# SNAC Archives [Health: Active]

**Category:** 💻 Developer Tools  
**Repository:** https://github.com/ianderso/snac-archives-mcp  
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**Directory Page:** https://allmcps.com/mcp/snac-archives

## Description
Find which archive holds the papers: SNAC's index of archival collections, plus ArchiveGrid links.

## Tools
Capabilities this server exposes over MCP:

- **search_collections** — Find collections by words in their title. Each hit names its holding repository with a postal address, its OCLC number and its link, and flags the likely duplicates (the same papers catalogued two or three times).
- **get_collection** — One collection in full: the whole abstract, extent, repository, links, and the names SNAC connects to it.
- **repository_holdings** — What SNAC links to one repository, filtered by title and paged.
- **search_names** — Find SNAC name records by name, optionally by kind: person, family, or corporate body (churches, businesses, societies, offices).
- **get_name** — One name record: headings, dates, places, biographical note and identifier links (VIAF, Library of Congress and others). With `detail="full"`, every collection linked to it, with its role, and the related names.
- **collections_in_common** — Collections linked to both of two names: where to look for letters between intermarried families or an ancestor's associates.
- **archivegrid_search_link** — Build an ArchiveGrid search, in its fielded syntax, for you to open; or a record link, given an OCLC number. Makes no request.
- **cache_status** — This session's live calls and cache hits. Makes no request.

## Claude Desktop Quick Installation
Install path detected from listing signals. Uses `uvx` (confidence: high):

```json
"mcpServers": {
  "snac-archives": {
    "command": "uvx",
    "args": ["snac-archives-mcp"]
  }
}
```

## Documentation

## What the SNAC Archives MCP server does

The SNAC Archives MCP server helps research agents locate archival material rather than interpret the contents of documents. It searches the SNAC Cooperative index of people, families, organizations, and the collections associated with them. Results can identify a collection, its repository and address, an OCLC number, available links, and possible duplicate catalogue records.

The service is suited to genealogy, local history, institutional research, and archival discovery. It can help answer questions such as which repository may hold a family’s correspondence, a church’s registers, a business’s records, or papers connected to two people. It does not maintain a family tree, write data, or establish that a person appears in a document.

## How it works

The SNAC Archives MCP server communicates with the SNAC REST API over MCP stdio. SNAC supplies the indexed collection and name data; the server presents that information through read-only tools. ArchiveGrid is handled differently: the server constructs a fielded search URL or a record URL from an OCLC number, but does not query ArchiveGrid automatically.

Responses should be treated as leads to finding aids. A collection record may be brief or detailed, and a name record may represent an ambiguous heading. In a name’s linked collections, `creatorOf` indicates the person or organization’s own papers, while `referencedIn` indicates an indexing relationship. Repository finding aids and current call numbers should be checked before citing or requesting material.

Requests are cached on disk for 30 days by default. Calls are serialized with at least a one-second interval, and temporary 429 or 5xx responses are retried. Cached empty results can be refreshed with `refresh=true` when an absence needs confirmation.

## Setup and configuration

Python 3.11 or later and `uv` are required. The simplest launch command is:

```bash
uvx snac-archives-mcp
```

A cloned checkout can be installed and started with `uv sync` followed by `uv run snac-archives-mcp`. The process normally runs as a client-launched stdio server.

Claude Desktop can start it with a configuration using `uvx` and the `snac-archives-mcp` argument. Claude Code can register it with `claude mcp add snac -- uvx snac-archives-mcp`. If a desktop client cannot find `uvx`, configure the full path returned by `which uvx`.

No configuration is mandatory and no API key or account is needed. Optional environment variables include `SNAC_API_URL` for the HTTPS SNAC endpoint, `SNAC_CACHE_DIR` for the response cache location, `SNAC_TIMEOUT` for request timeouts, and `SNAC_CONTACT` for an email address or URL included in the User-Agent. A `.env` file is read only from the server’s startup directory.

## Tools and capabilities

The SNAC Archives MCP server exposes eight tools:

- `search_collections` searches collection titles and reports repositories, addresses, OCLC numbers, links, and likely duplicates.
- `get_collection` retrieves a collection’s abstract, extent, repository, links, and associated names.
- `repository_holdings` lists collections connected to a repository with title filtering and pagination.
- `search_names` searches person, family, and corporate-body records.
- `get_name` returns headings, dates, places, biographical information, identifiers, and, with `detail="full"`, linked collections and related names.
- `collections_in_common` finds collections connected to two names.
- `archivegrid_search_link` creates an ArchiveGrid search or OCLC-based record link without a network request.
- `cache_status` reports live calls and cache hits for the current session without making a request.

## Limitations and notes

Collection and name indexes are not substitutes for repository descriptions. SNAC data may be old, records may have moved or been renumbered, and duplicate records are only probable matches. Title searches match collection-title words, not every word in an abstract; use name searches or an ArchiveGrid link when a place or subject appears only in descriptive text. ArchiveGrid’s `location` refers to the repository, while `place` refers to a place associated with the papers.

The project is independent of the SNAC Cooperative, the University of Virginia, and OCLC. The provided material does not specify a software license.

_Full upstream README: https://allmcps.com/mcp/snac-archives/readme_