clincalc¶

Open source, community-auditable clinical calculators in a stdio CLI and MCP tool, on top of a fast, Rust-based core engine.

A clinical calculation score is computed in the core Rust library, so the result is identical wherever it appears. Every calculator cites primary literature, is tested against published vectors, and records the licence it is distributed under.

New here? Start with the Walkthrough

The Walkthrough runs four real calculators end to end - with copy-paste commands and ready-made example files, so you never have to invent your own inputs.

Install¶

Linux / macOSWindows PowerShellWith Cargo (from source)From a clone

curl -LsSf https://pacharanero.github.io/clincalc/install.sh | sh

Release installer proxy. Until the first release is published, use the Cargo source install on the Install page.

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -c "irm https://pacharanero.github.io/clincalc/install.ps1 | iex"

Release installer proxy. Full options on the Install page.

cargo install --git https://github.com/pacharanero/clincalc clincalc

Installs the clincalc binary from source. Needs a Rust toolchain (edition 2024).

git clone https://github.com/pacharanero/clincalc
cd clincalc
cargo build --release      # binary at target/release/clincalc

A clone also gives you the examples/ input files used throughout the walkthrough.

One interface for every calculator¶

There are no per-calculator flags. Every calculator is driven the same way - ask for a template, fill it in, pass it back:

clincalc list                       # list calculators (alias: ls)
clincalc tags                       # list tags with counts
clincalc calc <name>                # print a fillable input TEMPLATE (JSON)
clincalc calc <name> --schema       # the full JSON Schema contract
clincalc calc <name> --license      # the algorithm's distribution licence
clincalc calc <name> --input -      # compute, reading JSON from stdin
clincalc calc <name> --input data.json   # ...or from a file
clincalc calc <name> --input '{...}'     # ...or inline

Try it right now¶

With clincalc installed, paste this - a five-criterion sore-throat score:

$ clincalc calc feverpain --input '{"fever":true,"purulence":true,"attend_rapidly":true,"inflamed_tonsils":false,"absence_of_cough":false}'
feverpain = 3

A score of 3 is associated with 34–40% isolation of streptococcus. A delayed prescribing strategy is appropriate after discussion with the patient.

That clean, paste-able block - result, interpretation, working, and the citation - is the whole point. The Walkthrough builds it up step by step.

Where to next¶

Walkthrough - four calculators, with copy-paste commands and files to pipe in.
CLI reference - every mode and flag in one place.
Calculator catalogue - what is available today.
How it works - the one-core-many-surfaces design, and embedding clincalc in a host.

Why clincalc exists¶

Clinicians need good digital tools to provide good care, but the incentives to build them into EHRs are weak and the compliance barriers high. The result is a patchwork of calculators scattered across the web, often behind paywalls or implemented inconsistently. clincalc makes them open source, free to use, evidence-based, and auditable.

Soft interoperability

Copy-and-paste is derided as a kludge, but it is what clinicians actually use. Every calculator produces a clean, editable text summary as a first-class output - so you can drop a result into any record, letter, or message - while also dispatching structured results when embedded in a host.

Tools that cannot be shipped because they are proprietary or licence-locked (FRAX, MMSE, and a handful of others) are named, not hidden: each returns a structured explanation and points to an open alternative. See the catalogue.