{"id":50993856,"url":"https://github.com/cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server","last_synced_at":"2026-06-20T06:32:36.914Z","repository":{"id":361522851,"uuid":"1254251399","full_name":"cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server","owner":"cyanheads","description":"Search and explore millions of CC0 Smithsonian Open Access museum objects, artworks, and specimens.","archived":false,"fork":false,"pushed_at":"2026-05-31T02:21:05.000Z","size":391,"stargazers_count":1,"open_issues_count":0,"forks_count":0,"subscribers_count":0,"default_branch":"main","last_synced_at":"2026-05-31T04:10:32.797Z","etag":null,"topics":["ai-agents","ai-tools","art","cyanheads","mcp","mcp-server","model-context-protocol","museum","open-access","smithsonian","typescript"],"latest_commit_sha":null,"homepage":null,"language":"TypeScript","has_issues":true,"has_wiki":null,"has_pages":null,"mirror_url":null,"source_name":null,"license":"apache-2.0","status":null,"scm":"git","pull_requests_enabled":true,"icon_url":"https://github.com/cyanheads.png","metadata":{"files":{"readme":"README.md","changelog":"CHANGELOG.md","contributing":null,"funding":null,"license":"LICENSE","code_of_conduct":null,"threat_model":null,"audit":null,"citation":null,"codeowners":null,"security":null,"support":null,"governance":null,"roadmap":null,"authors":null,"dei":null,"publiccode":null,"codemeta":null,"zenodo":null,"notice":null,"maintainers":null,"copyright":null,"agents":"AGENTS.md","dco":null,"cla":null}},"created_at":"2026-05-30T10:32:21.000Z","updated_at":"2026-05-31T02:21:08.000Z","dependencies_parsed_at":null,"dependency_job_id":null,"html_url":"https://github.com/cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server","commit_stats":null,"previous_names":["cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server"],"tags_count":2,"template":false,"template_full_name":null,"purl":"pkg:github/cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server","repository_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/cyanheads%2Fsmithsonian-mcp-server","tags_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/cyanheads%2Fsmithsonian-mcp-server/tags","releases_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/cyanheads%2Fsmithsonian-mcp-server/releases","manifests_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/cyanheads%2Fsmithsonian-mcp-server/manifests","owner_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/owners/cyanheads","download_url":"https://codeload.github.com/cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server/tar.gz/refs/heads/main","sbom_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/cyanheads%2Fsmithsonian-mcp-server/sbom","scorecard":null,"host":{"name":"GitHub","url":"https://github.com","kind":"github","repositories_count":286080680,"owners_count":34560265,"icon_url":"https://github.com/github.png","version":null,"created_at":"2022-05-30T11:31:42.601Z","updated_at":"2026-05-26T15:22:16.424Z","status":"online","status_checked_at":"2026-06-20T02:00:06.407Z","response_time":98,"last_error":null,"robots_txt_status":"success","robots_txt_updated_at":"2025-07-24T06:49:26.215Z","robots_txt_url":"https://github.com/robots.txt","online":true,"can_crawl_api":true,"host_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub","repositories_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories","repository_names_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repository_names","owners_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/owners"}},"keywords":["ai-agents","ai-tools","art","cyanheads","mcp","mcp-server","model-context-protocol","museum","open-access","smithsonian","typescript"],"created_at":"2026-06-20T06:32:36.409Z","updated_at":"2026-06-20T06:32:36.896Z","avatar_url":"https://github.com/cyanheads.png","language":"TypeScript","funding_links":[],"categories":[],"sub_categories":[],"readme":"\u003cdiv align=\"center\"\u003e\n  \u003ch1\u003e@cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server\u003c/h1\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSearch, explore, and retrieve CC0 media from 19.4 million Smithsonian Open Access objects across 20+ museums via MCP. STDIO or Streamable HTTP.\u003c/b\u003e\n  \u003cdiv\u003e6 Tools\u003c/div\u003e\n  \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv align=\"center\"\u003e\n\n[![Version](https://img.shields.io/badge/Version-0.1.8-blue.svg?style=flat-square)](./CHANGELOG.md) [![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-Apache%202.0-orange.svg?style=flat-square)](./LICENSE) [![Docker](https://img.shields.io/badge/Docker-ghcr.io-2496ED?style=flat-square\u0026logo=docker\u0026logoColor=white)](https://github.com/users/cyanheads/packages/container/package/smithsonian-mcp-server) [![MCP SDK](https://img.shields.io/badge/MCP%20SDK-^1.29.0-green.svg?style=flat-square)](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/) [![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/@cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server?style=flat-square\u0026logo=npm\u0026logoColor=white)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server) [![TypeScript](https://img.shields.io/badge/TypeScript-^6.0.3-3178C6.svg?style=flat-square)](https://www.typescriptlang.org/) [![Bun](https://img.shields.io/badge/Bun-v1.3.0-blueviolet.svg?style=flat-square)](https://bun.sh/)\n\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv align=\"center\"\u003e\n\n[![Install in Claude Desktop](https://img.shields.io/badge/Install_in-Claude_Desktop-D97757?style=for-the-badge\u0026logo=anthropic\u0026logoColor=white)](https://github.com/cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server/releases/latest/download/smithsonian-mcp-server.mcpb) [![Install in Cursor](https://cursor.com/deeplink/mcp-install-dark.svg)](https://cursor.com/en/install-mcp?name=smithsonian-mcp-server\u0026config=eyJjb21tYW5kIjoibnB4IiwiYXJncyI6WyIteSIsIkBjeWFuaGVhZHMvc21pdGhzb25pYW4tbWNwLXNlcnZlciJdLCJlbnYiOnsiTUNQX1RSQU5TUE9SVF9UWVBFIjoic3RkaW8iLCJTTUlUSFNPTklBTl9BUElfS0VZIjoieW91ci1hcGkta2V5In19) [![Install in VS Code](https://img.shields.io/badge/VS_Code-Install_Server-0098FF?style=for-the-badge\u0026logo=visualstudiocode\u0026logoColor=white)](https://vscode.dev/redirect?url=vscode:mcp/install?%7B%22name%22%3A%22smithsonian-mcp-server%22%2C%22command%22%3A%22npx%22%2C%22args%22%3A%5B%22-y%22%2C%22%40cyanheads%2Fsmithsonian-mcp-server%22%5D%2C%22env%22%3A%7B%22MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE%22%3A%22stdio%22%2C%22SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY%22%3A%22your-api-key%22%7D%7D)\n\n[![Framework](https://img.shields.io/badge/Built%20on-@cyanheads/mcp--ts--core-67E8F9?style=flat-square)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core)\n\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv align=\"center\"\u003e\n\n**Public Hosted Server:** [https://smithsonian.caseyjhand.com/mcp](https://smithsonian.caseyjhand.com/mcp)\n\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\n---\n\n## Prerequisites\n\n\u003e **A free `api.data.gov` API key is required.** Register at [https://api.data.gov/signup](https://api.data.gov/signup) — approval is instant. Set it as `SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY` in your MCP client config or `.env` file. The server will not start without it.\n\u003e\n\u003e **CC0 media gating:** `smithsonian_get_media` only returns CC0-licensed (open access) images. Use `smithsonian_search` with `filters.cc0_only: true` to find objects with downloadable media before calling it.\n\n---\n\n## Tools\n\nSix tools covering the full Smithsonian Open Access workflow — filter vocabulary discovery, search, detail retrieval, CC0 image access, and cross-collection exploration:\n\n| Tool | Description |\n|:---|:---|\n| `smithsonian_search` | Search across 19.4M objects by text query with optional filters (museum, type, decade, culture, place, online-only, CC0). Returns curated summaries with total count. |\n| `smithsonian_list_terms` | Enumerate the valid term vocabulary for an indexed filter field (unit_code, object_type, culture, place, date). Call before filtering to avoid empty results from invalid values. |\n| `smithsonian_get_object` | Fetch the full catalog record for an object by ID: title, dates, materials, dimensions, provenance, exhibition history, credit line, and identifiers. |\n| `smithsonian_get_media` | Return all CC0-licensed images for an object at multiple resolutions (thumbnail, screen, high-res JPEG/TIFF). Only CC0 images returned — throws when none exist. |\n| `smithsonian_explore` | Browse collections by category (museum, culture, period, medium) with total count, sample objects, and museum breakdown. Entry point for open-ended research. |\n| `smithsonian_find_related` | Discover cross-collection objects related to an anchor via parallel fan-out searches across culture, maker, topic, and period signals. |\n\n### `smithsonian_search`\n\nFull-text search with structured filters across the entire Smithsonian catalog.\n\n- Free-text search over 19.4M objects from 20+ museums\n- Filters: museum unit code, object type, decade (`1920s`), culture, geographic place, online-only, CC0-only\n- Returns curated summaries: title, museum, object type, thumbnail URL, CC0 flag, `record_id`\n- Use `start` + `rows` for standard pagination (offset-based, max 100 per page)\n\n---\n\n### `smithsonian_list_terms`\n\nEnumerate the valid term vocabulary for an indexed filter field before applying filters.\n\n- Supported fields: `unit_code`, `object_type`, `culture`, `place`, `date`, `media_usage`, `online_media_type`\n- Returns terms sorted by object count descending — most-populated terms first\n- Call this once per field to ground filter values; passing an invalid term to `smithsonian_search` produces empty results with no error\n- Paginate with `start` + `rows` (default 50 per page, max 100)\n\n---\n\n### `smithsonian_get_object`\n\nFull provenance metadata for a single object.\n\n- Input: `record_id` from `smithsonian_search` — do not construct IDs manually\n- Returns all available catalog fields: title, dates (all labeled), makers (with roles), materials, dimensions, place associations, culture terms, topic/subject terms, exhibition history, accession identifiers, credit line, rights statement\n- Media summary included — call `smithsonian_get_media` for full image URLs\n\n---\n\n### `smithsonian_get_media`\n\nCC0-gated image access at multiple resolutions.\n\n- Only CC0-licensed images are returned; throws `Forbidden` when an object has media but none is CC0\n- Each image entry includes thumbnail (~120px), screen-size (~800px), and high-resolution JPEG/TIFF URLs with pixel dimensions\n- Use `smithsonian_search` with `filters.cc0_only: true` before calling this tool\n\n---\n\n### `smithsonian_explore`\n\nCategory-constrained browse for open-ended collection discovery.\n\n- Four modes: `museum` (by unit code or full name), `culture` (e.g. `\"Aztec\"`), `period` (decade, e.g. `\"1940s\"`), `medium` (object type, e.g. `\"Painting\"`)\n- Returns total count, representative sample objects, and a museum breakdown showing which institutions hold matching items\n- Ideal entry point when the user wants to understand what the Smithsonian has about a topic\n\n---\n\n### `smithsonian_find_related`\n\nCross-collection discovery via parallel metadata fan-out.\n\n- Fetches anchor object metadata, then fans out up to 4 parallel searches using culture, maker, topic, and period+type signals\n- Deduplicates against the anchor and merges results ranked by number of matching signals\n- Cross-museum discovery is the differentiator — an NASM aerospace anchor may surface related objects from NMNH, SAAM, and NMAH\n- `similarity_signals` on each result show which metadata terms connected it to the anchor\n\n---\n\n## Features\n\nBuilt on [`@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core):\n\n- Declarative tool definitions — single file per tool, framework handles registration and validation\n- Unified error handling — handlers throw, framework catches, classifies, and formats\n- Pluggable auth: `none`, `jwt`, `oauth`\n- Swappable storage backends: `in-memory`, `filesystem`, `Supabase`, `Cloudflare KV/R2/D1`\n- Structured logging with optional OpenTelemetry tracing\n- STDIO and Streamable HTTP transports\n\nSmithsonian-specific:\n\n- Wraps the [Smithsonian Open Access API](https://edan.si.edu/openaccess/apidocs/) (19.4M objects across 20+ museums) with a free `api.data.gov` key\n- CC0 gating on `smithsonian_get_media` — only open-access images returned, never restricted content\n- Parallel fan-out in `smithsonian_find_related` with graceful degradation (partial failures don't abort)\n- Response normalization across heterogeneous museum metadata schemas\n\nAgent-friendly output:\n\n- CC0 flags on every object summary — agents can gate image download calls without an extra lookup\n- Typed error reasons (`no_results`, `not_found`, `not_cc0`, `no_media`, `invalid_id`) with recovery hints for each case\n- `similarity_signals` on related-object results let agents explain why objects were surfaced\n- `total_count` on all search responses enables agents to communicate result scope before paginating\n\n---\n\n## Getting started\n\n### Public Hosted Instance\n\nA public instance is available at `https://smithsonian.caseyjhand.com/mcp` — no installation required. Point any MCP client at it via Streamable HTTP:\n\n```json\n{\n  \"mcpServers\": {\n    \"smithsonian-mcp-server\": {\n      \"type\": \"streamable-http\",\n      \"url\": \"https://smithsonian.caseyjhand.com/mcp\"\n    }\n  }\n}\n```\n\n### Self-Hosted / Local\n\n\u003e **Requires a free `api.data.gov` API key** — register at [https://api.data.gov/signup](https://api.data.gov/signup) and set `SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY` in your config.\n\nAdd the following to your MCP client configuration file:\n\n```json\n{\n  \"mcpServers\": {\n    \"smithsonian-mcp-server\": {\n      \"type\": \"stdio\",\n      \"command\": \"bunx\",\n      \"args\": [\"@cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server@latest\"],\n      \"env\": {\n        \"MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE\": \"stdio\",\n        \"MCP_LOG_LEVEL\": \"info\",\n        \"SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY\": \"your-api-key\"\n      }\n    }\n  }\n}\n```\n\nOr with npx (no Bun required):\n\n```json\n{\n  \"mcpServers\": {\n    \"smithsonian-mcp-server\": {\n      \"type\": \"stdio\",\n      \"command\": \"npx\",\n      \"args\": [\"-y\", \"@cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server@latest\"],\n      \"env\": {\n        \"MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE\": \"stdio\",\n        \"MCP_LOG_LEVEL\": \"info\",\n        \"SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY\": \"your-api-key\"\n      }\n    }\n  }\n}\n```\n\nOr with Docker:\n\n```json\n{\n  \"mcpServers\": {\n    \"smithsonian-mcp-server\": {\n      \"type\": \"stdio\",\n      \"command\": \"docker\",\n      \"args\": [\n        \"run\", \"-i\", \"--rm\",\n        \"-e\", \"MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=stdio\",\n        \"-e\", \"SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY=your-api-key\",\n        \"ghcr.io/cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server:latest\"\n      ]\n    }\n  }\n}\n```\n\nFor Streamable HTTP, set the transport and start the server:\n\n```sh\nMCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=http MCP_HTTP_PORT=3010 SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY=your-api-key bun run start:http\n# Server listens at http://localhost:3010/mcp\n```\n\n### Prerequisites\n\n- [Bun v1.3.0](https://bun.sh/) or higher (or Node.js v24+).\n- A free `api.data.gov` API key — register at [https://api.data.gov/signup](https://api.data.gov/signup). Approval is instant.\n\n### Installation\n\n1. **Clone the repository:**\n\n```sh\ngit clone https://github.com/cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server.git\n```\n\n2. **Navigate into the directory:**\n\n```sh\ncd smithsonian-mcp-server\n```\n\n3. **Install dependencies:**\n\n```sh\nbun install\n```\n\n4. **Configure environment:**\n\n```sh\ncp .env.example .env\n# Edit .env and set SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY\n```\n\n---\n\n## Configuration\n\n| Variable | Description | Default |\n|:---------|:------------|:--------|\n| `SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY` | **Required.** Free API key from [api.data.gov/signup](https://api.data.gov/signup). | — |\n| `SMITHSONIAN_BASE_URL` | Smithsonian Open Access API base URL. | `https://api.si.edu/openaccess/api/v1.0` |\n| `SMITHSONIAN_MAX_ROWS` | Default page size for search results (1–100). | `20` |\n| `MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE` | Transport: `stdio` or `http`. | `stdio` |\n| `MCP_HTTP_PORT` | Port for HTTP server. | `3010` |\n| `MCP_AUTH_MODE` | Auth mode: `none`, `jwt`, or `oauth`. | `none` |\n| `MCP_LOG_LEVEL` | Log level (RFC 5424). | `info` |\n| `LOGS_DIR` | Directory for log files (Node.js only). | `\u003cproject-root\u003e/logs` |\n| `STORAGE_PROVIDER_TYPE` | Storage backend. | `in-memory` |\n| `OTEL_ENABLED` | Enable [OpenTelemetry instrumentation](https://github.com/cyanheads/mcp-ts-core/tree/main/docs/telemetry). | `false` |\n\nSee [`.env.example`](./.env.example) for the full list of optional overrides.\n\n---\n\n## Running the server\n\n### Local development\n\n- **Build and run:**\n\n  ```sh\n  # One-time build\n  bun run rebuild\n\n  # Run the built server\n  bun run start:stdio\n  # or\n  bun run start:http\n  ```\n\n- **Run checks and tests:**\n\n  ```sh\n  bun run devcheck   # Lint, format, typecheck, security\n  bun run test       # Vitest test suite\n  bun run lint:mcp   # Validate MCP definitions against spec\n  ```\n\n### Docker\n\n```sh\ndocker build -t smithsonian-mcp-server .\ndocker run --rm -e SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY=your-api-key -p 3010:3010 smithsonian-mcp-server\n```\n\nThe Dockerfile defaults to HTTP transport, stateless session mode, and logs to `/var/log/smithsonian-mcp-server`. OpenTelemetry peer dependencies are installed by default — build with `--build-arg OTEL_ENABLED=false` to omit them.\n\n---\n\n## Project structure\n\n| Directory | Purpose |\n|:----------|:--------|\n| `src/index.ts` | `createApp()` entry point — registers tools and initializes the Smithsonian service. |\n| `src/config` | Server-specific environment variable parsing (`SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY`, `SMITHSONIAN_BASE_URL`, `SMITHSONIAN_MAX_ROWS`). |\n| `src/mcp-server/tools` | Tool definitions (`*.tool.ts`). |\n| `src/services/smithsonian` | Smithsonian Open Access API client, normalization, and type definitions. |\n| `tests/` | Unit and integration tests. |\n| `docs/` | Design document and directory tree. |\n\n---\n\n## Development guide\n\nSee [`CLAUDE.md`](./CLAUDE.md) / [`AGENTS.md`](./AGENTS.md) for development guidelines and architectural rules. The short version:\n\n- Handlers throw, framework catches — no `try/catch` in tool logic\n- Use `ctx.log` for request-scoped logging, `ctx.state` for tenant-scoped storage\n- Register new tools via the barrel in `src/mcp-server/tools/definitions/index.ts`\n- Wrap external API calls: validate raw → normalize to domain type → return output schema; never fabricate missing fields\n\n---\n\n## Contributing\n\nIssues and pull requests are welcome. Run checks and tests before submitting:\n\n```sh\nbun run devcheck\nbun run test\n```\n\n---\n\n## License\n\nApache-2.0 — see [LICENSE](LICENSE) for details.\n","project_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fcyanheads%2Fsmithsonian-mcp-server","html_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/projects/github.com%2Fcyanheads%2Fsmithsonian-mcp-server","lists_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fcyanheads%2Fsmithsonian-mcp-server/lists"}