GoodnewsSAFE
A simple MCP application that delivers curated positive and uplifting news stories.
Overview
From the repository's own README, as read at the audited commit. Badges and raw HTML are left out.
[](https://mseep.ai/app/vectorinstitute-mcp-goodnews)
[](https://github.com/VectorInstitute/mcp-goodnews/actions/workflows/github-code-scanning/codeql) [](https://github.com/VectorInstitute/mcp-goodnews/actions/workflows/lint.yml) [](https://github.com/VectorInstitute/mcp-goodnews/actions/workflows/unit_test.yml) [](https://codecov.io/github/VectorInstitute/mcp-goodnews) [](https://github.com/VectorInstitute/mcp-goodnews/actions/workflows/release.yml)
MCP Goodnews is a simple Model Context Protocol (MCP) application that features a server for getting good, positive, and uplifting news. This tool fetches news articles from the NewsAPI and uses a Cohere LLM to rank and return the top news articles based on positive sentiment.
Read the blog post on Medium!
Motivation
In a world where negative news often dominates headlines, Goodnews MCP aims to shine a light on more positive and uplifting news stories. This project was inspired by a
91e13b79a235OBSERVED · 2026-10-08Connect
Built from this server's own package name, version and transport as found in its source — not copied from anyone's documentation, so it cannot drift against a page we do not control. Replace the environment placeholders with a token scoped to the least it needs.
claude mcp add mcp-goodnews --env COHERE_API_KEY=${COHERE_API_KEY} --env NEWS_API_KEY=${NEWS_API_KEY} -- uvx mcp-goodnews{
"mcpServers": {
"mcp-goodnews": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"mcp-goodnews"
],
"env": {
"COHERE_API_KEY": "${COHERE_API_KEY}",
"NEWS_API_KEY": "${NEWS_API_KEY}"
}
}
}
}Exposed tools (1)
1 read · 0 write · 0 destructive.
| Tool | Risk | Description |
|---|---|---|
fetch_list_of_goodnews | read | Fetch a list of headlines and return only top-ranked news based on positivity. |
Trust audit
SAFEgrade B · trust 89/100 Nothing in the source contradicts what it says it does. Grade A is reserved for packages that have also passed the behavioural sandbox.
| Layer | What it checks | Result |
|---|---|---|
| L0 | Provenance & inventory | PASS |
| L1 | Static analysis of the code | PASS |
| L2 | Instruction surface (what it tells the agent) | PASS |
| L3 | Class-specific surface | PASS |
| L4 | Behavioural (sandbox) | SKIPPED |
What the source does
- Filesystem
- none-observed
- Network
- declared (1 observation(s))
- Shell
- none-observed
- Dependencies
- pinned
- Secrets in source
- none-found
Findings (1)
.pre-commit-config.yaml
Gates applied: no_behavioural_pass.
91e13b79a235full audit observations/trust-audit/mcp-server/vectorinstitute__goodnews.json · Report an issue / request a re-scanAudit history
Every audit this server has had. A grade with a past is a grade somebody is still checking.
| Date | Source | Verdict | Grade | Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-08 | 91e13b79a235 | SAFE | B | 89 | first audit |
Questions
What is the Goodnews MCP server?
A simple MCP application that delivers curated positive and uplifting news stories.
What tools does Goodnews expose?
1 in total: 1 read-only, 0 that write, and 0 that can delete or overwrite. Every one is listed on this page with its risk.
Is Goodnews safe to connect to an agent?
The audit found nothing in the source that contradicts what it says it does, and graded it B (89/100). Grade A is held back for packages that have also passed a sandboxed behavioural run, which is why a clean server reads B.
What credentials does Goodnews need?
It reads COHERE_API_KEY and NEWS_API_KEY from the environment. Give it a token scoped to the least it needs — an agent that can be talked into calling a tool can be talked into calling it with your credentials.
How does Goodnews run?
It speaks stdio, so it runs as a local process your client starts. It is published on PyPI as mcp-goodnews.
How current is this page?
The grade is for one exact copy of the source (91e13b79a235), read on 2026-10-08. The repository is watched and re-audited when it changes.