DPLA Catalog vs Metmuseum MCP
A side-by-side look at the DPLA Catalog and Metmuseum MCP MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose DPLA Catalog for art & culture work as a local process; choose Metmuseum MCP for art & culture as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose DPLA Catalog when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Art & Culture domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
search_items, search_items_advanced, facet_items.
Choose Metmuseum MCP when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Art & Culture domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You want tools like
list-departments, search-museum-objects, get-museum-object.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Art & Culture | Art & Culture |
| Quality signal | 52/100 · Good | 64/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | No auth required |
| Pricing | Not declared | Free |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 35 |
| Directory activity | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 7 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 6 | 4 |
| Full listing | View DPLA Catalog | View Metmuseum MCP |
Tools & capabilities
DPLA Catalog tools 6
search_itemsThe everyday search: words, title, place, a date range, holding institution, hub, item type. Each hit names its holding institution, the item's address there (`is_shown_at`), its rights statement, and whether page images can be listed. Copies of one work held in several places are flagged.search_items_advancedThe same, with every filter DPLA offers: county, state and city as DPLA geocoded them, subject, collection, publisher, format, creator, identifier, the period an item is *about*, rights, exact matching, any-of matching, sorting, and leaving out National Archives records.facet_itemsCounts before searching: which institutions hold plat books of a county, which years a run of directories covers, which hubs cover a place.get_itemUp to 20 records in full, each with `citation_parts`: the holding institution, title, date, the institution's own identifiers (call numbers, local ids, OCLC numbers, read from the harvested record too), `is_shown_at`, rights, and the DPLA id as a finder. Optionally the raw harvested record.get_item_imagesThe page images, from the IIIF manifest on the holding institution's site (Presentation API 2 and 3), a stretch of the list at a time. When a site refuses scripts, it says so and gives the address to open in a browser.api_statusWhether a key is configured (never the key), this session's calls and cache hits, and the last error. Makes no request.
Metmuseum MCP tools 4
list-departmentsList all departments in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met Museum)search-museum-objectsSearch for objects in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met Museum). Will return Total objects found, followed by a paginated list of Object Ids. If the Met Explorer app (open-met-explorer) is open and the user is referring to its existing results, prefer using those results from context instead of calling this tool. The parameter title should be set to true if you want to search for objects by title. The parameter hasImages is false by default, but can be set to true to return only objects with images. Additional optional filters are available for highlights, tags, on-view status, artist/culture match, medium, geographic location, and date range. Use page and pageSize to paginate results.get-museum-objectGet a museum object by its ID, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection. Use this when the user asks for deeper details on a specific object ID.open-met-explorerOpen the interactive Met Explorer app for browsing and filtering objects. For exploration intents, pass q so the app can run a live search on open. After opening, keep your chat handoff short and UI-focused. For deeper details on a specific object ID, prefer get-museum-object.
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
DPLA Catalog
{
"mcpServers": {
"dpla-catalog": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"dpla-catalog-mcp"
]
}
}
}
Metmuseum MCP
{
"mcpServers": {
"mikechao-metmuseum-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"metmuseum-mcp"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
DPLA Catalog is categorized under Art & Culture and uses a local stdio subprocess. Metmuseum MCP belongs to Art & Culture and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick DPLA Catalog for art & culture work and Metmuseum MCP for art & culture.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
DPLA Catalog has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Metmuseum MCP is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add dpla-catalog and mikechao-metmuseum-mcp as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, DPLA Catalog has a quality signal of 52/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. Metmuseum MCP has 64/100 (Good) with 7 views, 0 installs and 35 GitHub stars.