Search 14.5M Smithsonian Open Access objects across 20+ museums via MCP, and retrieve CC0 images for the 5.2M that carry openly-licensed media. STDIO or Streamable HTTP.
Setup
Choose your client, copy the config, then fill in any required environment variables.
Local
claude mcp add smithsonian --env SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY='<SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY>' -- npx -y @cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server~/.codex/config.toml
[mcp_servers.smithsonian]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server"]
env = { SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY = "<SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY>" }
# codex mcp add smithsonian --env SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY='<SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY>' -- npx -y @cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server~/.cursor/mcp.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"smithsonian": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server"
],
"env": {
"SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY": "<SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}.vscode/mcp.json
{
"servers": {
"smithsonian": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server"
],
"env": {
"SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY": "<SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}~/.gemini/settings.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"smithsonian": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server"
],
"env": {
"SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY": "<SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}claude_desktop_config.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"smithsonian": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server"
],
"env": {
"SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY": "<SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}.trae/mcp.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"smithsonian": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server"
],
"env": {
"SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY": "<SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}Remote
claude mcp add --transport http smithsonian https://smithsonian.caseyjhand.com/mcp~/.codex/config.toml
[mcp_servers.smithsonian]
url = "https://smithsonian.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
# codex mcp add smithsonian --url https://smithsonian.caseyjhand.com/mcp~/.cursor/mcp.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"smithsonian": {
"url": "https://smithsonian.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
}
}
}.vscode/mcp.json
{
"servers": {
"smithsonian": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://smithsonian.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
}
}
}~/.gemini/settings.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"smithsonian": {
"httpUrl": "https://smithsonian.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
}
}
}claude_desktop_config.json · Customize › Connectors › Add custom connector
{
"mcpServers": {
"smithsonian": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-remote",
"https://smithsonian.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
]
}
}
}.trae/mcp.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"smithsonian": {
"url": "https://smithsonian.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
}
}
}Environment variables
SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY
Replace the placeholders with your own credentials and keep them out of version control.