Wayback Machine
MCP server and CLI tool for interacting with the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine
What is Wayback Machine?
Wayback Machine is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to mcp server and cli tool for interacting with the internet archive's wayback machine
MCP server and CLI tool for interacting with the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine
This server falls under the Search & Data Extraction category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- MCP server and CLI tool for interacting with the Internet Ar
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
NPM
npx -y mcp-wayback-machineManual Installation
npx -y mcp-wayback-machineConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use Wayback Machine
The Wayback Machine MCP server provides AI assistants with direct access to the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, enabling them to save URLs, retrieve historical snapshots, search the CDX archive index, compare page versions over time, and check archival statistics — all without leaving the chat interface. Researchers, journalists, and developers use it to investigate how websites have changed, verify historical content, or preserve pages at a specific moment through natural language requests to their AI assistant.
Prerequisites
- Node.js 18+ installed
- An MCP-compatible client such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cline, Cursor, or Zed
- Optional: Internet Archive S3 credentials (WAYBACK_ACCESS_KEY and WAYBACK_SECRET_KEY) for higher rate limits when saving URLs — obtain at archive.org/account/s3.php
Install the package
Install mcp-wayback-machine globally via npm, or use npx to run it directly without a permanent install.
npm install -g mcp-wayback-machine
# or run directly
npx -y mcp-wayback-machineRegister the server with Claude Code (optional shortcut)
If using Claude Code, add the server with the mcp add command. Pass credentials as environment variables if you have them.
# Without credentials (uses public rate limits)
claude mcp add wayback-machine -- npx -y mcp-wayback-machine
# With Internet Archive S3 credentials
claude mcp add wayback-machine \
--env WAYBACK_ACCESS_KEY=your_access_key \
--env WAYBACK_SECRET_KEY=your_secret_key \
-- npx -y mcp-wayback-machineConfigure claude_desktop_config.json
For Claude Desktop, add the server to your configuration file. The server requires no mandatory environment variables to function for read operations.
Obtain Internet Archive credentials (recommended)
For saving URLs without hitting rate limits, create a free Internet Archive account and get your S3 credentials at archive.org/account/s3.php. Add them as WAYBACK_ACCESS_KEY and WAYBACK_SECRET_KEY.
Restart your MCP client and verify
Restart Claude Desktop or your client. Ask Claude to check the archive status of a well-known URL to verify the Wayback Machine tools are available and working.
Wayback Machine Examples
Client configuration
Claude Desktop configuration for mcp-wayback-machine. Credentials are optional but recommended for save operations.
{
"mcpServers": {
"wayback-machine": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "mcp-wayback-machine"],
"env": {
"WAYBACK_ACCESS_KEY": "your_access_key",
"WAYBACK_SECRET_KEY": "your_secret_key"
}
}
}
}Prompts to try
Natural language prompts to explore the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine through Claude.
- "Save https://example.com to the Wayback Machine right now"
- "Show me what https://twitter.com looked like in January 2020"
- "Search the Wayback Machine for all archived versions of https://example.com from 2022"
- "How many times has https://news.ycombinator.com been archived?"
- "Compare the homepage of https://example.com between 2021 and 2024"
- "List all available screenshots for https://example.com"Troubleshooting Wayback Machine
save_url fails with rate limit errors
Saving to the Wayback Machine is rate-limited for unauthenticated requests. Obtain Internet Archive S3 credentials at archive.org/account/s3.php and set WAYBACK_ACCESS_KEY and WAYBACK_SECRET_KEY in your server configuration.
get_archived_url returns 'not found' for a URL that should be archived
Try search_archives first to see what timestamps are available for that URL. The Wayback Machine may have archived the URL under a slightly different form (with or without www, trailing slash, etc.). Use the exact URL format returned by search_archives.
compare_snapshots shows no meaningful differences
Ensure you are providing sufficiently different timestamps (e.g., years apart rather than minutes). Some sites also inject dynamic content that changes every snapshot — try focusing the comparison on specific sections of interest in your prompt.
Frequently Asked Questions about Wayback Machine
What is Wayback Machine?
Wayback Machine is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that mcp server and cli tool for interacting with the internet archive's wayback machine It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install Wayback Machine?
Install via npm with the command: npx -y mcp-wayback-machine. Then add the server configuration to your AI client's JSON config file (e.g., claude_desktop_config.json or .cursor/mcp.json).
Which AI clients work with Wayback Machine?
Wayback Machine works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is Wayback Machine free to use?
Yes, Wayback Machine is open source and available under the NOASSERTION license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
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