mikechao/metmuseum-mcp

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides access to the Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection through natural language interactions. This server allows AI models to search The Met's art collection and retrieve artwork details (including images) via tool results.
Table of Contents
- Features
- List Departments
- Search Museum Objects
- Get Museum Object
- Open Met Explorer App
- MCP Apps
- Prerequisites
- Quick Start
- Configuration
- Transports
- Streamable HTTP Transport
- Usage with ChatGPT
- Usage with Claude Desktop
- Usage with LibreChat
- Example Queries
- Development
- Contributing
- License
- Disclaimer
Hosted deployment
A hosted deployment is available on Fronteir AI.
Features
This server provides AI models the following tools to interact with the art collection of The Met:
1. List Departments (list-departments)
Lists all the valid departments at The Met
- Inputs:
- None
- Output:
2. Search Museum Objects (search-museum-objects)
Search for various objects in The Met based on the inputs.
- Inputs:
- q (string): The search term e.g. sunflowers
- hasImages (boolean, optional, default: false): Only search for objects with images
- title (boolean, optional, default: false): Returns objects that match the query, specifically searching against the title field for objects.
- departmentId (number, optional): Returns objects that are a part of a specific department.
- page (number, optional, default: 1): 1-based page number for results.
- pageSize (number, optional, default: 24): Number of Object IDs per page (max 100).
- Outputs:
3. Get Museum Object (get-museum-object)
Get a specific object from The Met containing all open access data about that object, including its image (if the image is available under Open Access).
If there is an image and returnImage is true, it is returned as an image content block in the tool result (base64-encoded JPEG).
Use this tool when the user asks for deeper details on a specific artwork and you already have an objectId.
- Inputs:
- objectId (number): The id of the object to retrieve
- returnImage (boolean, optional, default: true): Whether to include the object's image (if available) in the tool result
- Outputs:
If returnImage is true
4. Open Met Explorer App (open-met-explorer)
Launches an interactive MCP App (ui://met/explorer.html) that can search, filter, and inspect objects from within MCP clients that support Apps.
Recommended flow:
- Use open-met-explorer to launch and browse live search results (pass q to start searching immediately).
- After creating a curated list from current results, use get-museum-object only for items the user wants to explore in depth.
- Inputs (all optional):
- q (string): Initial search term.
- hasImages (boolean, default: true): Prefer objects with images.
- title (boolean, default: false): Search titles only.
- departmentId (number): Pre-select a department filter.
- Output:
MCP Apps
▶️ Click to watch the demo video
There are now MCP Apps in this MCP Server. There is a UI component for the Open Met Explorer App tool and the Get Museum Object tool.
Prerequisites
- Node.js v18 or later
Quick Start
Run the server directly with npx — no install required:
This starts the server using **stdio transport**, which is what most MCP desktop clients expect.
For client-specific setup, see:
- Usage with Claude Desktop
- Usage with ChatGPT (requires Streamable HTTP transport)