Setup Guide
Protect your dependencies from supply chain attacks. Pick the integration that fits your workflow.
Pick your tool
Pick the setup that fits your workflow.
- AI assistant. Catches risky packages before they're installed.
- IDE extension. Scans your lockfiles so existing dependencies are covered too.
Command Line Free & Open Source
The GardWatch CLI is free and open source. No Gardera account or API key required. See the GitHub repo for installation and usage instructions.
AI Assistants
GardWatch connects to your AI assistant as an MCP server. Once set up, it works the same way across all clients:
- When the AI runs a package manager command (e.g.
npm install,pip install,cargo add), GardWatch is automatically triggered - Package identifiers are extracted and sent to GardWatch for scoring
- If any package is flagged CRITICAL or SUSPICIOUS, the AI warns you before continuing
You can also ask your AI assistant directly:
"Is event-stream 3.3.6 safe to install?"
All integrations require a Gardera account. Pick your assistant below for setup instructions.
Claude Code
One command sets up OAuth login, local lockfile parsing, and automatic scanning:
npx @gardera/gardwatch-mcp setup-claude
Then open Claude Code and run /mcp to complete the browser login with your Gardera account.
Uninstall
claude mcp remove gardera
Remove the hook manually from ~/.claude/settings.json if needed.
Codex
Add the Gardera MCP server to Codex with one command:
codex mcp add gardera --url https://mcp.gardera.io/mcp
The first time you use it, Codex will open your browser to complete the OAuth login with your Gardera account.
Uninstall
codex mcp remove gardera
Cursor
Add the Gardera MCP server to your Cursor config at ~/.cursor/mcp.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"gardera": {
"url": "https://mcp.gardera.io/mcp"
}
}
}
Open Cursor's Settings > MCP panel and enable the gardera server. Cursor will open your browser to complete the OAuth login with your Gardera account.
Uninstall
Remove the gardera entry from ~/.cursor/mcp.json.
Gemini
Add the Gardera MCP server to Gemini with one command:
gemini mcp add gardera https://mcp.gardera.io/mcp -t http
Then open Gemini and run /mcp auth gardera to complete the OAuth login with your Gardera account in your browser.
Uninstall
gemini mcp remove gardera
Other MCP clients
GardWatch runs as a local MCP server that works with any MCP-compatible AI assistant.
1. Get an API key
Go to app.gardera.io/settings/ and create a new key. Copy it. It's only shown once.
2. Add to your MCP config
{
"mcpServers": {
"gardera-gardwatch": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@gardera/gardwatch-mcp"],
"env": {
"GARDERA_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
}
}
}
}
Add this to your assistant's MCP configuration file. Refer to your assistant's documentation for the config file location.
VS Code (IDE Extension)
Requires a Gardera account. The Gardera VS Code extension adds real-time dependency scoring directly in your editor.
Install
Search for Gardera in the Extensions marketplace, or:
code --install-extension gardera.gardera-vscode
Setup
- Install the extension
- Enter your API key when prompted (or go to Settings > Gardera > Write API Key)
- Open or modify a lockfile. Scanning runs automatically and issues are flagged inline
Get an API key at app.gardera.io/settings/.
Features
- Inline scores. Every dependency is annotated with its GardWatch score (e.g.
requests 95/100 SAFE) - Problems panel. Critical and suspicious packages appear as errors and warnings
- Sidebar dashboard. Scan status, flagged package counts, and results
- Automatic scanning. Lockfiles are scanned when opened, saved, or modified
Cursor (IDE Extension)
Requires a Gardera account. The same Gardera extension is available for Cursor via Open VSX.
Install
Search for Gardera in Cursor's Extensions panel, or install manually:
- Open Cursor
- Go to Extensions (
Cmd+Shift+X/Ctrl+Shift+X) - Search for Gardera Security and click Install
Setup
Same as VS Code. See the VS Code section for full details.
Scoring
GardWatch scores every package from 0 to 100:
| Status | Score | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| SAFE | 80–100 | No concerns found |
| SUSPICIOUS | 50–79 | Some risk signals. Review recommended |
| CRITICAL | 0–49 | High risk. Do not install without investigation |
Scores are based on multiple signals:
- Malware database. Known malicious packages (instant CRITICAL)
- Typosquatting. Names similar to popular packages
- Age & popularity. Download counts, package maturity
- Namespace squatting. Patterns like "popular-js" or "node-popular"
- OpenSSF Scorecard. Security best practices
- Metadata quality. Repository links, descriptions
- Version anomalies. Suspicious version spikes, 0.0.0 releases
- Homoglyphs. Non-ASCII characters in package names
- Empty metadata. Packages with no description
Comparison
| Integration | Auth | Gardera account required |
|---|---|---|
| CLI | None | No, free & open source |
| Claude Code | OAuth (browser login) | Yes |
| Other MCP clients | API key | Yes |
| IDE extension | API key | Yes |