template_version, location, cached, parse_error, truncated, …), then notes on what to try next (scroll for more, a narrower select, …), then --- and the Markdown, HTML or JSON body. API errors (bad key, out of credits, unknown template, invalid params, concurrency limit) come back as clear tool errors.

Full API reference: https://unblockingapi.com/docs.

Development

npm install
npm run dev        # tsx watch
npm run typecheck  # tsc --noEmit
npm run build      # compile to dist/
npm run smoke      # drive the built server over stdio (add UNBLOCKINGAPI_KEY for live fetches)
npm run smoke:http # the same over HTTP against dist/http.js (or MCP_URL=https://mcp.unblockingapi.com/mcp)
npm run start:http # the hosted server on :8080 (PORT)

Repository layout: src/ (server.ts tools, index.ts stdio entry, http.ts hosted entry, client.ts API client), Dockerfile (the hosted image, deployed to mcp.unblockingapi.com by .github/workflows/deploy.yml), .claude-plugin/ (Claude Code plugin + marketplace manifests), hooks/, skills/ and commands/ (plugin behaviour), docs/ (setup guides).

License

MIT