Met Museum MCP Server vs Nypl
A side-by-side look at the Met Museum MCP Server and Nypl MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Met Museum MCP Server for art & culture work as a local process; choose Nypl 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 Met Museum MCP Server 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
met_list_departments, met_search_collections, met_list_objects.
Choose Nypl when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Art & Culture domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
search, item.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Art & Culture | Art & Culture |
| Quality signal | 59/100 · Good | 51/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | No auth required | Not declared |
| Pricing | Free | Not declared |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 4 | 1 |
| Directory activity | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 4 | 2 |
| Full listing | View Met Museum MCP Server | View Nypl |
Tools & capabilities
Met Museum MCP Server tools 4
met_list_departmentsReturn all 19 curatorial departments with their numeric IDs and display namesmet_search_collectionsSearch the collection by keyword, optionally matched in titles or tags only, with filters for department, date range, medium, geography, image availability, on-view status, and highlight designationmet_list_objectsList every object ID in a department, every object created or revised since a date, or both, without a keywordmet_get_objectFetch full records for one or more object IDs — metadata, provenance, artist info, CC0 image URLs, tags, and Wikidata links — optionally with up to 3 CC0 images as image content
Nypl tools 2
searchSearch the NYPL Digital Collections collection by keyword. Returns matching items with ids (pass an id to item), titles, creators/sources, dates and links.itemFetch full details for one NYPL Digital Collections item by id — an NYPL item uuid (from search).
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.
Met Museum MCP Server
{
"mcpServers": {
"met-museum-mcp-server": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@cyanheads/met-museum-mcp-server"
]
}
}
}
Nypl
{
"mcpServers": {
"nypl": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-nypl"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Met Museum MCP Server is categorized under Art & Culture and uses a local stdio subprocess. Nypl belongs to Art & Culture and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Met Museum MCP Server for art & culture work and Nypl 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.
Met Museum MCP Server is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. Nypl has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. 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 met-museum-mcp-server and nypl as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Met Museum MCP Server has a quality signal of 59/100 (Good) with 2 views, 0 installs and 4 GitHub stars. Nypl has 51/100 (Good) with 1 views, 0 installs and 1 GitHub stars.