# Ref (slim)

> Ref Context is a hosted MCP server from Ref Software, Inc. Its two tools search public documentation and a user's private repositories and PDFs, then read a page as Markdown trimmed to the relevant sections.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ref.md (~6,250 tokens) · this version ~1,580 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ref.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ref
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · Updated: 2026-10-08

**C · 59.4/100 · rank #431 of 722 · #5 in Code & developer platforms · not agent-ready · confidence medium**


Assessment: Two read-only tools with short definitions, OAuth with separate scopes for public and private documentation, and an activity log of every tool call. The API key may be passed in the URL query string, no rate limit or 429 guidance is documented, and the free allowance is 200 one-time credits.

## Facts

- Kind: MCP server · vendor: Ref Software, Inc · category: Code & developer platforms · legal entity: Ref Software, Inc · provenance 82/100
- Endpoint: `https://api.ref.tools/mcp` (Streamable HTTP, stdio)
- Auth: OAuth or key · pricing: Freemium · x402: no · licence: Proprietary hosted service under Ref's terms of service. The stdio MCP server in ref-tools/ref-tools-mcp is MIT
- Probe metrics: not measured yet (probes haven't run)
- Endpoint: https://api.ref.tools/mcp, streamable HTTP. Health check at `api.ref.tools/ping`. An unauthenticated request answers 401 with a JSON `error` message
- Tools: `ref_search_documentation` (`query`) and `ref_read_url` (`url`), both `readOnlyHint: true`. OpenAI deep research clients see them as `search` and `fetch`
- Prompts: `search_docs` for public documentation and `my_docs` for private resources
- Credentials: `x-ref-api-key` header, `?apiKey=` query parameter, or OAuth through Scalekit with scopes `public_docs:read` and `private_docs:read`. `?scope=user` or a team id picks the workspace
- Private sources: GitHub repositories through the Ref GitHub App or a personal access token, and uploaded PDF and Markdown files. Free: 3 small repositories, 1 large, 100 PDF pages
- Rate limits: None documented. A response on 8 October 2026 carried `ratelimit-policy: "500-in-1min"; q=500; w=60`
- Credits: One credit per search or read. Free 200 one-time, Pro 6,000 a month, Max 30,000 a month, $10 per 1,000 extra on Pro and above
- Team roles: Admin, Writer and Reader for the shared index. SAML and OIDC single sign-on for $200 a month on top of a team plan
- Audit: ref.tools/activity logs user identity, tool calls and arguments for users and teams, per the security page
- Status: ref.tools/status, eight components with 30-day bars. Four incidents listed, from 20 August to 29 November 2025
- Sub-processors: 19 named on the security page, among them Turbopuffer (search store), Firebase, Google Cloud Run, Vertex AI, VoyageAI and OpenAI, the model providers under zero-data-retention terms. Locations not stated
- Support: help@ref.tools and hello@ref.tools, 9am to 5pm Pacific on weekdays, a reply within one business day per the docs
- Prices: Additional credits, Pro and above $10 per 1,000 tool calls; Pro plan $50 per month (plan); Max plan $200 per month (plan)

- Scores: Reliability 58, Performance pending, Schema & documentation 68, Agent ergonomics 67, Security & auth 64, Payments & pricing 35, Task success pending, Maintenance & community 50, Transparency & trust 68 · total over the 7 assessed categories
- Why: Reliability, Scored as a hosted MCP server. · Schema & documentation, Both tools have typed JSON Schema inputs in the open-source server (25). · Agent ergonomics, Two tools whose definitions and server instructions total under 1,000 characters (25). · Security & auth, OAuth through Scalekit with two scopes, `public_docs:read` and `private_docs:read`, or an API key. · Payments & pricing, No x402, MPP or L402 (0). · Maintenance & community, The hosted service's dated updates on 31 July and 30 September 2026 cover Ref Plans. · Transparency & trust, The stdio server is MIT, and it is a thin client.
- Sources: 22, open questions: 8, both in the full twin
- Capabilities: code.docs, web.fetch
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ref.json
- Verify (for the vendor): the badge `https://www.anchorterminal.com/badges/ref.svg` or a link to https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ref from a page on ref.tools or one of its subdomains, or the README of github.com/ref-tools/ref-tools-mcp, then `POST https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/verify` `{"slug", "url"}` or `verify_listing` at /mcp; re-checked weekly, no effect on the grade. Snippets in the full twin.

## Before you call it

1. Send the key in the `x-ref-api-key` header, not the `?apiKey=` query parameter, so it stays out of URLs and logs
2. Add `ref_src=private` to the `query` text to search private repositories and PDFs. Searches cover public documentation only by default
3. Pass `ref_read_url` the exact URL from a search result. Reads return the sections most relevant to the session's searches, about 5,000 tokens at most per the README
4. Keep one MCP session per task. Repeated similar searches in a session never return the same result twice, so refine the query to see more
5. Treat tool errors as text. The open-source server returns failures as ordinary content without `isError`

## Connect

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http Ref https://api.ref.tools/mcp --header "x-ref-api-key: <YOUR_API_KEY>"
```
Full config and headless snippets are in the full page. Through letme (picks today, calling later): https://letme.dev/ref

## Similar tools

| Tool | Grade | Score | Shared capabilities | Slim |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Tavily API + MCP | BB | 76.8 | web.fetch | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/tavily-mcp.min.md |
| You.com APIs | BB | 76.5 | web.fetch | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/you-com-api.min.md |
| Browserbase | BB | 76.2 | web.fetch | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/browserbase.min.md |
| Firecrawl MCP | BB | 75.3 | web.fetch | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/firecrawl-mcp.min.md |
| Spider | BB | 74.1 | web.fetch | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/spider-cloud.min.md |


## Panel reviews (0, desk reviews from public material, no calls made)