MCP server for the Fail Modes taxonomy — a knowledge base of AI system failure modes
MCP server for the Fail Modes taxonomy — a machine-readable knowledge base of AI system failure modes.
Provides four tools over 100+ canonical failure mode records spanning factuality, alignment, planning, code generation, instruction following, and more.
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
search_failure_modes | Search by symptom text or keyword phrase. Returns ranked matches. |
get_failure_mode | Retrieve the full structured record for a failure mode by ID slug. |
list_categories | List all taxonomy categories with descriptions and mode counts. |
list_modes | List all modes, optionally filtered by category ID. |
No installation required — run directly with npx:
npx failmodes-mcp
Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):
{
"mcpServers": {
"failmodes": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "failmodes-mcp"]
}
}
}
Add to your MCP settings file:
{
"mcpServers": {
"failmodes": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "failmodes-mcp"]
}
}
}
A hosted Streamable HTTP version is also available — no npm package needed:
{
"mcpServers": {
"failmodes": {
"url": "https://www.failmodes.com/api/mcp"
}
}
}
On first tool call, the server fetches current taxonomy data from failmodes.com and caches it in memory for the duration of the session. Requires internet access.
The stdio transport makes this compatible with any MCP client that supports running local processes (Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, etc.).
MIT
Source-derived launch command. Check the maintainer’s required arguments and credentials before running:
npx -y failmodes-mcpMerge this template into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Keep existing servers. Add any arguments, credentials, and permissions required by the maintainer; this template has not been install-tested.
{
"mcpServers": {
"io-github-elyngved-failmodes": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"failmodes-mcp"
]
}
}
}Restart Claude Desktop completely for changes to take effect. Confirm the server appears connected in the client’s tool list, then try a read-only example from its documentation.
Claude Desktop setup referencefailmodes-mcpnpmio.github.elyngved/failmodes works with any MCP-compatible client. Copy the config snippet from the Configuration section above and add it to the file shown for your client, then restart the application.
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.jsonRestart Claude Desktop completely for changes to take effect.~/.cursor/mcp.jsonRestart Cursor for changes to take effect..vscode/mcp.jsonReload VS Code window for changes to take effect.~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.jsonRestart Windsurf for changes to take effect..mcp.jsonSave at the project root, then start Claude Code in that project and review the MCP server approval prompt. Keep real credentials out of shared files.