# Nearest sites (`mttr_near`)

Updated October 24, 2026.

## What does mttr_near do?

The sites closest in meaning to one site, closest first: the ones writing about the same work, which are its likeliest rivals. A key may make this call on the sites it has claimed.

Who may call it: Your claimed sites.

## When to use it

- You do not know who the rivals are.

## What you ask

You might say: “Which sites are closest to example.com?”

```
mttr_near({ site: "example.com" })
```

| Argument | Type | Needed | What it is |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `site` | Text | Yes | The site, as a domain such as example.com. |
| `limit` | Number | No | How many to return. |

## What comes back

- Each site with how close it reads, and how many of its pages its meaning is drawn from.
- Until the site has been read for meaning, an empty list and a note that says so.
- Close means similar in meaning, never better or cited.

A sample, with made-up sites and figures:

| What | Why | How alike |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `rival.example` | Drain and septic work, same region | 88% |
| `north.example` | Plumbing, a wider range of work | 79% |
| `pipes.example` | Commercial drains | 66% |

## Over HTTP

```
curl "https://mttr.si/api/v1/sites/example.com/near" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MTTR_KEY"
```

## When it fails

| When | Status | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Your assistant has no key yet | 401 over MCP | Sign up with `mttr_signup`, then connect again with the key it gives. |
| The key has not claimed the site | 404 | Claim it with `mttr_claim`, then `mttr_claim_check`. |

## Sources

- [Model Context Protocol: tools](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/2025-06-18/server/tools), Model Context Protocol: How an assistant calls a tool.

The call in full: [mttr_near in the API reference](https://mttr.si/docs/reference#mttr_near).

## Goes with

- [Competitors](https://mttr.si/docs/tools/competitors.md)
- [Markets](https://mttr.si/docs/tools/markets.md)