# Argus Retrieval

Dispatches search across 14 providers, strips web pages down to clean text, and retrieves broken links. Built for agents needing research packs.

- MCP server · `type=mcp` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf (Devin Desktop), Cline, Zed, Gemini CLI · ★ 7
- Author: Khamel83
- License: MIT · policy=link-only · description only; the file stays with the author
- Source: https://github.com/Khamel83/argus
- Updated: 2026-10-22
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/mcp/argus-retrieval

## What it does

Argus acts as an access layer between AI agents and web search engines. It connects to 14 search services and skips exhausted budgets automatically. Out of the box, it queries DuckDuckGo and Yahoo without requiring user accounts or tokens. Page extraction follows a 12-stage filtering sequence to deliver clean text instead of raw HTML markup.

Four task modes guide the retrieval process. The tool pulls archived versions of dead links through wayback backends. All fetched data stays inside a designated user directory rather than your local project files.

The setup requires Python 3.11+. Standalone local operation fails without the `ARGUS_MCP_STANDALONE=true` environment flag. Commercial providers such as Brave or Tavily become active once you pass their respective API keys.

## Requirements
- Needs: Python and uv (commands run via uvx)
- Environment variables: `ARGUS_WOLFRAM_API_KEY`, `ARGUS_BRAVE_API_KEY`, `ARGUS_TAVILY_API_KEY`, `ARGUS_EXA_API_KEY`, `ARGUS_SERPER_API_KEY`, `ARGUS_LINKUP_API_KEY`, `ARGUS_SEARXNG_BASE_URL`, `ARGUS_DATA_ROOT` — keys and tokens: ask the human for the values, never commit them or put them in shared files.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

**Platform CLI**
```bash
claude mcp add argus -e ARGUS_WOLFRAM_API_KEY=<ARGUS_WOLFRAM_API_KEY> -e ARGUS_BRAVE_API_KEY=<ARGUS_BRAVE_API_KEY> -e ARGUS_TAVILY_API_KEY=<ARGUS_TAVILY_API_KEY> -e ARGUS_EXA_API_KEY=<ARGUS_EXA_API_KEY> -e ARGUS_SERPER_API_KEY=<ARGUS_SERPER_API_KEY> -e ARGUS_LINKUP_API_KEY=<ARGUS_LINKUP_API_KEY> -- uvx argus-search
```
Replace <…> with your own values. 3 more environment variables are in the server README. uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from argus-search <command>

### Codex

**Platform CLI**
```bash
codex mcp add argus-retrieval --env ARGUS_WOLFRAM_API_KEY=<ARGUS_WOLFRAM_API_KEY> --env ARGUS_BRAVE_API_KEY=<ARGUS_BRAVE_API_KEY> --env ARGUS_TAVILY_API_KEY=<ARGUS_TAVILY_API_KEY> --env ARGUS_EXA_API_KEY=<ARGUS_EXA_API_KEY> --env ARGUS_SERPER_API_KEY=<ARGUS_SERPER_API_KEY> -- uvx argus-search
```
Replace <…> with your own values. 3 more environment variables are in the server README. uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from argus-search <command>

### Cursor

**Config file**
File `.cursor/mcp.json`:
```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "argus-retrieval": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "argus-search"
            ],
            "env": {
                "ARGUS_WOLFRAM_API_KEY": "<ARGUS_WOLFRAM_API_KEY>",
                "ARGUS_BRAVE_API_KEY": "<ARGUS_BRAVE_API_KEY>",
                "ARGUS_TAVILY_API_KEY": "<ARGUS_TAVILY_API_KEY>",
                "ARGUS_EXA_API_KEY": "<ARGUS_EXA_API_KEY>",
                "ARGUS_SERPER_API_KEY": "<ARGUS_SERPER_API_KEY>"
            }
        }
    }
}
```
Replace <…> with your own values. 3 more environment variables are in the server README. uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from argus-search <command>

### GitHub Copilot

**Config file**
File `.vscode/mcp.json`:
```json
{
    "servers": {
        "argus-retrieval": {
            "type": "stdio",
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "argus-search"
            ],
            "env": {
                "ARGUS_WOLFRAM_API_KEY": "<ARGUS_WOLFRAM_API_KEY>",
                "ARGUS_BRAVE_API_KEY": "<ARGUS_BRAVE_API_KEY>",
                "ARGUS_TAVILY_API_KEY": "<ARGUS_TAVILY_API_KEY>",
                "ARGUS_EXA_API_KEY": "<ARGUS_EXA_API_KEY>",
                "ARGUS_SERPER_API_KEY": "<ARGUS_SERPER_API_KEY>"
            }
        }
    }
}
```
Replace <…> with your own values. 3 more environment variables are in the server README. uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from argus-search <command>

### Gemini CLI

**Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini mcp add -e ARGUS_WOLFRAM_API_KEY=<ARGUS_WOLFRAM_API_KEY> -e ARGUS_BRAVE_API_KEY=<ARGUS_BRAVE_API_KEY> -e ARGUS_TAVILY_API_KEY=<ARGUS_TAVILY_API_KEY> -e ARGUS_EXA_API_KEY=<ARGUS_EXA_API_KEY> -e ARGUS_SERPER_API_KEY=<ARGUS_SERPER_API_KEY> argus-retrieval uvx argus-search
```
Replace <…> with your own values. 3 more environment variables are in the server README. uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from argus-search <command>

## When to use it
- Pull clean text from articles by URL without boilerplate markup
- Recover deleted or broken articles using web archives
- Build structured documentation packs for target technologies
- Query multiple search providers through a single unified endpoint

## Example prompts
- Search for recent documentation updates on Python web frameworks
- Extract clean article content from `https://example.com/article`
- Recover the missing webpage at `https://example.com/dead-post` using web archives

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