Assay — MCP Server Replacement
Description: Assay covers 26 domains that would otherwise need separate MCP servers. One binary, zero npm dependencies.

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# Comparison

## Size & Speed

`FROM scratch` — no shell, no package manager. Rust-level cold start.

### Docker Image Size (compressed)

Assay 9 MB
alpine/python 17 MB
kubectl 35 MB
python slim 43 MB
alpine/node 57 MB
alpine/k8s 60 MB
Deno 75 MB
node slim 105 MB
Bun 115 MB
newman 128 MB

### Cold Start Time

Assay 5 ms
Bun ~30 ms
Deno ~50 ms
kubectl ~200 ms
alpine/k8s ~200 ms
alpine/python ~300 ms
python slim ~300 ms
alpine/node ~500 ms
node slim ~500 ms
newman ~800 ms

Docker compressed pull size. Cold start = time to first instruction.

## Domains Covered

26 domains with full coverage, 3 partial. Each would otherwise need a separate MCP server (npm process).

## How to Use

Assay is a Lua scripting runtime, not an MCP server. Your AI agent writes scripts using Assay's stdlib modules. Use `assay context "<query>"` for LLM-ready docs.

## Full Coverage (26 domains)

MCP Server it replaces | Assay Module
--- | ---
modelcontextprotocol/servers (fetch) | `http.*` builtins
modelcontextprotocol/servers (filesystem) | `fs.*` builtins
@anthropic/mcp-server-fetch | `http.*` builtins
@anthropic/mcp-server-filesystem | `fs.*` builtins
mcp-server-github | `assay.github`
@grafana/mcp-grafana | `assay.grafana` + `assay.prometheus` + `assay.loki` + `assay.alertmanager`
@singlestore/postgres-mcp | `assay.postgres` + `db.*`
mcp-server-kubernetes | `assay.k8s`
mcp-server-sqlite | `db.*` builtins
mcp-server-mysql | `db.*` builtins
prometheus-mcp-server | `assay.prometheus`
argocd-mcp | `assay.argocd`
mcp-server-s3 | `assay.s3`
mcp-server-jwt | `crypto.jwt_sign`
vault-mcp-server | `assay.vault` + `assay.openbao`
traefik-mcp | `assay.traefik`
mcp-server-temporal | `assay.temporal`
harbor-mcp | `assay.harbor`
mcp-certmanager | `assay.certmanager`
flux-mcp | `assay.flux`
crossplane-mcp | `assay.crossplane`
unleash-mcp | `assay.unleash`
velero-mcp | `assay.velero`
kargo-mcp | `assay.kargo`
zitadel-mcp | `assay.zitadel`
eso-mcp | `assay.eso`
dex-mcp | `assay.dex`
mcp-server-websocket | `ws.*` builtins
mcp-server-crypto | `crypto.*` builtins

## Partial Coverage (3 domains)

MCP Server | Assay Module | Note
--- | --- | ---
aws/mcp (S3, Lambda, EC2) | `assay.s3` | S3 only, no Lambda/EC2
mcp-server-git | `shell.exec("git ...")` | Via shell, not native module
mcp-server-docker / terraform-mcp | `assay.harbor` / `assay.crossplane` | Registry and infra-as-code, not Docker engine

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