Istara (henrique-simoes/Istara) is an MCP server listed on the M8ven Trust Index. It scores 45 out of 100, grade D. It declares 8 tools. No publisher has claimed this listing.

Warning

45/100

Istara

Item: Istara
Rating: 45
Author: M8ven

Agentic Research Orchestration for UX Research and Product Development. Vibe and handcoded by a social and data scientist with background in many research domains and open-source

→ henrique-simoes/Istara · listed on github_repo_search

Warning. Serious findings were identified. Review the full report before connecting. Grades reflect the full trust pyramid: code, verification depth, and reputation. New projects cap at C until adoption is earned.

How we verified

Code Verified⚡ Live Monitored: not connected

Verified is a snapshot. Live keeps it current, and builds your track record.

⚡ Connect GitHub → continuous verification on every push why connect →

Who stands behind it

henrique-simoes

Source: github_repo_search

Is this your MCP?

Claim it to get a verified publisher badge, a free copy of our full audit findings, and direct contact for any high-priority issues we find. Or connect your repo for our deepest verification, Live Monitored: read-only, revoke anytime. What we access →

⚡ Connect GitHub for Live Monitored

Install from

GitHub

The grade above is for the source repository. Registries can serve a different version, so we mark the ones we were not able to read.

// key findings

🚨

Reads files from sensitive locations

Touches: /app/data/simulation-shared/runtime_overrides.env

🔐

You'll be asked for 3 credentials: DEEPSEEK_API_KEY, SLACK_BOT_TOKEN, SLACK_APP_TOKEN

These are read from process.env at runtime. Make sure you trust where they’ll be sent.

// tools this server exposes8 tools

These names and descriptions are the publisher's own, read from the source code. We print them as written. Our assessment is the findings above, not this list.

list_skills

List all available UXR skills with descriptions.

list_projects

List allowed research projects (names and IDs only).

get_deployment_status

Get status of active research deployments for one project.

get_findings

Get research findings for a project.

search_memory

Search the agent's long-term memory.

execute_skill

Execute a UXR skill on a project.

create_project

Create a new research project.

deploy_research

Deploy research outputs (generate report, export data).

// environment variables

To run this server yourself, you supply these values. They go in your own MCP client configuration and stay on your machine. The secret label means the value is sensitive, not that the server mishandles it.

🔐 secretDEEPSEEK_API_KEY

configPI_MAX_SESSIONS

configISTARA_DISABLE_BACKGROUND_AGENTS

configISTARA_EVALS_MODEL

configISTARA_RUNTIME_OVERRIDES

configISTARA_ENV_FILE

configLANCE_DB_PATH

configQA_CONTRACT_CHAT_MODEL

configQA_CONTRACT_PROVIDER_PORT

configQA_API_BASE

configPI_RESEARCH_ENDPOINT_IDS

configISTARA_FRONTEND_BASE

configISTARA_API_BASE

🔐 secretSLACK_BOT_TOKEN

🔐 secretSLACK_APP_TOKEN

configSLACK_API_BASE

configTELEGRAM_API_BASE

configWHATSAPP_API_BASE

Deployment configuration, supplied by whoever hosts the server. Users are not asked for these.

deployNEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL

deployNEXT_PUBLIC_WS_URL

// quality suggestions

Tool annotations

No tools have read-only/destructive annotations

Add readOnlyHint or destructiveHint annotations to every tool so hosts can warn users before invoking.

All four hints declared on every tool

8/8 tools missing one or more hints — list_skills (missing: readOnlyHint, destructiveHint, idempotentHint, openWorldHint); list_projects (missing: readOnlyHint, destructiveHint, idempotentHint, openWorldHint); get_deployment_status (missing: readOnlyHint, destructiveHint, idempotentHint, openWorldHint), +5 more. OpenAI's directory rejects tools where any of the four hints are missing or non-boolean.

For every tool, set all four hints (readOnlyHint, destructiveHint, idempotentHint, openWorldHint) to explicit true/false values that match the handler’s actual behaviour.

No access to sensitive paths

Reads sensitive paths: /app/data/simulation-shared/runtime_overrides.env

Remove reads of sensitive system paths. If you genuinely need them, document why in the README.

Shell command execution

1 call in production code run through a shell (relay/lib/heartbeat.mjs:22)

Prefer library functions over shell-outs. If you must shell out, ensure all inputs are properly escaped.

Claim the listing to review these findings one by one and send us a correction where you disagree, straight to the team. Claiming also means we tell you when the grade moves, and reach you first if we find anything urgent.

// full audit trail

The findings above are the summary. The full trail, every check we ran, each deduction, the network hosts observed and the dependency advisories, goes to verified publishers, along with an alert whenever a new one lands. Verified publishers can also review each finding and dispute it in one click. Publisher corrections have sharpened several of our checks this month, because the maintainer knows the codebase better than any scanner.

// improvement guidance — verified publishers only

We have 4 concrete improvements we can share with the publisher of this MCP. Each comes with specific guidance to raise the trust score.

// embed badge in your README

[![M8ven Verified](https://m8ven.ai/badge/mcp/henrique-simoes/istara?variant=verified)](https://m8ven.ai/mcp/henrique-simoes/istara)

Shows verification status without the grade. Want the grade badge instead? Remove ?variant=verified from the URL.

commit: 5e8fea49a55ead382df168167c1167d128c5c29e

code hash: f88c4c4bcf027681ab0e8d5613eef2a2cb33b297727e584442fc0bd5cdb4d65e

view raw JSON →

Check MCPs from inside your assistant

Tool Check · MCP

Vetting this one by hand? Tool Check is an MCP that scores other MCPs. Add it once and ask Claude, ChatGPT, or any MCP client to grade a server, surface CVEs, check the publisher, and suggest safer alternatives — before you install.

https://m8ven.ai/api/mcp/tool-check

check_toolsearch_toolscompare_toolsrecommend_alternativescheck_publisherreport_concern

How to add it →Free · no account needed · works in any MCP client