# met-museum-mcp-server [Health: Active]
**Category:** 💻 Developer Tools
**Repository:** https://github.com/cyanheads/met-museum-mcp-server
**GitHub Stars:** 4
**Views:** 0
**Installs:** 0
**Upvotes:** 0
**Directory Page:** https://allmcps.com/mcp/met-museum-mcp-server
## Description
MET Museum collection via MCP — 500K+ artworks, metadata, provenance, open-access images.
## Claude Desktop Quick Installation
Install path detected from listing signals. Uses `bunx` (confidence: high):
```json
"mcpServers": {
"met-museum-mcp-server": {
"command": "bunx",
"args": ["@cyanheads/met-museum-mcp-server@latest"]
}
}
```
## Documentation & README
@cyanheads/met-museum-mcp-server
Search the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection, fetch full artwork records and open-access images via MCP. STDIO or Streamable HTTP.
3 Tools
[](./CHANGELOG.md) [](./LICENSE) [](https://github.com/users/cyanheads/packages/container/package/met-museum-mcp-server) [](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/) [](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@cyanheads/met-museum-mcp-server) [](https://www.typescriptlang.org/) [](https://bun.sh/)
[](https://github.com/cyanheads/met-museum-mcp-server/releases/latest/download/met-museum-mcp-server.mcpb) [](https://cursor.com/en/install-mcp?name=met-museum-mcp-server&config=eyJjb21tYW5kIjoibnB4IiwiYXJncyI6WyIteSIsIkBjeWFuaGVhZHMvbWV0LW11c2V1bS1tY3Atc2VydmVyIl19) [](https://vscode.dev/redirect?url=vscode:mcp/install?%7B%22name%22%3A%22met-museum-mcp-server%22%2C%22command%22%3A%22npx%22%2C%22args%22%3A%5B%22-y%22%2C%22%40cyanheads%2Fmet-museum-mcp-server%22%5D%7D)
[](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core)
**Public Hosted Server:** [https://met-museum.caseyjhand.com/mcp](https://met-museum.caseyjhand.com/mcp)
---
## Tools
Three tools for browsing and fetching Metropolitan Museum of Art collection data:
| Tool | Description |
|:---|:---|
| `met_list_departments` | Return all 19 curatorial departments with their numeric IDs and display names |
| `met_search_collections` | Search the collection by keyword with filters for department, date range, medium, geography, on-view status, public-domain status, and highlight designation |
| `met_get_object` | Fetch full records for one or more object IDs — metadata, provenance, artist info, CC0 image URLs, tags, and Wikidata links |
### `met_list_departments`
Return the 19 curatorial departments at The Metropolitan Museum of Art with their numeric IDs and display names.
- `departmentId` values are the valid inputs for the `met_search_collections` department filter
---
### `met_search_collections`
Search the Met collection by keyword and optional filters.
- Keyword search across title, artist name, culture, medium, tags, and other text fields
- Filter by department ID (valid IDs from `met_list_departments`)
- Filter by date range (integer years, negative = BCE)
- Filter by medium/classification (e.g., `"Paintings"`, `"Sculptures"`, `"Ceramics"`) — maps to the classification field, not material descriptions
- Filter by geographic origin — country, region, or city; multiple values are AND-combined
- `isPublicDomain=true` selects CC0 open-access objects — confirm CC0 status per object from `met_get_object`
- Every filter draws on a partial upstream index: a filtered search omits some objects whose own record satisfies the filter, so absence from the results is not evidence about an object. Drop the filter to widen
- A filtered search returns only objects that match the keyword. The Met index answers any filter with a fixed set of unrelated objects alongside the real matches, so the server runs the query a second time with no filters and returns the intersection; `total` counts that intersection. The two runs go out in parallel
- That second run is best-effort. A keyword broad enough to time out on its own (`q=the` alone is 2.7 MB) returns the filtered results unchecked rather than failing the call, with a `notice` on the response saying they were not verified against the keyword — narrow the keyword to let the check run
- `hasImages=true` includes any object with images (includes copyrighted works without reusable URLs)
- `isHighlight=true` restricts to collection highlights designated by the Met
- `isPublicDomain` and `isHighlight` accept `true` only. The upstream index is unsound on the `false` arm — it returns objects whose own record contradicts the filter — so `false` is rejected; omit the filter instead. `hasImages` and `isOnView` are unaffected and remain plain booleans
- `isOnView=true` restricts to objects currently on display in a Met gallery
- Paginate past `limit` with `offset` (default 0) — a broad query carries the same timeout risk on every page as on the first; narrow it with filters if paging times out
- Returns total match count, truncation indicator, `remaining` count, `nextOffset` for the next page (`null` once exhausted), the resolved `offset` this page was read from, and up to `limit` object IDs (default 20, max 500)
- Returned IDs resolve to full records via `met_get_object` (up to 20 per call)
---
### `met_get_object`
Fetch full records for one or more Met Museum object IDs.
- Accepts 1–20 IDs per call; a repeated ID is fetched and returned once, at its first position
- Partial-success — a single 404 does not fail the whole batch; failed IDs are reported per-ID
- Full metadata: title, department, classification, medium, dimensions, date, culture, period, dynasty, accession number, credit line, gallery number
- Artist data: display name, biography, nationality, dates, Getty ULAN URL, Wikidata URL
- Constituents array for all associated persons (null for anonymous/unattributed works)
- Controlled vocabulary tags with Getty AAT and Wikidata URLs
- Nested `geography` block with the nine findspot fields beyond `country`/`region` — `geographyType`, `city`, `state`, `county`, `subregion`, `locale`, `locus`, `excavation`, `river` — each an empty string when the Met records nothing
- Structured `measurements` array: one entry per measured element, each with an open map of axis name to value (centimeters for spatial axes, kilograms for weight). Null when the Met records none
- Records are returned whole and never truncated. A call whose records together exceed a cumulative budget on serialized `structuredContent` bytes returns fewer of them; the rest are listed in `deferred[]` with their sizes, to re-request in a follow-up call. `content[]` re-renders the admitted records, so the delivered response is roughly twice the budget
- Canonical metmuseum.org URL for human follow-up
- CC0 objects return full-resolution and web-display image URLs plus additional image arrays
- Object-level Wikidata URL for enrichment via external knowledge graph tools
## Features
Built on [`@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core):
- Declarative tool definitions — single file per tool, framework handles registration and validation
- Unified error handling — handlers throw, framework catches, classifies, and formats
- Pluggable auth: `none`, `jwt`, `oauth`
- Swappable storage backends: `in-memory`, `filesystem`, `Supabase`, `Cloudflare KV/R2/D1`
- Structured logging with optional OpenTelemetry tracing
- STDIO and Streamable HTTP transports
Metropolitan Museum of Art collection:
- 500K+ artworks spanning 5,000 years from the Met's public collection API
- CC0 open-access data from [The Metropolitan Museum of Art](https://www.metmuseum.org/) — free to use without permission or attribution
- Parallel batch fetching with configurable concurrency for `met_get_object`
- Linked data on every object — Getty ULAN and AAT URLs, Wikidata entity URLs for artists, tags, and works
Agent-friendly output:
- Provenance on every record — `isPublicDomain` and `hasCC0Image` flags distinguish CC0 objects from works with inaccessible images, so agents can reason about what they can actually display
- Partial failure reporting — `met_get_object` returns `objects` and `failed` arrays so callers receive successful records alongside structured per-ID error context
- Truncation signaling — `met_search_collections` returns `total`, `returned`, `truncated`, `remaining`, `nextOffset`, and the resolved `offset` fields so agents know when to refine filters, increase `limit`, or page further with `offset`; `offset >= total` marks a page that is empty because the offset ran past the end rather than because the query is exhausted
## Getting started
### Public Hosted Instance
A public instance is available at `https://met-museum.caseyjhand.com/mcp` — no installation required. Point any MCP client at it via Streamable HTTP:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"met-museum-mcp-server": {
"type": "streamable-http",
"url": "https://met-museum.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
}
}
}
```
### Self-Hosted / Local
Add the following to your MCP client configuration file.
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"met-museum-mcp-server": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "bunx",
"args": ["@cyanheads/met-museum-mcp-server@latest"],
"env": {
"MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio",
"MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "info"
}
}
}
}
```
Or with npx (no Bun required):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"met-museum-mcp-server": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@cyanheads/met-museum-mcp-server@latest"],
"env": {
"MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio",
"MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "info"
}
}
}
}
```
Or with Docker:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"met-museum-mcp-server": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "docker",
"args": [
"run", "-i", "--rm",
"-e", "MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=stdio",
"ghcr.io/cyanheads/met-museum-mcp-server:latest"
]
}
}
}
```
For Streamable HTTP, set the transport and start the server:
```sh
MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=http MCP_HTTP_PORT=3010 bun run start:http
# Server listens at http://localhost:3010/mcp
```
### Prerequisites
- [Bun v1.3.0](https://bun.sh/) or higher (or Node.js v24+).
- No API key required — the Met Collection API is public and unauthenticated.
### Installation
1. **Clone the repository:**
```sh
git clone https://github.com/cyanheads/met-museum-mcp-server.git
```
2. **Navigate into the directory:**
```sh
cd met-museum-mcp-server
```
3. **Install dependencies:**
```sh
bun install
```
4. **Configure environment:**
```sh
cp .env.example .env
# edit .env as needed (all vars are optional)
```
## Configuration
All configuration is validated at startup via Zod schemas in `src/config/server-config.ts`.
| Variable | Description | Default |
|:---|:---|:---|
| `MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE` | Transport: `stdio` or `http` | `stdio` |
| `MCP_HTTP_PORT` | HTTP server port | `3010` |
| `MCP_SESSION_MODE` | HTTP session mode: `auto`, `stateful`, or `stateless`. This server explicitly sets `stateless`; the framework schema default is `auto`. | `stateless` |
| `MCP_AUTH_MODE` | Authentication: `none`, `jwt`, or `oauth` | `none` |
| `MCP_LOG_LEVEL` | Log level (`debug`, `info`, `warning`, `error`) | `info` |
| `LOGS_DIR` | Directory for log files (Node.js only) | `/logs` |
| `OTEL_ENABLED` | Enable OpenTelemetry instrumentation | `false` |
| `MET_BASE_URL` | Met Collection API base URL (override for local stubs) | `https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/public/collection/v1` |
| `MET_REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS` | Per-request HTTP timeout in milliseconds | `10000` |
| `MET_BATCH_CONCURRENCY` | Max parallel fetches in `met_get_object` | `5` |
See [`.env.example`](https://github.com/cyanheads/met-museum-mcp-server/blob/HEAD/.env.example) for the full list of optional overrides.
## Running the server
### Local development
- **Build and run:**
```sh
# One-time build
bun run rebuild
# Run the built server
bun run start:stdio
# or
bun run start:http
```
- **Run checks and tests:**
```sh
bun run devcheck # Lint, format, typecheck, security
bun run test # Vitest test suite
bun run lint:mcp # Validate MCP definitions against spec
```
### Docker
```sh
docker build -t met-museum-mcp-server .
docker run --rm -p 3010:3010 met-museum-mcp-server
```
The Dockerfile defaults to HTTP transport, stateless session mode, and logs to `/var/log/met-museum-mcp-server`. OpenTelemetry peer dependencies are installed by default — build with `--build-arg OTEL_ENABLED=false` to omit them.
## Project structure
| Directory | Purpose |
|:---|:---|
| `src/index.ts` | `createApp()` entry point — registers tools and inits the Met service. |
| `src/config` | Server-specific environment variable parsing and validation with Zod. |
| `src/mcp-server/tools` | Tool definitions (`*.tool.ts`) — `met_list_departments`, `met_search_collections`, `met_get_object`. |
| `src/services/met` | Met Collection API client — HTTP, request timeout, response normalization. |
| `tests/` | Unit and integration tests mirroring `src/`. |
## Development guide
See [`CLAUDE.md`](https://github.com/cyanheads/met-museum-mcp-server/blob/HEAD/CLAUDE.md) for development guidelines and architectural rules. The short version:
- Handlers throw, framework catches — no `try/catch` in tool logic
- Use `ctx.log` for request-scoped logging, `ctx.state` for tenant-scoped storage
- Register new tools via the arrays in `createApp()` in `src/index.ts`
- Wrap external API calls: validate raw → normalize to domain type → return output schema; never fabricate missing fields
## Contributing
Issues and pull requests are welcome. Run checks and tests before submitting:
```sh
bun run devcheck
bun run test
```
Data from [The Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection API](https://metmuseum.github.io/) (CC0).
## License
Apache-2.0 — see [LICENSE](https://github.com/cyanheads/met-museum-mcp-server/blob/HEAD/LICENSE) for details.