Penny Press
Short essays and fragments. Free for humans; machines pay pennies per read via x402.
Should I use this
Quality & Safety
Based on automated analysis of tool definitions and protocol compliance.
Context Cost
This is the approximate number of tokens consumed each time the server's tools are loaded into a model's context. Higher counts reduce the attention available for other tasks.
Install
One-Click Install
Add this to your `claude_desktop_config.json` file:
{
"mcpServers": {
"penny-press": {
"url": "https://www.pennypress.org/mcp"
}
}
}Remote endpoints
https://www.pennypress.org/mcpstreamable-httpWhat it can do
Tool inventory
Tools (2)
🟢list_essays
List all published essays and fragments: titles, descriptions, prices, and reading URLs. Full text is free for humans at /read/{slug}; machine reads at /essays/{slug} are paid via x402 (USDC on Base).
Input Schema
{
"type": "object",
"properties": {},
"additionalProperties": false
}Output Schema
{
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"essays": {
"type": "array",
"description": "Published essays and fragments.",
"items": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"slug": {
"type": "string"
},
"title": {
"type": "string"
},
"type": {
"type": "string",
"description": "fragment, ensemble, or prose"
},
"price": {
"type": "string",
"description": "Price in USDC, e.g. $0.01"
},
"human_url": {
"type": "string",
"description": "Free full text for humans"
},
"machine_url": {
"type": "string",
"description": "Paid machine read via x402"
}
},
"required": [
"slug",
"title",
"type",
"price",
"human_url",
"machine_url"
],
"additionalProperties": false
}
}
},
"required": [
"essays"
],
"additionalProperties": false
}🟢essay_payment_info(slug)
Get the x402 payment details for one essay (price, network, asset, recipient wallet) so a machine buyer knows how to pay.
Input Schema
{
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"slug": {
"type": "string",
"description": "Essay slug, e.g. river-of-time"
}
},
"required": [
"slug"
],
"additionalProperties": false
}Output Schema
{
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"slug": {
"type": "string"
},
"title": {
"type": "string"
},
"price": {
"type": "string",
"description": "Price in USDC, e.g. $0.01"
},
"asset": {
"type": "string",
"description": "Payment asset, USDC"
},
"network": {
"type": "string",
"description": "Chain id, e.g. eip155:8453 (Base mainnet)"
},
"recipient": {
"type": "string",
"description": "Wallet receiving the payment"
},
"machine_url": {
"type": "string",
"description": "Paid machine read via x402"
}
},
"required": [
"slug",
"title",
"price",
"asset",
"network",
"recipient",
"machine_url"
],
"additionalProperties": false
}Community
Evidence