Onthecheap MCP

Name: Onthecheap MCP
Author: chrischall

by chrischallversion 1.2.0i★ –iRuns on your computer

Registry nameio.github.chrischall/onthecheap-mcp

Install

Overview

Description from the maker (original English)

On the Cheap MCP — free and cheap events, deals and local guides across 14 US cities

PopNx MCP’s three pillars

These three are never merged into one score: opinions, measurements and popularity are different things.

User voiceiNo reviews yetReviews open together with accounts in a later step
Our basic checksi1 of 1 passedChecked from public information; code not scanned yet
UsageiEarly↓ 333/wk · ★ –

What you can do with it

We have not written a plain-language summary for this one yet. Below are the facts we read from the registry.

Connection: Runs on your computer
Transport: stdio
Category: Online shops & payments

Install

Pick the AI app you use, then copy the settings.

Before you install

Basic checks: 1 of 1 passed
Runs on your computer with your user’s permissions (files, network, apps).
The registry lists no key to fill in.

You need

npmNode.js installed (for the npx command)

Which app do you use?

ClaudeClaude CodeCursorVS CodeChatGPT

Pick your app above. We remember it, so next time the button says “Install in …”.

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config, and paste this into claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "onthecheap": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "onthecheap-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Run this in your terminal

claude mcp add onthecheap -- npx -y onthecheap-mcp

Open in Cursor

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .cursor/mcp.json in your project, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "onthecheap": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "onthecheap-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.

Open in VS Code

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .vscode/mcp.json in your project

{
  "servers": {
    "onthecheap": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "onthecheap-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.

This one runs on your computer, and ChatGPT can only connect to servers on the internet. Pick another app.

Your choice stays on this device in a cookie; no account needed.

These settings are generated from the maker’s registry entry. If the README says otherwise, follow the README.

What it can do

Runs on your computer; the tool list appears in your AI app after you install it.

Basic checksi

We check information anyone can see; we have not read the code. Checks that do not apply are left out of the count. · Checked Nov 9, 2026

✓ Pass
Maker matches the repo
The registry name was verified with the GitHub account chrischall, which owns the repo
… Not checked yet
Still maintained
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
… Not checked yet
Has a licence
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
– Not applicable
Endpoint responds
This one runs on your computer; there is no internet endpoint
– Not applicable
Sign-in with OAuth
Runs on your computer and uses local settings instead
… Not checked yet
No hidden instructions in tool descriptions
Runs on your computer; we can only read tool lists from internet endpoints

Compared with others in Online shops & paymentsi

More stars than 0% of the other 2572 servers in this category
Published to the registry more recently than 85% of the other 2572 servers in this category
Basic checks equal to or better than 100% of the other 2572 servers in this category

Compared with every active server in this category in the registry. Stars count only when the publisher owns the repo.

Common questions

Is Onthecheap MCP safe?

It passed 1 of 1 applicable basic checks. We have not read the code. Before adding a key or token, see what access the server asks for and use a key with only the permissions you need.

What keys or codes does it need?

The registry does not list a required key, though some servers ask you to sign in on first use.

Does it run on my computer or in the cloud?

It runs on your computer. Your AI app starts it when needed, and data does not pass through the maker’s servers (unless it calls an online service itself).

Is it still maintained?

The GitHub repo last changed –, and the latest version (1.2.0) reached the registry 4 days ago.

Which apps can use it?

Apps that support MCP, such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code. You also need Node.js on your computer.

What can I use instead?

In the same category: Spree Commerce: open-source B2B and marketplace ecommerce, Stripe MCP, MCP Cn Commerce

Alternatives

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Runs on your computer

Install

README from the maker

Open the README

Copied from the maker’s repo as written. PopNx MCP has not reviewed or endorsed it. HTML, images and scripts are removed. Links lead off this site.

onthecheap-mcp

MCP server for the On the Cheap network — local guides to free and cheap things to do across 14 US cities. Daily event listings with times, prices and venues, plus a searchable archive of deals and guides.

Developed and maintained by AI (Claude Code). Use at your own discretion.

No credentials required. Every site is public, so the server reads them server-side over plain HTTPS. There is nothing to configure beyond which city you want, and no browser extension involved.

Install

npx onthecheap-mcp

Or as a Claude Code plugin:

/plugin marketplace add chrischall/onthecheap-mcp

/plugin install onthecheap-mcp

Choosing a city

One server reads the whole network. Every tool takes a site argument naming the city to read — there is no default and no configuration step:

Key	Site	Area
`charlotte`	Charlotte On The Cheap	Charlotte, NC
`denver`	Mile High on the Cheap	Denver, CO
`atlanta`	Atlanta on the Cheap	Atlanta, GA
`chicago`	Chicago on the Cheap	Chicago, IL
`columbus`	Columbus on the Cheap	Columbus, OH
`seattle`	Greater Seattle on the Cheap	Seattle–Tacoma
`kansascity`	Kansas City on the Cheap	Kansas City
`miami`	South Florida on the Cheap	Miami / Broward / Palm Beach
`orlando`	Orlando on the Cheap	Orlando, FL
`portland`	Portland Living on the Cheap	Portland, OR
`richmond`	RVA on the Cheap	Richmond, VA
`southernmaine`	Southern Maine on the Cheap	Southern Maine
`triangle`	Triangle on the Cheap	Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill
`national`	Living On The Cheap	US-wide deals (no local events calendar)

Common aliases work too — milehigh, raleigh, rva, kc, southflorida. otc_list_sites reports the same list.

site is required rather than defaulted on purpose: a server that quietly fell back to one city would answer a question about Denver with Charlotte's data and give no sign anything was wrong. An unknown key is refused with the valid ones listed.

Tools

All tools are read-only. Every tool except otc_list_sites takes a required site argument. The two event tools reject `national`, which has no local events calendar — it is still searchable via the other tools.

Tool	What it does
`otc_list_events`	Everything on a given day — time, price, venue. `free_only` filters to no-cost listings. Defaults to today.
`otc_events_month_overview`	Day-by-day counts for a month, to find the busiest days. Each day's list is a preview; `total` is the real count.
`otc_search_posts`	Search articles by text, category, location and date range. Returns slim summaries by default.
`otc_get_post`	One article in full, as readable text or raw HTML. Accepts an id, slug, or URL.
`otc_list_categories`	Category ids and post counts, for filtering searches by topic.
`otc_list_locations`	Local area ids and post counts, for filtering geographically.
`otc_list_sites`	The cities in the network and their `site` keys. Takes no arguments.
`otc_healthcheck`	Confirm one site is reachable; on failure `error.kind` is `edge_blocked`, `http`, `timeout` or `transport`.

Examples

What's free in Charlotte this Saturday?

Find kids' events in Lake Norman in August

Compare free things to do in Denver and Portland next weekend

Two things worth knowing

Retired deals are excluded by default. Each site parks expired offers in an expired category, so searches skip them and you don't get deals that no longer exist. Pass include_expired: true to search the archive. The category's id differs on every site, so it's resolved by slug at request time — a hardcoded id silently disables the filter elsewhere.

Category and location ids are per-site. Each site is a separate WordPress install, so id 13 is a different category on every one of them. Resolve ids against the same site you then search — an id borrowed from another city will filter to something unrelated rather than error.

Month overviews are previews, with honest counts. The calendar shows at most four listings per day. otc_events_month_overview reports each day's *true* total alongside the preview — call otc_list_events with a date for the complete schedule.

Configuration

None. The city is a per-call site argument, not an environment variable, so there is nothing to set up before use.

Development

npm install

npm test npm run build

See docs/OTC-API.md for the verified data surface, including the events calendar's US M-D-YYYY date routing (an ISO date is silently parsed as 1970), the month-view truncation, and why term ids are never hardcoded.

License

MIT

Onthecheap MCP

Overview

PopNx MCP’s three pillars

What you can do with it

Install

Before you install

What it can do

Basic checksi

Maker matches the repo

Still maintained

Has a licence

Endpoint responds

Sign-in with OAuth

No hidden instructions in tool descriptions

Compared with others in Online shops & paymentsi

Common questions

Alternatives

Spree Commerce: open-source B2B and marketplace ecommerce

Stripe MCP

MCP Cn Commerce

README from the maker

onthecheap-mcp

Install

Choosing a city

Tools

Examples

Two things worth knowing

Configuration

Development

License