northcinder
Buyer-run, ad-neutral shopping-agent MCP software with deterministic ranking, signed purchase mandates, and a local audit trail.
What is it?
What it is
NorthCinder is an open‑source MCP server that enables an AI shopping agent to compare products, provide ranked recommendations with reasons, report store coverage, and require buyer approval before checkout.
Why it exists
It exists to give users a transparent, privacy‑preserving way to let AI agents shop by comparing real store data, preventing hidden ranking influence from seller payments, and ensuring the buyer explicitly authorizes each purchase.
Who should use it
Developers and technically inclined users who want a self-hosted, privacy-focused shopping assistant that integrates with their AI app via MCP. Ideal for those comfortable running local services, configuring store adapters, and managing their own credentials. Suitable for users seeking transparent, auditable product comparisons with human-in-the-loop approval workflows.
Who should avoid it
Users seeking a hosted or managed shopping service, those without technical expertise to set up and maintain a local MCP server, individuals who prefer not to handle store credentials or API access themselves, and users expecting guaranteed real-time pricing or complete market coverage across all retailers.
How it works
A quick walkthrough in plain English
How northcinder works
Step 1 of 3
You interact with it
Open northcinder, send a request, or connect it to your stack.
Features
Advantages
- Enables trustless AI shopping with verifiable rankings
- Full user control over data and purchases
- Transparency in decision-making via audit trails
- Privacy-preserving architecture (no centralized tracking)
- Flexible integration with various e-commerce platforms
- Prevents seller bias in product recommendations
- Local execution reduces attack surface
- Clear separation of sponsored vs organic results
Disadvantages
- Requires Node.js 20+ and technical setup
- Incomplete store coverage (some platforms unsupported)
- Manual approval step may slow workflow
- Early-stage project (0.1.2 release) with potential bugs
- Limited third-party credential verification
- Browser-based Amazon integration has limitations
- May require additional configuration for advanced use cases
Installation
native
npx northcinder init
FAQ
What is NorthCinder and how does it differ from a hosted shopping service?
NorthCinder is an open-source MCP server you run locally to help an AI agent compare products against your brief. Unlike a hosted service, there is no NorthCinder account, hosted control plane, or telemetry. The repository owner is not in the runtime path; you run the client and aggregation engine, choose store connections, and keep local configuration and audit data.
What are the system requirements to run NorthCinder?
You need Node.js 20 or later and an AI app that supports MCP. To build from source, it is a pnpm workspace; product packages require Node.js 20 or later, and the private site workspace requires Node.js 22.12 or later. Install dependencies with 'corepack pnpm install --frozen-lockfile' and build with 'corepack pnpm build'.
How do I install and set up NorthCinder?
Run 'npx northcinder init' to start the initializer, which walks you through local setup and prints the MCP configuration for your AI app. After connecting it, try a brief like: Find black wool running shoes under $130. Compare price, delivery, fit, and merchant trust. Tell me why the winner ranked first and which options were ruled out.
How does NorthCinder rank products and ensure unbiased results?
Buyer criteria determine the ranking order, and seller payment is not an input. Sponsored offers are labeled and remain below every organic result. The client reruns deterministic ranking over service-disclosed inputs to verify the order received. See the Ranking specification and Neutrality audit docs for details.
Which stores does NorthCinder support and how is coverage reported?
Supported stores include Shopify, WooCommerce, eBay, Etsy, and Amazon, each with varying access requirements. NorthCinder reports a store as unavailable or blocked when it cannot search it instead of presenting partial coverage as complete. Unavailable and unconfigured stores stay visible in the response with a store-by-store coverage report.
How does NorthCinder protect my privacy and control purchases?
Your AI-provider key stays in your AI app, and store credentials stay with you and the store. NorthCinder does not send searches, settings, or local history to the repository owner. Raw card details are rejected, and every automated checkout requires a signed, single-use mandate bound to the exact offer, quantity, and spending cap, protected by a cross-process nonce ledger.
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