How do I install Thrifle?

Copy the http config for Cursor, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or VS Code on this page. It uses the publisher's install, not a PlugMCP proxy.

Does Thrifle need an API key?

No required environment variable is listed on this record.

When was Thrifle last checked?

Last checked 2026-11-08. US return policies, price-match rules, discounts, deals and Amazon price verdicts. Read-only.

Thrifle MCP server

Power your agent

Add this server

The publisher's own URL. Not a PlugMCP endpoint.

Add to Cursor Add in Claude Add to VS Code Run on PlugMCP

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

Server URL

https://api.thrifle.com/api/mcp

The Claude button above opens Claude with the name and URL filled in. You still confirm it there.

shClaude Code

1claude mcp add --transport http com.thrifle-mcp https://api.thrifle.com/api/mcp

Run in a terminal.

jsonClaude Desktop

1{2  "mcpServers": {3    "com.thrifle-mcp": {4      "command": "npx",5      "args": [6        "-y",7        "mcp-remote",8        "https://api.thrifle.com/api/mcp"9      ]10    }11  }12}

claude_desktop_config.json

Remote · HTTPPublisher installStep-by-step: add this in Claude

Remote URL or a command on your machine? How the two installs differ

Run on PlugMCP

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

A new server you create. It is not this listing's official endpoint. Use the publisher install when you want their URL and their credentials.

Launch

Server facts

Remote

Transport: http
Version: 1.0.0
Last checked

Tools

No tool list yet. Remote servers get one after the first health check.

FAQ

Questions

Thrifle MCP server

US return policies, price-match rules, discounts, deals, credit-card terms and Amazon buy-or-wait verdicts — as read-only tools for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and any MCP client.

https://api.thrifle.com/api/mcp

No auth. No signup. 24 tools. Every answer links to the thrifle.com page it comes from.

What you can ask

Tool	Example
`get_return_policy`	What is Costco's return policy on a laptop?
`compare_return_policies`	Is it easier to return to Target or Walmart?
`search_return_policies`	Which furniture stores offer free returns?
`get_price_match_policy`	Does Best Buy price match Amazon?
`who_will_price_match`	Who will match this Amazon price on a TV?
`get_merchant_discounts` · `search_discounts`	Does Home Depot have a military discount?
`get_cancellation_guide`	How do I cancel Planet Fitness?
`get_birthday_freebie` · `search_birthday_freebies`	What does Starbucks give you on your birthday?
`search_deals` · `get_deal` · `get_deal_of_the_day` · `get_store_deals`	Is there a deal on AirPods Pro right now?
`predict_amazon_price`	Should I buy this Amazon product now or wait?
`search_credit_cards` · `get_credit_card` · `get_store_credit_cards`	Does the Lowe's card use deferred interest?
`get_money_monitor` · `get_price_pulse`	What is the average credit-card APR right now?
`check_product_recalls`	Has this product been recalled?
`about_thrifle`	What is Thrifle and what does it cover?

The data behind these tools: a return-policy database covering 2,250 US retailers with an A+–D− grade computed from the policy's own terms, price-match and price-adjustment policies, military/student discount programmes, birthday offers, cancellation guides, a curated deal feed, a credit-card database built from issuer pricing pages, and price history for hundreds of thousands of Amazon products. All of it is editor-verified and every record carries a last_verified date.

Connect it

Claude.ai / Claude Desktop (every plan; Free allows one custom connector) Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector → paste the URL → leave authentication empty.

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http thrifle https://api.thrifle.com/api/mcp

ChatGPT — Settings → Apps & Connectors → Create (developer mode) → paste the URL, no authentication.

Cursor — click the badge above, or add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{ "mcpServers": { "thrifle": { "url": "https://api.thrifle.com/api/mcp" } } }

VS Code — click the badge above, or code --add-mcp '{"name":"thrifle","type":"http","url":"https://api.thrifle.com/api/mcp"}'.

Perplexity (+ Custom connector → Remote), Grok (grok.com/connectors → Custom), Mistral Le Chat (Connectors → Custom MCP Connector), Gemini CLI (httpUrl under mcpServers), Gemini Enterprise (Manage team → Connected apps → Add MCP Server) all accept the same URL.

Claude Code plugin — this repo is also a Claude Code plugin (.claude-plugin/plugin.json, .mcp.json, and a thrifle-shopping skill that teaches the model which tool answers which question).

Try it from a terminal

curl -s https://api.thrifle.com/api/mcp | jq .tools

curl -s -X POST https://api.thrifle.com/api/mcp \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' -H 'accept: application/json, text/event-stream' \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"get_return_policy","arguments":{"merchant":"Costco"}}}'

Run it yourself

git clone https://github.com/ejazmu/thrifle-mcp && cd thrifle-mcp
npm install
npm start          # http://127.0.0.1:8787/mcp, reading Thrifle's public API
npm test           # 17 protocol + shaping fixtures, no network needed

This is the same code that serves api.thrifle.com/api/mcp. THRIFLE_API_BASE points it at a different API base; MCP_RATE_PER_MIN / MCP_RATE_PER_DAY set the per-IP limits; MCP_API_KEYS (comma-separated) lists keys that bypass them via Authorization: Bearer.

How it is built

Stateless Streamable HTTP. One McpServer + transport per request, JSON responses, no sessions — nothing to resume, nothing shared between callers, nothing for a CDN to buffer. GET on the endpoint returns a human-readable discovery document.
Tools call Thrifle's public REST API, never a database. That keeps the MCP answer identical to the website's answer: affiliate-link handling, expired-deal rules and serve-time grading all apply automatically. src/api-client.js is a 60-line loopback fetch.
Shapers, not raw payloads. src/shape.js turns each API response into the facts plus the canonical thrifle.com url and a cite block, and drops internal fields. Pure functions, all covered by fixtures.
Read-only by construction. Every tool declares readOnlyHint: true; the catalogue in src/tools.js has no write path.
Price verdicts never trigger a live fetch — they read the tracked-price database only.

Fair use and licensing

Free for assistants answering a person's question: 60 calls a minute and 1,500 a day per address. Bulk or commercial use is licensed — see thrifle.com/data-licensing; a licence comes with a key that lifts the limits. Deal buy_url values are thrifle.com redirects and may be affiliate links.

Links

Docs: https://thrifle.com/mcp · Return-policy database: https://thrifle.com/return-policy · Price Predict: https://thrifle.com/price-predict · Money: https://thrifle.com/money · Contact: [email protected]

Thrifle

Add this server

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

Server facts

Tools

Questions

How do I install Thrifle?

Does Thrifle need an API key?

What transport does Thrifle use?

When was Thrifle last checked?

Documentation

Thrifle MCP server

What you can ask

Connect it

Try it from a terminal

Run it yourself

How it is built

Fair use and licensing

Links