Clevelandart

What Clevelandart MCP server does

The Clevelandart MCP server exposes the Cleveland Museum of Art Open Access API through the Model Context Protocol. It covers roughly 63,000 artworks and includes records for works with high-resolution CC0 images where available. The integration is independent and unofficial; it is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or published by the museum.

The package is part of Pipeworx, which provides both a scoped gateway endpoint and a standalone local MCP process. The gateway can expose shared Pipeworx meta-tools in addition to the Clevelandart tools. The local package exposes only the tools for this collection.

How it works

Clevelandart MCP server reads from https://openaccess-api.clevelandart.org/api/ and makes the collection available through MCP tool calls. Its main tools are:

• search(query?, filters?) searches artworks. Supported filter examples include artist, type, image availability, and CC0 status.
• get_artwork(id) retrieves a complete artwork record using an accession number or numeric ID.
• creators(query?, limit?) searches for artists and other creators.
• exhibitions(query?, limit?) searches exhibition records.

The hosted endpoint is https://gateway.pipeworx.io/clevelandart/mcp. Its tools/list response also includes shared gateway tools, so the displayed tool count can exceed the four collection-specific tools. The gateway's initialization response is the authoritative source for the tools available at connection time. ask_pipeworx can route natural-language questions to tools across the broader Pipeworx catalog.

Setup and configuration

For a hosted connection, add the endpoint to an MCP client configuration. The README names Claude Desktop, Cursor, and Windsurf as compatible clients.

The package can also run locally over standard input and output:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "clevelandart": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-clevelandart"]
    }
  }
}

Run npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-clevelandart to confirm that the local process starts. The local mode does not use gateway routing or shared meta-tools and does not require a Pipeworx account.

Without an MCP client, the hosted tools can be called over HTTP. For example, send a JSON POST request to /v1/tools/clevelandart_search; tool details are available from the corresponding /v1/tools/ endpoint.

Tools and capabilities

Use search for collection discovery, then pass an accession number or numeric ID to get_artwork when a full record is needed. Creator and exhibition searches support an optional query and result limit. These capabilities fit agents that need to identify artworks, find artists, inspect collection metadata, or locate museum exhibitions.

Limitations and notes

The integration is keyless, but the hosted and local modes differ. The hosted pack endpoint includes shared Pipeworx meta-tools, while the standalone process exposes only Clevelandart functions. Both hosted URLs use the same gateway and data-source catalog; the full gateway lists all packs directly. The museum integration itself should be treated as an independent, unofficial connection rather than an official museum service.