Summary

Open a free-tier MCP teaser: per-tier mcpDailyQuota in the product catalog (free = 5 calls/day, cache tools only; Pro = 50 incl. LLM-backed RPC tools), replace the hardcoded quota constant and the tier < 1 auth rejection with entitlement-driven checks, and list the server on the major MCP registries (mcp.so, Smithery, Glama, awesome-mcp-servers).

Why (evidence)

• The MCP ecosystem is at ~9,400 public servers, +38% in 4 months, with Data & Search ~18% of the category — and no dominant geopolitical-data MCP server exists yet. First-mover slot is open and cheap to claim.
• Today FREE_FEATURES.mcpAccess: false means a developer who finds WorldMonitor in a registry cannot try a single call without paying $39.99/mo — which kills directory listings as a channel entirely (registries surface servers people can actually connect).
• Honest caveat from the research: MCP→paying-user conversion is unproven anywhere. So this is deliberately scoped as a low-cost optionality bet: quota plumbing + listings, no new tool development.
• Restricting the free quota to cache tools (edge-cached reads) keeps free-tier COGS ≈ 0; the LLM-backed RPC tools (get_world_brief, get_country_brief, analyze_situation, …) stay Pro — they're also the strongest upgrade reason.

Current state (verified anchors)

• api/mcp/auth.ts:186-238 runProPreChecks() — rejects unless ent && tier >= 1 && mcpAccess === true && validUntil >= Date.now(); 401 JSON-RPC error -32001 "Subscription not active." No anonymous path; auth = OAuth bearer or X-WorldMonitor-Key.
• server/_shared/pro-mcp-token.ts — PRO_DAILY_QUOTA_LIMIT = 50 hardcoded, same for all paid tiers, not sourced from productCatalog.
• api/mcp/quota.ts — Redis daily counter (dailyCounterKey(userId), INCR+EXPIRE, 48h TTL, fail-closed, rollback + counter-clamp). Mechanism is sound; only the limit needs to become per-caller.
• api/mcp/constants.ts — SERVER_NAME 'worldmonitor', SERVER_VERSION '1.10.0'; server card at public/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json (kept in version sync).
• Registry split already exists: api/mcp/registry/cache-tools.ts (29 cached tools) vs rpc-tools.ts (12 LLM/dynamic tools) — the free/paid tool boundary maps onto an existing structural line.
• Per-minute rate limit (60/min) independent of daily quota — keep as-is.

Proposed design

• Quota-exceeded and rpc-tool-denied responses include a machine-readable upgrade hint (data: { reason, upgradeUrl, dailyQuota, used }) — the error message is the marketing surface for agents.
• Sign-in still required (OAuth flow exists via mcp-grant.html); no anonymous access — quota abuse stays bounded by account creation.

Implementation plan

Phase 1 — per-tier quota plumbing

• mcpDailyQuota: number on PlanFeatures in convex/config/productCatalog.ts; FREE_FEATURES: { mcpAccess: true, mcpDailyQuota: 5 }; populate all tiers
• api/mcp/auth.ts: drop the tier < 1 condition; gate on mcpAccess === true (+ keep validUntil check for paid rows; define free-row semantics — users without an entitlement row resolve through FREE_TIER_DEFAULTS, verify resolveBearerToContext carries entitlements for them)
• api/mcp/quota.ts / server/_shared/pro-mcp-token.ts: limit becomes a parameter from auth context entitlements; keep 50 as defensive fallback; counter-clamp uses the caller's limit
• Tests: per-tier quota tests, entitlement parity/watchdog, free-tier 6th-call rejection shape

Phase 2 — free/paid tool boundary

• Tool dispatch: free-tier callers invoking RPC-registry tools get the structured upgrade error (not a silent 401); tools/list still advertises all tools with an annotation (agents should see what exists)
• Update server instructions text in api/mcp/constants.ts to state tiering plainly

Phase 3 — conformance & card

• Update public/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json (bump version with SERVER_VERSION); run/extend MCP conformance suite (MCP transport-layer conformance test (real HTTP, SSE, Last-Event-ID) #3876) for the new auth outcomes
• ⚠️ tests/mcp.test.mjs is the long pole in the pre-push battery — run targeted first, full battery before merge

Phase 4 — listings & docs (no code)

• Submit to mcp.so, Smithery, Glama, punkpeye/awesome-mcp-servers (PR)
• README: "Use with Claude Desktop / AI agents" section with copy-paste config; docs quickstart page
• Blog: update the existing MCP-agents post with the free-tier hook; track signups with utm_source=mcp-registry

Acceptance criteria

• A signed-in free user connects from Claude Desktop and successfully calls cache tools 5×/day; 6th call returns the structured quota error with upgrade hint
• Free call to an RPC tool returns the upgrade error; Pro behavior unchanged (50/day, all tools)
• Conformance suite green; server card version-synced; fail-closed Redis behavior preserved
• Listed and discoverable on ≥3 registries with working install instructions

Out of scope

• Anonymous/keyless MCP access
• New MCP tools; usage-based billing
• MCP-specific onboarding UI beyond docs/README

Effort

~2–4 days code + listing submissions. Cheapest option-value item in the 2026-06-10 research ranking.