---
title: "NLWeb: what it is | Agent MCP Directory"
description: "NLWeb: Open protocols and a Python reference implementation for conversational interfaces on websites, returning Schema.org JSON."
canonical: https://agentmcpdirectory.com/standards/nlweb
site: "Agent MCP Directory"
last_updated: 2026-11-04
section: "Standards"
---

# NLWeb: what it is | Agent MCP Directory

> NLWeb: Open protocols and a Python reference implementation for conversational interfaces on websites, returning Schema.org JSON.

Source: https://agentmcpdirectory.com/standards/nlweb
Site: Agent MCP Directory
Last reviewed: 2026-11-04

# NLWeb

NLWeb, maintained by Microsoft (repository nlweb-ai/NLWeb). Open protocols and a Python reference implementation for conversational interfaces on websites, returning Schema.org JSON; every instance is also an MCP server. Status: Active open-source project, MIT licence, about 6.3k stars; no tagged releases shown on 4 Nov 2026.

## Fact sheet

| Name | NLWeb |
| --- | --- |
| Maintainer | Microsoft (repository nlweb-ai/NLWeb) |
| What it is | Open protocols and a Python reference implementation for conversational interfaces on websites, returning Schema.org JSON; every instance is also an MCP server. |
| Status and version | Active open-source project, MIT licence, about 6.3k stars; no tagged releases shown on 4 Nov 2026. |
| What it does not do | Does not document fixed /ask or /mcp URL paths on the repository page; CI/CD pipelines are not included. |

## Dated facts

-   Every NLWeb instance acts as an MCP server and supports a core method called ask that takes a natural-language question. ([github.com](https://github.com/nlweb-ai/NLWeb), read 4 November 2026)
-   Responses are JSON using Schema.org vocabulary. ([github.com](https://github.com/nlweb-ai/NLWeb), read 4 November 2026)
-   The repository is MIT licensed with about 6.3k stars and 694 forks on 4 Nov 2026. ([github.com](https://github.com/nlweb-ai/NLWeb), read 4 November 2026)
-   Support contact is NLWebSup@microsoft.com and contributor links point to microsoft/nlweb. ([github.com](https://github.com/nlweb-ai/NLWeb), read 4 November 2026)

## Compared with

-   [NLWeb vs MCP](https://agentmcpdirectory.com/compare/nlweb-vs-mcp/)

Edition

4 November 2026

Method

[How rows are verified](https://agentmcpdirectory.com/method/)

Data

[CSV and JSON](https://agentmcpdirectory.com/data/)

Markdown

[This page as markdown](https://agentmcpdirectory.com/standards/nlweb/index.md)

## Sources

-   [NLWeb specification or home](https://github.com/nlweb-ai/NLWeb), read 4 November 2026

Last reviewed 4 November 2026