Itis

What Itis MCP server does

Itis exposes ITIS taxonomy data to MCP-compatible clients. ITIS is a US-government integrated taxonomy covering plants, animals, fungi, and microbes. The server is intended for resolving scientific names, exploring taxonomic relationships, and finding vernacular names associated with a taxon.

The integration is independent and unofficial; it is not published, endorsed, or maintained by ITIS. Requests are handled through Pipeworx infrastructure rather than an offline database bundled with the package.

How it works

The hosted MCP endpoint is available at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/itis/mcp. Add that URL to an MCP client to connect directly. A full Pipeworx gateway endpoint is also available at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp; both endpoints use the same gateway and data sources, while the pack endpoint lists the ITIS tools directly.

The normal workflow starts with search_taxa. That tool accepts a scientific name and returns matching taxa with their Taxonomic Serial Numbers (TSNs), scientific names, authors, and kingdoms. Pass a returned TSN to get_hierarchy to retrieve its lineage and children, or to get_common_names to obtain vernacular names in all available languages.

The gateway also exposes shared Pipeworx meta-tools on hosted pack connections. These include routing and discovery functions such as ask_pipeworx, which can select tools across the broader catalog. The exact set is reported by the MCP connection during initialization.

Setup and configuration

For a hosted connection, add the following MCP server entry:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "itis": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/itis/mcp"
    }
  }
}

The package is also available as a local stdio bridge. Run it with npx using this configuration:

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

The bridge forwards requests to the hosted gateway and needs network access. Anonymous use is limited to 50 calls per day. Setting PIPEWORX_API_KEY with a key from Pipeworx raises the allowance to 200 calls per day. Set PIPEWORX_META_TOOLS=1 if the local bridge should also list the gateway-wide meta-tools.

HTTP clients can call tools directly through endpoints such as https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/itis_search_taxa.

Tools and capabilities

• search_taxa: Finds ITIS records by scientific name and returns TSNs and identifying taxon details.
• get_hierarchy: Returns the selected taxon's lineage from kingdom through the taxon, together with its children and parent relationships.
• get_common_names: Returns common or vernacular names for a TSN across languages.
• ask_pipeworx: On gateway connections, routes a plain-language request to an appropriate tool across the Pipeworx catalog.

Limitations and notes

The service requires network access and has no offline mode. Anonymous requests are capped at 50 calls per day; authenticated Pipeworx accounts receive a 200-call daily allowance. Pack endpoints include shared gateway meta-tools in addition to the ITIS tools, so their complete tool listing is larger than the three taxonomy-specific tools. MIT licensing applies to the package.