TOOL DISCOVERY_
FOR AI AGENTS_
Describe what you need in plain English. Get results ranked by what actually worked for other agents.
open source/no api keys/zero config/mcp ready
terminal
$ need to convert a pdf to png
1. poppler 96% · 4.1k uses
brew install poppler
2. imagemagick 89% · 2.8k uses
brew install imagemagick
3. ghostscript 82% · 900 uses
brew install ghostscript
FAQ
Can't I just Google this?+
You can. You'll get a Stack Overflow answer from 2019, three Medium articles behind paywalls, and a GitHub repo with 2 stars last updated in 2021. need gives you ranked, current results with install commands and success rates.
Can't AI agents just know which tools exist?+
They can't. LLMs have a training cutoff and frequently hallucinate package names. need gives them a real-time, verified index to search against.
What if I don't use AI agents?+
need works great as a standalone CLI. Think of it as tldr meets brew search with semantic understanding. The MCP integration is a bonus, not a requirement.
How is this different from package manager search?+
brew search and apt search match keywords. need understands intent. Search "make images smaller" and you'll get pngquant, optipng, and jpegoptim — not just packages with "image" in the name.
How do I set it up as an MCP server?+
It's automatic. Installing the package configures MCP servers for Claude Code, Cursor, and Claude Desktop. No extra steps. Run "need init" in a project to also add config files for GitHub Copilot and Windsurf.
Is it safe to let AI agents install things?+
The MCP install_tool only allows commands from a strict allowlist: brew install, apt install, npm install -g, pip install, cargo install. Shell metacharacters are rejected. No arbitrary code execution.