Anteater MCP

An MCP server that lets Claude and ChatGPT help you pick classes at UC Irvine.

It wraps Anteater API — UCI's course catalogue, the live schedule of classes (WebSoc), historical grade distributions, enrollment history, prerequisite trees, AP credit, degree requirements and supplementary RMP ratings — and exposes them as 20 tools, 6 guided prompts and 4 reference resources, shaped around the questions students actually ask.

Zero runtime dependencies. Run the source with Node 24 LTS, or download a standalone Linux, macOS or Windows executable that already contains the same Node runtime.

"Find me a GE-2 for Fall that ends before 5pm and still has seats, ranked by how well people do."

Course        Title                Units  GPA   A%   n     SeatsOpen  Example meeting
------------  -------------------  -----  ----  ---  ----  ---------  ---------------------------
BIO SCI 17    EVO PSYCHOLOGY       4      3.80  88%  2410  2          TuTh 15:30-16:50 @ SH 134
UNI STU H30A  ANALYSIS HEALTH LIT  4      3.77  84%  864   15         TuTh 12:30-13:50 @ ALP 1600
LPS 31        INTRO INDUCT LOGIC   4      3.61  80%  2108  11         TuTh 14:00-15:20 @ EH 1200

Quickstart

git clone https://github.com/KKazuhaK/Anteater-MCP.git
cd anteater-mcp
node --version                         # Node 24 LTS
node anteater-mcp.mjs --list-tools     # confirm it runs

Then add it to your client — Claude Desktop, Claude Code, ChatGPT, or any other MCP client.

Nothing else is required. An API key is optional but recommended.

Installing

Standalone binary

Each GitHub Release contains native archives for Linux, macOS and Windows on amd64 and arm64, plus SHA256SUMS.txt. These do not require Node.js:

# After downloading and extracting the archive for your platform:
./anteater-mcp --version
./anteater-mcp --list-tools

In an MCP client configuration, use the absolute path to anteater-mcp (or anteater-mcp.exe) as command and omit the args array. macOS archives are ad-hoc signed; public Developer ID signing and notarization are not yet configured.

Docker

The published image supports Linux amd64 and arm64. Docker Desktop on macOS and Windows runs the same Linux image:

cp .env.example .env
# Set ANTEATER_MCP_TOKEN in .env, then:
docker compose up -d
curl -fsS http://127.0.0.1:8787/health

The Compose service is non-root, read-only, capability-free and bound to loopback by default. See DEPLOY.md before placing it behind public HTTPS.

Claude Desktop

Open the config file:

Add an anteater entry. The path must be absolute — Claude Desktop does not run the server from your project directory:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "anteater": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/anteater-mcp/anteater-mcp.mjs"]
    }
  }
}

With an API key:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "anteater": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/anteater-mcp/anteater-mcp.mjs"],
      "env": { "ANTEATER_API_KEY": "your-secret-key" }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop completely (quit, don't just close the window). You should see 20 anteater tools, and the 6 prompts appear as slash commands.

claude_desktop_config.example.json in this repo is the same thing, ready to copy.

Claude Code

claude mcp add anteater -- node /absolute/path/to/anteater-mcp/anteater-mcp.mjs

With a key:

claude mcp add anteater -e ANTEATER_API_KEY=your-secret-key -- node /absolute/path/to/anteater-mcp/anteater-mcp.mjs

Verify with claude mcp list.

ChatGPT

Two routes. The first needs no server.

node anteater-mcp.mjs --http --port 8787   # binds 127.0.0.1 only — do not add --host
# in another terminal
ngrok http 8787      # or: cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:8787

https://<your-domain>/mcp?token=<ANTEATER_MCP_TOKEN>

⚠️ ChatGPT's MCP plugins are web-only. OpenAI's own documentation says developer mode is "available to Pro, Plus, Business, Enterprise, and Education accounts on the web" — the phone apps cannot reach an MCP server. For ChatGPT on a phone, use a Custom GPT whose Action points at this server's REST facade, described below.

Which ChatGPT route gets you what

On your phone

Claude's iOS and Android apps support remote MCP servers. Deploy this behind HTTPS, add it once on claude.ai in a browser, and it syncs to the apps — you cannot add a new server from the phone itself. DEPLOY.md has a complete recipe: token auth, a systemd unit, Caddy or nginx, and the connector setup.

The ChatGPT Custom GPT route also works on mobile and needs no server at all.

Codex

Codex speaks streamable HTTP and reads the token from an environment variable, so it never lands in a config file:

export ANTEATER_MCP_TOKEN=...   # in your shell profile
codex mcp add anteater --url https://your.domain/mcp --bearer-token-env-var ANTEATER_MCP_TOKEN

Or write it to ~/.codex/config.toml directly — a project-local .codex/config.toml takes precedence over the global one:

[mcp_servers.anteater]
url = "https://your.domain/mcp"
bearer_token_env_var = "ANTEATER_MCP_TOKEN"

Codex reads the variable at connect time and sends Authorization: Bearer <token>.

Any other MCP client

The server speaks standard MCP over stdio. Point your client at:

command: node
args:    ["/absolute/path/to/anteater-mcp/anteater-mcp.mjs"]

Or run it as a streamable-HTTP server at http://127.0.0.1:8787/mcp with node anteater-mcp.mjs --http.

Protocol versions 2025-06-18, 2025-03-26 and 2024-11-05 are all accepted; the server negotiates down rather than echoing whatever it is sent.

What you get

Tools (20)

Finding classes