MCP server

Give an AI agent recall lookups with source links. The server speaks the Model Context Protocol over Streamable HTTP.

No key yet? Create one with POST /v1/keys (see the quickstart).

Tools

All four tools are read-only. Each result has a short text summary for the model, with the source link for every recall, and structuredContent holding the same JSON as the REST API. Problems (no input, unknown id, a VIN that cannot be decoded, a missing key) come back as a tool result with isError: true.

Claude Code

Terminal

claude mcp add --transport http recallsapi https://api.recallsapi.com/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer rk_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"

Add --scope user to use it in every project. To share it with a team through .mcp.json without committing the key, reference an environment variable:

.mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "recallsapi": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.recallsapi.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${RECALLSAPI_KEY}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor

~/.cursor/mcp.json (or .cursor/mcp.json in a project)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "recallsapi": {
      "url": "https://api.recallsapi.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${env:RECALLSAPI_KEY}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop starts local servers from its config file, so a small bridge, the open-source mcp-remote package, forwards to the remote server with your key. It needs Node.js installed.

claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "recallsapi": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://api.recallsapi.com/mcp",
        "--header",
        "Authorization:${AUTH_HEADER}",
        "--transport",
        "http-only"
      ],
      "env": {
        "AUTH_HEADER": "Bearer rk_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

On macOS the file is ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json; on Windows, %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json. Restart Claude Desktop after editing it. Keep Authorization:${AUTH_HEADER} without a space: some clients do not escape spaces inside args.

Any other client

Any client that speaks Streamable HTTP and can send a header works. The raw exchange:

initialize

curl -s -X POST https://api.recallsapi.com/mcp \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2025-06-18","capabilities":{},"clientInfo":{"name":"my-agent","version":"1.0"}}}'

Response

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "result": {
    "protocolVersion": "2025-06-18",
    "capabilities": {
      "tools": {
        "listChanged": false
      }
    },
    "serverInfo": {
      "name": "recallsapi",
      "title": "recallsapi.com: US product, food, drug, device and vehicle recalls",
      "version": "0.1.0"
    },
    "instructions": "US recall lookups. Use check_product first with whatever the user has (name and brand, barcode, model, NDC, lot); search_recalls for topics; check_vehicle for cars. Always show the source link. Get an API key at https://recallsapi.com."
  }
}

tools/call

curl -s -X POST https://api.recallsapi.com/mcp \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $RECALLSAPI_KEY" \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":3,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"check_product","arguments":{"upc":"041548000121"}}}'

Response (structuredContent shortened on this page)

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 3,
  "result": {
    "content": [
      {
        "type": "text",
        "text": "1. [exact] Dreyer's Grand  Ice Cream Inc.: Outshine Fruit Bars Black Cherry, 6 Bars, 2 (FDA, 2026-08-18). Hazard: Foreign object: products may contain glass pieces Source: https://api.fda.gov/food/enforcement.json?search=recall_number:%22H-1268-2026%22"
      }
    ],
    "structuredContent": "(same JSON as GET /v1/check)",
    "isError": false
  }
}

Notifications such as notifications/initialized get 202 Accepted with no body. Protocol errors use JSON-RPC codes: -32600 invalid request, -32601 unknown method, -32602 unknown tool.

Guidance for agents

• Start with check_product using whatever the user has; add the brand whenever you know it.
• Show the confidence level and the source link with every match, and say that a match should be confirmed against the agency notice.
• Do not tell the user a product is safe because nothing matched.