{"id":49778904,"url":"https://github.com/wspringer/arolsen-mcp","last_synced_at":"2026-05-11T18:05:18.989Z","repository":{"id":356880246,"uuid":"1234432943","full_name":"wspringer/arolsen-mcp","owner":"wspringer","description":"MCP server for searching the Arolsen Archives","archived":false,"fork":false,"pushed_at":"2026-05-10T07:42:55.000Z","size":137,"stargazers_count":0,"open_issues_count":0,"forks_count":0,"subscribers_count":0,"default_branch":"main","last_synced_at":"2026-05-10T09:36:09.488Z","etag":null,"topics":[],"latest_commit_sha":null,"homepage":null,"language":"TypeScript","has_issues":true,"has_wiki":null,"has_pages":null,"mirror_url":null,"source_name":null,"license":"mit","status":null,"scm":"git","pull_requests_enabled":true,"icon_url":"https://github.com/wspringer.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":null,"dco":null,"cla":null}},"created_at":"2026-05-10T07:14:37.000Z","updated_at":"2026-05-10T07:42:56.000Z","dependencies_parsed_at":null,"dependency_job_id":null,"html_url":"https://github.com/wspringer/arolsen-mcp","commit_stats":null,"previous_names":["wspringer/arolsen-mcp"],"tags_count":1,"template":false,"template_full_name":null,"purl":"pkg:github/wspringer/arolsen-mcp","repository_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/wspringer%2Farolsen-mcp","tags_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/wspringer%2Farolsen-mcp/tags","releases_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/wspringer%2Farolsen-mcp/releases","manifests_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/wspringer%2Farolsen-mcp/manifests","owner_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/owners/wspringer","download_url":"https://codeload.github.com/wspringer/arolsen-mcp/tar.gz/refs/heads/main","sbom_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/wspringer%2Farolsen-mcp/sbom","scorecard":null,"host":{"name":"GitHub","url":"https://github.com","kind":"github","repositories_count":286080680,"owners_count":32906533,"icon_url":"https://github.com/github.png","version":null,"created_at":"2022-05-30T11:31:42.601Z","updated_at":"2026-05-11T17:09:15.040Z","status":"ssl_error","status_checked_at":"2026-05-11T17:08:45.420Z","response_time":120,"last_error":"SSL_connect returned=1 errno=0 peeraddr=140.82.121.5:443 state=error: unexpected eof while reading","robots_txt_status":"success","robots_txt_updated_at":"2025-07-24T06:49:26.215Z","robots_txt_url":"https://github.com/robots.txt","online":false,"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":[],"created_at":"2026-05-11T18:05:18.086Z","updated_at":"2026-05-11T18:05:18.976Z","avatar_url":"https://github.com/wspringer.png","language":"TypeScript","funding_links":[],"categories":[],"sub_categories":[],"readme":"# arolsen-mcp\n\n[![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/arolsen-mcp.svg)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/arolsen-mcp)\n\nMCP server exposing search and document retrieval against the [Arolsen Archives online collection](https://collections.arolsen-archives.org/) — a German archive of documents on Nazi persecution.\n\nThe server is published on npm and runs through `npx`, so there's nothing to clone or build for normal use.\n\n## Install\n\n### Claude Code\n\nEasiest — let the CLI write the config for you:\n\n```bash\nclaude mcp add --scope user arolsen -- npx -y arolsen-mcp@latest\n```\n\nThis registers the server in your user-level config (`~/.claude/mcp.json`), so it's available in every project. Drop `--scope user` to scope it to the current project instead (writes to `./.mcp.json`).\n\nAfter running it, restart your Claude Code session (or run `/mcp` to reconnect) and verify the tools show up:\n\n```\n\u003e /mcp\n```\n\nYou should see `arolsen` listed with five tools (`arolsen_search`, `arolsen_search_results`, `arolsen_get_archive_unit`, `arolsen_get_documents_in_unit`, `arolsen_get_document`).\n\n### Claude Desktop\n\nOpen the config file:\n\n- **macOS**: `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`\n- **Windows**: `%APPDATA%\\Claude\\claude_desktop_config.json`\n\nAdd (or merge) the `arolsen` entry under `mcpServers`:\n\n```json\n{\n  \"mcpServers\": {\n    \"arolsen\": {\n      \"command\": \"npx\",\n      \"args\": [\"-y\", \"arolsen-mcp@latest\"]\n    }\n  }\n}\n```\n\nThen **fully quit and reopen** Claude Desktop (⌘Q on macOS, not just close window). MCP servers are only picked up at startup.\n\n### Other MCP clients\n\nThe same `command` + `args` pair works in any MCP client that speaks stdio — Cline, Cursor, Continue, Zed, etc. Consult your client's docs for where to drop the snippet.\n\n### Verify it works\n\nAsk Claude something like:\n\n\u003e *Search the Arolsen archives for Mathilde born around 1914.*\n\nClaude should call `arolsen_search` with `first_name=\"Mathilde\"` and `birth_year=1914`, then page the results.\n\n### Pinning a version\n\n`arolsen-mcp@latest` always pulls the newest release. If you want determinism, pin a specific version (`arolsen-mcp@0.1.1`) — `npx` will cache and reuse it.\n\n## Tools\n\n| Tool | Purpose |\n|---|---|\n| `arolsen_search(query, syn_search?, first_name?, last_name?, maiden_name?, birth_year?, ...)` | Free-text query plus optional structured filters (FirstName, LastName, MaidenName, PlaceBirth, Dob year range, Religion, Nationality, last-residence breakdown, etc.). When phonetic surname matching misses, drop the surname and lean on `first_name + birth_year`. Returns counts + an opaque cursor. |\n| `arolsen_search_results(cursor, kind, order_by?)` | Paginate persons or archive units. Person rows expose `obj_id`, `desc_id`, and `signature` for drill-down. |\n| `arolsen_get_archive_unit(desc_id)` | Full metadata + breadcrumb for an archive unit. |\n| `arolsen_get_documents_in_unit(desc_id, offset?)` | Image-bearing documents inside a unit. Uses `offset` / `next_offset` (numeric) because the upstream call is stateless. |\n| `arolsen_get_document(doc_id)` | All page images of a single document. Pass the `obj_id` from a person hit. |\n\n## Notes on the upstream\n\nArolsen does not publish an official API. This server reverse-engineers the Angular SPA's `ITS-WS.asmx` JSON endpoints. Two non-obvious things to know:\n\n- **Phonetic surname search is asymmetric.** Searching `Leeser` and `Leezer` lands you in different phonetic neighborhoods on the upstream — they don't always overlap. If a free-text search misses your target, drop the surname and use `first_name + birth_year` instead.\n- **Sessions are cookie-keyed**, not `uniqueId`-keyed. The client persists `ASP.NET_SessionId` across calls automatically; without that, GetCount returns the global archive total.\n\nSchema drift will break the server; tests use captured fixtures so changes fail loudly.\n\n## Terms of use\n\nArolsen's [Terms of Use](https://arolsen-archives.org/aroa/documents/terms-of-service_en_2022-11-24.pdf) prohibit \"integrating digital versions into another archive without consent of the Arolsen Archives\" and require citation. This MCP server is a search client (a query UI), not a republishing system; it does not redistribute or re-archive content. If you intend any redistribution, contact Arolsen Archives first.\n\n## Develop locally\n\n```bash\ngit clone https://github.com/wspringer/arolsen-mcp\ncd arolsen-mcp\nnpm install\nnpm run build\n```\n\nThen point your MCP client at the local build:\n\n```json\n{\n  \"mcpServers\": {\n    \"arolsen\": {\n      \"command\": \"node\",\n      \"args\": [\"/absolute/path/to/arolsen-mcp/dist/index.js\"]\n    }\n  }\n}\n```\n\n## Tests\n\n```bash\nnpm test           # unit tests against captured fixtures\nnpm run smoke      # one live request against the Arolsen API\n```\n\n## Releases\n\nThis project uses the [Knope GitHub Bot](https://github.com/marketplace/knope-bot) for release-PR-style versioning. Conventional-commit messages on `main` (`feat:`, `fix:`, `chore:`, …) drive the next version automatically. Merging the bot's open release PR triggers `.github/workflows/release.yml`, which runs the test suite and publishes to npm with [build provenance](https://docs.npmjs.com/generating-provenance-statements).\n\n## License\n\nMIT — see [LICENSE](./LICENSE).\n","project_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fwspringer%2Farolsen-mcp","html_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/projects/github.com%2Fwspringer%2Farolsen-mcp","lists_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fwspringer%2Farolsen-mcp/lists"}