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The Old Ways MCP server

Which MCP servers are The Old Ways's own, from the official registry and from asking its own domain, whether they answer, and what they offer. A program checked each of these, nobody copied them from a product page.

read 2026-10-27

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Whose server it is
  • Registry nameco.theoldways/libraryverified in the MCP registry

The registry name sits under theoldways.co. The registry only lets a publisher use that namespace after proving control of the domain through DNS or HTTP.

When we asked itchecked 2026-10-27
  • Stateanswerschecked 2026-10-27
  • Tools3
  • Server calls itselfoldways-library
  • Server version1.0.0
  • Protocol version2025-06-18

On 2026-10-27 the server answered initialize and tools/list without a sign-in. First answer in 207 ms.

Should an agent connect itConnect it
  • Its tools do every use case we checked: read primary texts from five polytheist traditions; look up terms and deities in a glossary.

Once connected

  • For "look up terms and deities in a glossary", the likely first call is search_library.
  • Parameters are untyped or undescribed in 2 of 3 tools: check arguments before calling.

Said by rules from the measurements above. The likely first call is a model's pick from the tool list; read its description before relying on it.

Measured dailydaily checks: 8, the first on 2026-10-27
  • INITE MCP score98 of 100answers 100 · does the job 100 · definitions 89 · context 100 · connects 100
  • What an agent can do with it2 of 2 use cases
  • Answered100% of days8 of 8 daily checks
  • Median first answer233 ms
  • Space in an agent's context≈ 526 tokensthe definitions of all its tools (3), which an agent carries on every turn
  • Tool definitionsB · 89 of 100
  • Typed results0 of 3 toolsdeclared outputSchema: results come typed, read once
  • Parameters without a description: in 2 of 3

What an agent can do with it

  • can do · read primary texts from five polytheist traditions
  • can do · look up terms and deities in a glossary
  • not sure · follow festival calendars and ritual step-by-step guides

Each of the product's use cases, put to Jev against this server's tool list: can an agent do it with these tools?

Worth a look

None of the five warning signs in these definitions.

A program checks the server once a day: initialize and tools/list, no model. Tokens are the definitions' length at about four characters a token. The grade averages six checks of every tool's name, description, schema and annotations; it says how well the tools are described, not whether they work. The score weighs what was measured and nothing else: answering (25%), doing the product's job (25%), definitions (20%), context (10%), use (10%) and how readily a client connects (10%). A part that was not measured is left out, and a hidden instruction caps the score at 40. The state of vendors' MCP servers: method and numbers →

Tools it offers3 tools · read 2026-10-27
  • search_library

    Search the Old Ways historical-text and mythology reference collection: Norse, Greek/Hellenic, Egyptian/Kemetic, Celtic and Zoroastrian writings, glossary, deity profiles and explanatory questions. Returns canonical citation URLs and…

  • read_page

    Read a bounded text excerpt from an indexed public theoldways.co page. Supply a canonical URL or path returned by search_library. Returns a citation URL, edition/source note, text and nextOffset for continuation. Never accesses arbitrary…

  • list_collections

    List available book landing pages, traditions, content types, index-build timestamp and the source policy before exploring The Old Ways. Index-build time is not the publication date of a historical text.

How to connect

Add the server to your MCP client config. Claude Desktop, Cursor and most other clients read this shape:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "library": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.theoldways.co/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Add it

Claude Code, in a terminal

claude mcp add --transport http theoldways https://mcp.theoldways.co/mcp

Add to CursorAdd to VS Code

claude.ai, ChatGPT and other clients: add https://mcp.theoldways.co/mcp as a custom connector in the settings.

Each line is something a program found when it went looking: the registry entry, the server's own answer, a spec that parses. A missing line means we did not find it, not that it does not exist.