Smithsonian MCP Server vs Open Notebook

In-depth architectural comparison of the Smithsonian MCP Server and Open Notebook MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose Smithsonian MCP Server when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).

Explore Smithsonian MCP Server Details

Choose Open Notebook when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
• Primary tools included: search_capabilities.

Explore Open Notebook Details

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	Smithsonian MCP Server Developer Tools	Open Notebook Developer Tools
Summary	Search 19.4M Smithsonian Open Access objects, get CC0 images, find cross-collection connections.	MCP server that wraps the Open Notebook API
Category & Scope	Developer Tools	Developer Tools
Quality signal

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations

Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "smithsonian-mcp-server": {
      "command": "bunx",
      "args": [
        "@cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "open-notebook": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/inspector"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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