Auto-scan in Claude Code

AgentAvow Docs · agentavow.com

Scan tools automatically in Claude Code

Make "check it before you connect it" automatic. Two opt-in ways, both your own configuration. AgentAvow's MCP server never forces a scan, so nothing here can flag your setup in a directory review. You opt in; you stay in control.

Claude Code, not Claude Desktop. These use CLAUDE.md and hooks, which are Claude Code (CLI) features. Claude Desktop has no user CLAUDE.md or hooks, so in Desktop you invoke AgentAvow on request rather than automatically.

First, add the connector:

claude mcp add --transport http agentavow https://agentavow.com/mcp

Option 1 — the CLAUDE.md rule (lightest touch)

Add one line to your ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md (applies everywhere) or a project's CLAUDE.md:

Before installing or connecting a new MCP server, tool, package, or skill, first
scan it with AgentAvow (scan_mcp_server for an MCP URL, scan_package for a package,
scan_repo for a repo) and tell me the verdict before proceeding.

Now when you ask to install or connect something, the agent scans it first and reports the verdict.

Test it: in a fresh session, say *"add the deepwiki MCP server at https://mcp.deepwiki.com/mcp"*. The agent should scan it and report the verdict before doing anything else.

Option 2 — the SessionStart hook (automatic, hands-off)

Scans every MCP server you have configured that hasn't been scanned yet, at the start of each session, and surfaces the verdict. Covers both remote HTTP servers and local stdio servers launched from a published package (npx/bunx → npm, uvx/pipx → PyPI). It reads your config and calls AgentAvow's public API directly, so it works at startup before MCP servers connect.

Install:

mkdir -p ~/.claude/hooks
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AgentAvow/AgentAvow/main/integrations/claude-code/agentavow_precheck.py \
  -o ~/.claude/hooks/agentavow_precheck.py

Then add this to ~/.claude/settings.json (merge under hooks, keeping anything you already have):

{
  "hooks": {
    "SessionStart": [
      { "matcher": "startup|resume",
        "hooks": [ { "type": "command", "command": "python3 ~/.claude/hooks/agentavow_precheck.py", "timeout": 30 } ] }
    ]
  }
}

Test it without even starting Claude, once you have at least one MCP server configured:

echo '{}' | python3 ~/.claude/hooks/agentavow_precheck.py

You should see a verdict line per new MCP server. Run it again and it stays silent (already-scanned servers are cached in ~/.cache/agentavow/scanned.json). End to end: add a new server, then start a new session and the verdict appears in context.

Guarantees

Opt-in. Nothing runs unless you install it.
Warn, never block. A low score adds context; it never stops your session.
Fail-open. A network hiccup or an unrecognized config stays silent and exits

cleanly. It cannot break session startup.

The hook and the rule live in the repo at integrations/claude-code.

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