Skim402

Claude plugin users

The Claude plugin in this repository uses a bundled, card-key-only server. It does not run the npm/wallet setup below. See CLAUDE-PLUGIN.md for installation, data handling, credit costs, and reviewer checks.

skim-mcp

Skim is the complete web toolkit for AI agents—not just a simple page reader. Get a free card key at [skim402.com/pricing](https://skim402.com/pricing); wallet/x402 is optional.

skim-mcp is the official Model Context Protocol server for Skim. It turns public pages into clean, agent-ready Markdown—typically ~4x smaller than raw HTML in Skim's measured comparisons—and exposes the full toolkit: clean reads, batch reads, JavaScript/browser rendering, structured extraction, crawling, PDFs, page-change watches, and curated Signals.

Default path: a card-plan API key. Get a free sk402_ key at skim402.com (pricing). Paste it as SKIM_API_KEY. A crypto wallet is not required.

Optional path: x402 wallet pay. If you prefer pay-per-call in USDC on Base, you can set SKIM_WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY instead. Ignore this unless you want it.

Tools in this package: read_url, read_urls, extract_url, crawl_url, read_pdf, watch_urls, check_watch, poll_signal.

Try before you integrate: use the Playground for a quick read or the Workbench to test batches, extraction, crawl, PDFs, watches, and Signals.

Quickstart (60 seconds)

Card API key (recommended)

1. Get a free key at [skim402.com](https://skim402.com) — it starts with sk402_. Card required at signup; 1,000 reads/month on the free plan. Details: skim402.com/pricing.

2. Add this to your MCP client. Claude Desktop — ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows). Cursor — ~/.cursor/mcp.json (or Settings → MCP). Same JSON works in Cline, Continue, Zed, and other MCP clients:

{

"mcpServers": { "skim": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "skim-mcp"], "env": { "SKIM_API_KEY": "sk402_your_key_here" } } } }

3. Restart the client and ask it to read a URL:

Read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_402 and summarize it.

Wallet / x402 (optional)

Only if you prefer pay-per-call ($0.002 USDC on Base) instead of a card key. You can skip this entire block.

{

"mcpServers": { "skim": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "skim-mcp"], "env": { "SKIM_WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY": "0xYOUR_BASE_WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY" } } } }

Fund a dedicated Base wallet with a small USDC balance ($1 ≈ 500 reads). Setup guide: [https://skim402.com/wallet](https://skim402.com/wallet).

Use a fresh wallet, not your personal one. This private key lives in a plaintext config file on your machine — treat it like a hot wallet for $0.002 tolls, not a savings account.

FAQ

Do I need an API key? Yes for the default path. Get a free sk402_ key at https://skim402.com. A wallet is optional.

Is this wallet-only? Do I need crypto? No. Card API key is the default. x402 wallet pay is optional.

What tools can my agent call? read_url, read_urls (batch), extract_url, crawl_url, read_pdf, watch_urls, check_watch, and poll_signal.

Try it without an agent

With a card key:

curl -H 'Authorization: Bearer sk402_your_key_here' \

'https://skim402.com/api/t/read?url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_402'

Wallet / x402 challenge (optional — returns HTTP 402 if you send no payment):

curl -i -X POST https://skim402.com/api/v1/read \

-H 'content-type: application/json' \ -d '{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_402"}'

The tools

read_url

Reads any URL and returns clean Markdown with a YAML frontmatter block.

Input: { "url": "https://example.com/article" }

Routes: GET /api/t/read?url= (API key) · POST /api/v1/read (wallet)

Output:

---

title: Example article byline: Jane Doe published: 2025-01-15 lang: en excerpt: A short summary...

Example article

The cleaned article body in Markdown...

read_urls

Batch-read 1–10 URLs in one call. Optional stripLinks / stripImages.

Input: { "urls": ["https://a.example", "https://b.example"] }

Routes: POST /api/t/read/batch · POST /api/v1/read/batch

extract_url

Structured JSON from a page. Pass a JSON Schema, or a preset: article, product, job, review, event, table.

Input: { "url": "https://example.com/product", "preset": "product" }

Routes: POST /api/t/extract · POST /api/v1/extract

Presets are sent as schemas on those extract routes.

crawl_url

Crawl a site (origin or start URL) and return clean Markdown per page. Discovers sitemap.xml / robots.txt sitemaps plus same-origin links. Cap 25 pages. 1 credit per successful page; failed pages are not charged.

Input: { "url": "https://example.com", "maxPages": 10 }

Optional: stripLinks, stripImages. Bare hosts like example.com are treated as https://example.com.

Route: POST /api/t/crawl (API key). No x402 /v1 twin — set SKIM_API_KEY.

Crawl https://example.com (max 10 pages) and list the page titles.

read_pdf

Fetch a public PDF URL and return clean Markdown plus an optional bookmark outline. Text comes only from the file. Image-only scans return 422 (no OCR). Files larger than 8 MB return 413. 3 credits; failed conversions are not charged.

Input: { "url": "https://example.com/paper.pdf" }

Optional: outline (default true).

Route: POST /api/t/read-pdf (API key). No x402 /v1 twin — set SKIM_API_KEY.

Read the PDF at https://example.com/paper.pdf and summarize the outline.

poll_signal

Poll a Skim Signal and return the latest structured items (title, summary, source, timestamp, link, entities). 2 credits per successful poll; failed polls are refunded.

Requires `SKIM_API_KEY`. Wallet-only configs get a clear error.

Input: { "slug": "ai-news", "limit": 20 }

Optional filters (pass only those the feed documents): forms (sec-filings, campaign-finance), categories (deals), fields (research), states (film-incentives), committees (campaign-finance).

Slugs: ai-news, sec-filings, crypto-news, macro, security, regulations, courts, recalls, deals, launches, trending, research, energy, entertainment, studio-jobs, campaign-finance, film-incentives. Use x402 for the ecosystem feed.

Routes (API key): GET /api/t/signal/{slug}/latest?limit= · GET /api/t/feeds/x402/latest?limit= (x402 is not /signal/x402)

curl -H 'Authorization: Bearer sk402_your_key_here' \

'https://skim402.com/api/t/signal/ai-news/latest?limit=20'

Poll the ai-news signal for the latest 20 items.

watch_urls / check_watch

Register 1–20 URLs, then poll for content diffs. watch_id is a secret.

Input: { "urls": ["https://competitor.com/pricing"], "note": "pricing" } then { "watch_id": "w_…" } (optional status_only: true)

Routes (API key): POST /api/t/watch · GET /api/t/watch/diff?id= · GET /api/t/watch/status?id=

Routes (wallet): POST /api/v2/watch · GET /api/v2/watch/diff?id= · GET /api/v2/watch/status?id=

Example agent prompts

Read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_402 and summarize it.

Read these three pages and compare their pricing: https://a.example/pricing https://b.example/pricing https://c.example/pricing

Extract the product name, price, and availability from https://example.com/products/notebook as JSON.

Crawl https://example.com (max 10 pages) and list the page titles.

Read the PDF at https://example.com/paper.pdf and summarize it.

Poll the ai-news signal for the latest 20 items.

Watch https://competitor.com/pricing and https://competitor.com/changelog, then check the watch for changes.

Configuration

How it actually works

Card lane (default):

your agent ──► skim-mcp ──► GET https://skim402.com/api/t/read?url=…

Authorization: Bearer sk402_... │ ▼ 200 OK + clean Markdown

Wallet lane (x402, optional):

your agent ──► skim-mcp ──► POST https://skim402.com/api/v1/read

▲ │ │ ▼ │ 402 Payment Required │ (x402 challenge) │ │ ▼ │ x402-fetch signs EIP-3009 ◄────────────┘ USDC transfer authorization │ ▼ retry POST with X-PAYMENT header │ ▼ Skim verifies + settles via Coinbase CDP │ ▼ 200 OK + clean Markdown

End-to-end latency is typically 1.5–2 seconds including settlement. Wallet-lane private keys never leave your machine — they only sign authorizations locally.

Security

• Card key: stored in your MCP client's JSON config. Anyone with read access to that file can use your key. Keep your key on the free plan or a small-balance plan.
• **Wallet key (only if