W3c
FreeMaintainedMCP Server for accessing W3C/WHATWG/IETF web specifications. Provides AI assistants with access to official web standards data including specifications, WebIDL
About
MCP Server for accessing W3C/WHATWG/IETF web specifications. Provides AI assistants with access to official web standards data including specifications, WebIDL definitions, CSS properties, and HTML elements.
README
npm version License: MIT Node.js MCP Built with Claude Code
MCP Server for accessing W3C/WHATWG/IETF web specifications. Provides AI assistants with access to official web standards data including specifications, WebIDL definitions, CSS properties, and HTML elements.
Installation
npm install -g @shuji-bonji/w3c-mcp
Or use directly with npx:
npx @shuji-bonji/w3c-mcp
Configuration
Claude Desktop
Add to your Claude Desktop configuration file:
macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"w3c": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@shuji-bonji/w3c-mcp"]
}
}
}
Claude Code
Add the server using the claude mcp CLI:
claude mcp add w3c -- npx -y @shuji-bonji/w3c-mcp
Or edit ~/.claude.json / project-level .mcp.json manually with the same mcpServers block shown above.
Cursor
Add to your Cursor MCP settings (.cursor/mcp.json in your project or global settings):
{
"mcpServers": {
"w3c": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@shuji-bonji/w3c-mcp"]
}
}
}
Available Tools
Specification Discovery
list_w3c_specs
List W3C/WHATWG/IETF web specifications with optional filtering.
Parameters:
organization(optional): Filter by organization -"W3C","WHATWG","IETF", or"all"keyword(optional): Filter by keyword in title or shortnamecategory(optional): Filter by categorylimit(optional): Maximum number of results (default: 50)
get_w3c_spec
Get detailed information about a specific web specification.
Parameters:
shortname(required): Specification shortname (e.g.,"service-workers","appmanifest","fetch")
search_w3c_specs
Search web specifications by query string.
Parameters:
query(required): Search query (e.g.,"service worker","manifest","storage")limit(optional): Maximum number of results (default: 20)
WebIDL
get_webidl
Get WebIDL interface definitions for a specification. WebIDL defines the JavaScript APIs.
Parameters:
shortname(required): Specification shortname (e.g.,"service-workers","fetch","dom")
list_webidl_specs
List all specifications that have WebIDL definitions available.
CSS
get_css_properties
Get CSS property definitions from a specific spec or all specs.
Parameters:
spec(optional): Specification shortname (e.g.,"css-grid-1","css-flexbox-1")property(optional): Search for a specific CSS property by name
list_css_specs
List all CSS specifications that have property definitions available.
HTML Elements
get_html_elements
Get HTML element definitions from a specific spec or all specs.
Parameters:
spec(optional): Specification shortname (e.g.,"html","svg")element(optional): Search for a specific element by name (e.g.,"video","canvas")
list_element_specs
List all specifications that have HTML element definitions available.
PWA
get_pwa_specs
Get all Progressive Web App (PWA) related specifications.
Parameters:
coreOnly(optional): If true, return only the core PWA specs (Service Worker, Manifest, Push, Notifications)
get_spec_dependencies
Get basic information for a specification.
Note: Dependency data (
dependencies/dependents) is not yet exposed by the upstream web-specs package, so these fields currently return empty arrays. Only the base spec metadata is reliable for now.
Parameters:
shortname(required): Specification shortname
Usage Examples
Find Service Worker APIs
Use the get_webidl tool with shortname "service-workers" to see the ServiceWorker interface definitions.
Explore PWA Technologies
Use get_pwa_specs to see all PWA-related specifications, then use get_w3c_spec for details on each one.
Look up CSS Grid Properties
Use get_css_properties with spec "css-grid-1" to see all CSS Grid layout properties.
Search for Storage APIs
Use search_w3c_specs with query "storage" to find all storage-related specifications.
Data Sources
This MCP server uses the following W3C/webref data packages:
| Package | Description |
|---|---|
| web-specs | Metadata for all web specifications |
| @webref/idl | WebIDL interface definitions |
| @webref/css | CSS properties and values |
| @webref/elements | HTML element definitions |
These packages are maintained by the W3C and provide machine-readable data extracted from official specifications.
GitHub Repositories:
Debug Mode
Enable debug logging with environment variables:
# Enable debug logging
W3C_MCP_DEBUG=true npx @shuji-bonji/w3c-mcp
# Enable performance logging only
W3C_MCP_PERF=true npx @shuji-bonji/w3c-mcp
Debug output includes:
- Tool call arguments
- Execution timing
- Data loading performance
Architecture
src/
├── index.ts # MCP server entry point
├── constants/
│ └── index.ts # Centralized configuration constants
├── data/
│ └── loader.ts # Data loading with caching
├── tools/ # Tool implementations
│ ├── list-specs.ts
│ ├── get-spec.ts
│ ├── search-specs.ts
│ ├── get-webidl.ts
│ ├── get-css.ts
│ ├── get-elements.ts
│ └── get-pwa-specs.ts
├── schemas/
│ └── index.ts # Zod validation schemas
├── errors/
│ └── index.ts # Custom error classes
├── utils/
│ ├── logger.ts # Debug logging utilities
│ ├── mapper.ts # Spec data mapping utilities
│ ├── search.ts # Generic search utilities
│ └── suggestions.ts # Suggestion generation utilities
└── types/
└── index.ts # TypeScript type definitions
tests/
├── setup.ts # Test setup
├── data/ # Data loader tests
├── tools/ # Tool tests
└── integration/ # MCP server integration tests
Performance
- Startup: ~70ms parallel preloading of all data
- Spec Lookup: O(1) using Map-based index
- Search: Optimized with early termination on exact matches
Development
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/shuji-bonji/w3c-mcp.git
cd w3c-mcp
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Build
npm run build
# Run in development mode
npm run dev
# Run with debug logging
W3C_MCP_DEBUG=true npm start
# Run tests
npm test
# Run tests with coverage
npm run test:coverage
# Lint code
npm run lint
# Format code
npm run format
# Lint + format (auto-fix)
npm run check
License
MIT
Install W3c in Claude Desktop, Claude Code & Cursor
unyly install w3c-mcpInstalls into Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor & VS Code — handles npx, uvx and build-from-source repos for you.
First time? Get the CLI: curl -fsSL https://unyly.org/install | sh
Or configure manually
Run in your terminal:
claude mcp add w3c-mcp --env W3C_MCP_DEBUG="" --env W3C_MCP_PERF="" -- npx -y @shuji-bonji/w3c-mcpStep-by-step: how to install W3c
FAQ
Is W3c MCP free?
Yes, W3c MCP is free — one-click install via Unyly at no cost.
Does W3c need an API key?
Yes, it requires environment variables: W3C_MCP_DEBUG, W3C_MCP_PERF. Unyly injects them into the config during install.
Is W3c hosted or self-hosted?
A hosted option is available: Unyly runs the server in the cloud, no local setup required.
How do I install W3c in Claude Desktop, Claude Code or Cursor?
Open W3c on unyly.org, pick your client tab (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor) and press Install — the config is generated automatically, no JSON editing.
Changes
Versions and requested access over time.
- New version published
- New version published
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